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HikerTrash
June 26th, 2013, 08:25 AM
I saw a woman the other day with long straight hair who had a few decorative dreadlock-type things in her hair. Not her entire head, just a few that were underneath and were longer than the rest of her hair. I thought it looked fun so I have ordered some wool and synthetic ones with decorative strings and beads and a few string wrap extensions, too, for myself. In the process of looking around, I learned about lots of different kinds of dreadlock extensions. I was curious of anyone who has experience with them. I have hair down to my waist, straight, fine and somewhat thin.

1. I have a hard time braiding small braids very far down the full length of my hair because it gets very thin (fairytale ends) toward the end. If you have installed dread extensions, how has this worked with your fairytale ends?

2. There are dreadfalls that are attached to ponytail holders. I don't really like the look of them when worn (that two pigtails look on the top of your head just isn't right for me), but I did wonder if you can cut the dreads off the ponytail holder and reuse them as regular dreads, or are they all bent?

3. Has anyone got experience installing just a few dreads? Do you like them in the bottom layer or top?

4. If you install just a few, is it true they get tangled in your straight, undreaded hair? Is it hard to keep your straight hair managed?

5. It occurred to me that a full install might be convenient for backcountry camping. If you have installed a whole head of synthetic dreads, is it manageable? Easy to care for? Does your head get hot?

Any pictures, too? Thanks for any info!

Magalo
June 26th, 2013, 10:10 AM
Your hair WILL get tangled with the dreads. You have to separate them regulary.

Also, if you want long hair... don't get dread extensions. They are very damaging (both the installation, and since your normal hair will get tangled in them you'll obviously rip a lot of them while detangling). Plus yes, they're heavy and hot.

sparrowswing
June 26th, 2013, 04:00 PM
I second everything Mogalo said.

As far as the dread falls (the dreads on ponytail holders that are usually put up in pigtails), they're almost always double-ended dreads simply looped onto the hair tie (or lace). You shouldn't have to cut them off, and they would work. But again, they will damage your hair the way you want to wear them, and they are hot and heavy. That's why the falls are so popular. Well that and the fact that you can have falls in however many colors and styles you want, wear them as long as you want, and wash them easily.

You can also find dread wigs; they're similar to the falls, but the dreads are attached to a headband (usually the underside of a fabric headband, which looks fairly natural, as it's something people with dreads often wear). They aren't as secure as the falls, and they're certainly very different from the extensions, but they are another option to consider.

cathair
June 26th, 2013, 05:11 PM
I am sure you will have a lot of fun :) I don't want this to sound all negative, I really loved my extensions, but the upkeep was too much for me (and the expense). These are some of the things that annoyed me about extensions when I had them.

I've had loose extensions and loose falls at different times but not dreads. Falls are ok every now and again but I wouldn't want to wear them every day. I always felt they looked pants unless I braided a load of other hair into the front section as well. They weren't really very secure on me and would slip after a few hours. My hair is not straight, but maybe too oily? This went for loose extensions too. They need tightening on me every 2 weeks probably to stay looking presentable. After a month they look awful. This was very expensive for me, I can't box braid on myself, I'm not good enough. I tried regular braids, but it isn't the same.

I have fairytail ends and had no problem in that respect. It's only an inch or so at the top that needs to be braided so the ends don't really come into the equation. I noticed my hair grew much quicker when I had extensions, but I don't think it was good growth, it was more like stretched or almost pulling it out my scalp faster. A full head of extensions is very heavy and may even give you headaches.

I can imagine it would be hard to keep separating your hair. Even loose ones that I brushed twice a day with very strong silicone spray were dreading underneath, especially round the nape. I don't how they would lay in the top hair only, but I would be inclined to try that first, as it's usually less tangle prone, on me at least.

As others have said they will be very hot, not just on your head, but wherever they touch. Might be something to consider if it is summer where you are, sweaty extensions are even more work. If I had them again I would do it in winter :) Can post you some pics of mine when I had them if you like, but they are not dreads, so probably not what you want.

Saying all that, if you are only having a few I don't see the harm. You can always remove them if you get sick of them. What method are you planning to use to attach them?

truepeacenik
June 26th, 2013, 05:23 PM
I had a cluster of real dreads. I've always missed them.
So I made falls from wool roving. I used a very small silicone band as the attachment, and I'd braid about two inches or so to attach them.

My biggest warning is wool will suck the moisture out of your hair. (Since I used wool tams to get my real ones, you'd think that would have occurred to me. Nope. Lots of moisture treatments with the wool falls.)

After that have fun!

faellen
June 26th, 2013, 05:31 PM
I had dread falls and a dread wig back in my goth days, as I couldn't really afford to get dreads installed in my hair. The wig was the best, really well made and when I wore it people didn't know it was a wig. The dreads were attached to an actual wig though, not a headband. No issues with tangling or damage, but it did get hot under there at a club.

HikerTrash
June 26th, 2013, 06:05 PM
Thank you for the information. I will likely just put in a few for decoration. I feel like my hair is just so boring. I can't really wear it down and loose because it gets all tangly/frizzy and flies around in my face and drives me crazy. I put it in pony tail all the time and even then it's all lose and in my face and drives me crazy. It's so thin, too. I thought maybe something fun would help me wear it down or at least make my boring hair seem more fun. I will try to figure out a way to put in a few in a way that I can still comb the loose hair. I've got a little braid with some beads and feathers that I put in the other day to see how it would be and it doesn't get in the way or get tangled at all. I'm hoping it's the same thing with string wraps and with the fancy wool and synthetic dreads I ordered. They are also decorated with strings and beads. I'm just a boring middle-aged computer office person and want to pretend to be a hippie for a summer.

Magalo
June 27th, 2013, 07:21 AM
My friend used to have a love of hair wraps (hippie style) and as her hair grew out, the base (not wrapped anymore obviously) got dreaded... a real dread. She lost a lot of hair this way. I don't think you can go around not getting dreads from your real hair.

If I was you, I would get a trim (maybe 1" ?) and get the tip dyed with manic panic. Your hair is already light, it would show up well. It's very summery. :)

tiny_teesha
March 2nd, 2015, 04:40 AM
I made a paranda style dreadlock out of merino roving, and i think it's super! Really makes a difference to the fairytale ends. I'm thinking this same thing right now, trying to make something thats easy to instal and can be worn loose right now actually. Still in the initial concepts phase.