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LocustSpawning
March 5th, 2011, 08:44 AM
How damaging are they..?
I'm very interested in getting plain black synthetic dreadlocks, not massive poofy ones or anything, though. Attaching them involves braiding your own hair with the top of the dreadlock (through a loop at the top of the dreadlock) and then securing your hair to the dread with a small elastic band, which will be very tight. (Sorry if this is not explained well.)

How damaging do you think this will be...?

stinamoo
March 5th, 2011, 10:15 AM
I wear synthetic dreadlocks less often than I used to, but I still make them. I think it is not very damaging. Plenty of people wear braids with or without synthetic hair added as a protective style and depending how long you keep them in and how you treat you hair usually, you could be cutting down on a significant amount of brushing/product/heatstyling damage.

If you want an alternative but slightly more time consuming method than elastic bands, try taking a piece of thread more than twice as long as your natural hair and braiding it with the two parts of your natural hair around the dread. Then wrap the thread around the end of the hair around the dread and knot it. It can look better than elastics and I think it's probably less damaging, I hope I explained it properly.

Also, invest in a latch-hook tool if you're installing single-ended dreadlocks. Totally worth it, especially for ones with small holes.

artiste
March 5th, 2011, 01:39 PM
Hi there!

I have worn synthetic dreads many a time in the past and I haven't noticed much damage at all. In fact, I found it rather protective for most of my hair. The one thing to note is the elastic... those can chew up the ends. The alternative thread idea posted by stinamoo sounds like a good one to me.
Unfortunately I've only worn double-ended dreadlocks, so I don't know if the singles are different. I can't imagine they would be too much.
Also, one thing to remember is when you take them out, it may look like you are losing a lot of hair. You're not. It's just all the shed hair the accumulated while you had the dreads in. They just weren't able to fall out naturally because of being braided in. lol. Just thought that I would throw this in because the first time I took mine out, it kind of unnerved me.

Enjoy your funky hair!

metricfuture
March 5th, 2011, 09:13 PM
YMMV, but I had a full head of them put in by a professional hairdresser a few times (many years ago) before I took the plunge and had real dreadlocks for 4 years, and my hair was perfectly fine (actually in rather nice shape) after taking them out. Be prepared for some serious root fro until your next wash after taking them out, though.:)

LocustSpawning
March 7th, 2011, 06:27 AM
Hi there!

I have worn synthetic dreads many a time in the past and I haven't noticed much damage at all. In fact, I found it rather protective for most of my hair. The one thing to note is the elastic... those can chew up the ends. The alternative thread idea posted by stinamoo sounds like a good one to me.
Unfortunately I've only worn double-ended dreadlocks, so I don't know if the singles are different. I can't imagine they would be too much.
Also, one thing to remember is when you take them out, it may look like you are losing a lot of hair. You're not. It's just all the shed hair the accumulated while you had the dreads in. They just weren't able to fall out naturally because of being braided in. lol. Just thought that I would throw this in because the first time I took mine out, it kind of unnerved me.

Enjoy your funky hair!

Uh oh..
How badly do they damage the ends? This is the only thing I'm worried about! Since I'm trying to baby my ends as much as I can after damaging them loads in the past. Would the breakage be worse on the ends after you took them out?

Thanks for the replies :D

LocustSpawning
March 8th, 2011, 04:22 AM
Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase??!!

RedheadMistress
March 8th, 2011, 06:57 AM
- I agree with artiste and other people in the thread, whenever I've had synthetic dreads, my hair doesn't feel too damaged afterwards, but I think it depends also how you braid it in, angle, method .

First time I braided in synthetic dreads on myself, I did a poor job and they kept pulling my hair in bad angles and straining it, which damaged my hair but if you get a good friend to do it or make sure you do it tight and well yourself, it should be fine !

stinamoo
March 8th, 2011, 07:19 AM
LocustSpawning, try the thread method or buy fabric covered hairties instead of elastics if you're worried about them damaging your hair. :)

artiste
March 8th, 2011, 11:54 AM
Uh oh..
How badly do they damage the ends? This is the only thing I'm worried about! Since I'm trying to baby my ends as much as I can after damaging them loads in the past. Would the breakage be worse on the ends after you took them out?

Thanks for the replies :D

Hi there!

I found that the damage was minimal ( as in, I got more damage wearing my hair down day to day).

Another thing that I feel I should mention is that having these in actually seemed to help my hair grow faster, as I found that the braids protected 99.9 % of my hair, with only the very tips being slightly affected. It was kind of like having it up in a protective updo for a month straight.

In short (or not so short) I personally found the mechanical damage to the ends to be there, but very, very minimal , so I wouldn't worry about it.

artiste
March 8th, 2011, 11:56 AM
- .

First time I braided in synthetic dreads on myself, I did a poor job and they kept pulling my hair in bad angles and straining it, which damaged my hair but if you get a good friend to do it or make sure you do it tight and well yourself, it should be fine !

Also this! ^
If you braid it neatly and tightly from the get-go, that really helps. It keeps things from tugging and sliding and whatnot.

LocustSpawning
March 8th, 2011, 02:55 PM
Woo, thankyou so much!!! :D :D :D

kwaniesiam
March 8th, 2011, 03:44 PM
Find someone who knows what they are doing to install them. It can be very tricky if you've never done it before, especially on yourself, to get the right sectioning and tension. That can be the biggest factor in damaging your real hair. If you can't find a place that specifically states that they work with synth dreads, ask around at ethic hair salons that specialize in braiding.

Are you planning to buy or make your synth dreads? They're very simple and cheap to make, you can get a pack of synthetic hair at Sally's for about $2, it took me 8 packs of hair to make enough for a full head for a friend. I've never worn synth dreads myself other than a fall I made but I have had real ones twice. I've installed the single loop and double ended dreads before, I prefer the double ended, but it's all personal preference. Overall they aren't any worse for your hair than a set of microbraids or cornrows would be if done right and taken care of properly.

LocustSpawning
March 12th, 2011, 11:23 AM
Find someone who knows what they are doing to install them. It can be very tricky if you've never done it before, especially on yourself, to get the right sectioning and tension. That can be the biggest factor in damaging your real hair. If you can't find a place that specifically states that they work with synth dreads, ask around at ethic hair salons that specialize in braiding.

Are you planning to buy or make your synth dreads? They're very simple and cheap to make, you can get a pack of synthetic hair at Sally's for about $2, it took me 8 packs of hair to make enough for a full head for a friend. I've never worn synth dreads myself other than a fall I made but I have had real ones twice. I've installed the single loop and double ended dreads before, I prefer the double ended, but it's all personal preference. Overall they aren't any worse for your hair than a set of microbraids or cornrows would be if done right and taken care of properly.

Yep! Thankyou for your advice :D I am buying handmade dreads from someone who makes them professionally for a lot of people, and she is installing them for me too. I have to travel to Birmingham for it, but it's worth it, since I know she knows exactly what she's doing. They are 22" long and plain black, I'll definitely post a picture when I have them! Getting it done on the 27th of this month.

gthlvrmx
March 12th, 2011, 11:34 AM
Honey, from my experience, i found out i had a really. Really. Tender scalp.
I had all braids, very neat and not tight at all! I didn't get a single hair pulled when i got them done, but honestly, you cannot wash your hair regularly or manage your hair when you have braids or dreads. It's completely different. Forget about oiling so much, you'll have to be getting your hair done constantly because the hair will slip out. Although i didn't wash my scalp as much(which i leaned is considered great), it was a shock to my scalp and my hair dried so badly. You're not supposed to get braids very wet, they get mildew easily if left wet especially at night. Dreads i think are even more likely to absorb the moisture and i think you're not supposed to get them so wet. So then, because braids take a long time for the moisture and oils to travel down, they stayed close to scalp, causing extreme itching, not even a good lather helped. So with that, my hair went dry. There are sprays you can use and apply to the length of the hair to keep the hair moisturized, though i don't know what they are. Boy, i LOVE dreads but i really think they are much more damaging than braids are, since it requires the hair to knot and mat together. Braids themselves over time will mat if that's what you're aiming for, but are not fun getting out when they are so dreaded, may require some scissor action. O.o I know detanglers are great though!! I've read about many women who used it on their dreads when they wanted their hair back but they had to do extensive hair repairment and care, but im sure it was fine for them. But anyways, hair grows :D Gotta keep that in mind :)
If you do get them i'd love to see photos! I LOVE dreads, they are so beautiful, and i especially love the blonde and light brown colors :)

gthlvrmx
March 12th, 2011, 11:36 AM
Oh and well if it's only temporary, i don't think you shoudl worry so much! Sorry if i made it sound like a death trap! Im only speaking if you are thinking of going for a long period of time and then want your hair back out to normal so many odd years later :P

artiste
March 14th, 2011, 02:35 PM
Hey there again, thought I would just drop in and see how things were going for you and your "dread-ful" journey (lol...)
I had thought of something that I thought might be useful to you on the topic of washing. I don't know your routine, but I figured I would let you know what I found to work best when I had my dreads in.
I found that washing the scalp only with very dilute shampoo worked best. I just diluted my regular shampoo in a bottle with a squeeze top. I then used this to shoot the mixture directly onto the scalp between the braids. (No lathering, as this will cause knots/fuzziness). Then let this sit for a minute or two, then thoroughly rinsed. I found this method to relieve aany greasy buildup and itchies. I only had to wash about once a week or so, making sure that everything fully air-dried aftewards
Hope this helps. :)
Oh yeah! I also found that making the dilute shampoo mixture with cold water made it feel extra soothing on the scalp.

abbatabba1137
March 14th, 2011, 03:00 PM
I think someone mentioned this already, but be aware that they do add weight to your scalp...

For me, synth dreads and braids always feel fine the first couple of days, then I really start to feel the weight pulling on my scalp.... they might give you a little headache, but most the time you can get used to it.

Also, just a tip for sleeping, pull them all above your head and over your pillow to sleep. This helps disperse the weight and keep them out of the way while you sleep.

Dont forget to share pics! :)

LocustSpawning
March 14th, 2011, 06:15 PM
Thanks for the replies! :D

Yep, I bought some shampoo for people with braids/dreadlocks so I can only wash the scalp, so that should be fine. I wish I knew you could just dilute regular shampoo before I bought it though, grrrr! I'm getting them done on the 27th, so excited! They will be 22"- 24" long! :D

& Abbatabba1137, thanks for the tip while sleeping.

:D

Earelia
March 14th, 2011, 08:34 PM
Sounds like it's less damaging than actually starting dreadlocks where you have to back comb the hell out of your hair. I wouldn't think it'd be any worse than just wearing braids. The only thing I could think of is if you braided it too tight or if the synth locks were too heavy and pulled at your scalp.

ladylovecraft
March 14th, 2011, 11:15 PM
Chiming in kind of late here, but I'd like to add my two cents. I had synthetic dreads installed for about 2-3ish months the year before last, they were AWESOME. From what I can tell they didn't damage my hair at all, in fact I feel like they sort of helped. I didn't wash my hair during this time, just rinsed the scalp, and obviously was not brushing it or anything of the sort.

I had my mother install them with a bit of my guidance... definitely not the easiest thing to do and it would probably be a lot simpler with someone who was experienced. But I would SO do it again if my nursing school allowed it, grr!

Good luck with your dreads!

kaned_ferret
March 15th, 2011, 06:54 AM
I'm a fan of synth dreads as well and can attest tot hem improving my air due to not having it brushed / washed / tampered with in the months that dreads are installed :)

I'm sure you're probably already over there and that the person installing your dreads is almost certainly one of the regulars, but on the slight offchance you aren't the hair extentions forum (hairextensionsforum.com) is great! Who is doing your dreads?

stinamoo
March 15th, 2011, 09:03 AM
Hi kaned_ferret :D I'm definitely over on HEF, nice to see a familiar face. I know there's a couple of other people who hang around both these hair forums as well.

LocustSpawning
April 4th, 2011, 08:04 AM
Aaaaah hello again!

Loads of things went wrong before I got the chance to get them done, the woman who made my dreads had a house fire and my dreads got burnt, so I found someone else to do it asap, and then my boyfriend got hit by a van and couldn't drive for a while! (He's okay, now.)

It's okay now though, and I'm actually (finally) getting them done tomorrow! :D I'll post a photo as soon as I get back, which will be 2-3 days after because we're staying overnight in a travelodge to go to a gig the next day.

Wooooooooooooo! So excited!

abbatabba1137
April 4th, 2011, 01:21 PM
Aaaaah hello again!

Loads of things went wrong before I got the chance to get them done, the woman who made my dreads had a house fire and my dreads got burnt, so I found someone else to do it asap, and then my boyfriend got hit by a van and couldn't drive for a while! (He's okay, now.)

It's okay now though, and I'm actually (finally) getting them done tomorrow! :D I'll post a photo as soon as I get back, which will be 2-3 days after because we're staying overnight in a travelodge to go to a gig the next day.

Wooooooooooooo! So excited!

WOW! Thats alot to happen in a short time!

I'm glad everyone is ok and hope you just love your dreadies! :)