Just like any hair style, dreads come with perks and downsides. One of the shortcomings when learning to take care of my dreads is that there is so much info out there yet so few dreadhead people that I actually know who could give me first-hand advice, so I often get confused about what to do.
I thought that following the DreadHeadHQ recommendations to the dot would help. The website is great in many regards, but like every business that makes money, it will sometimes (literally) comb up the truth to make their advice a bit more attractive. I learned this about their dread wax.
When I first got my dreads, I glanced over the criticism of dread waxing because I thought it came from people who would never put anything other than water on their head. Well, surprise surprise- after two months, I decided to quit using dreadwax altogether. It leaves nasty, oily-soapy residue at my roots, turning white-ish after each washing, and I cannot get it out even when I leave the particular dread under hot water for a few minutes. Below is my graphic evidence:
The reason for the scummy roots is that wax is non-soluble and hydroponic, meaning that it won't wash out with water- contrary to the promise made by DreadHeadHQ that the wax is easily washable. Water will wash out a lot of the surface wax, but the core of the dread stays inaccessible and oily, trapping soap and other stuff that gets on my hair. DreadHeadHQ recommends a "hot rinse" at the end of the first month to get out all the remaining wax. The rinse is a combination of melting the wax with a hairdryer before performing several washings. This has worked so-so for the body of my dreads, but not for the roots. They stay cakey and turn scummy and gross after washing. Plus, some of the baby dreads unraveled after 2-3 consecutive washes, and I spent a long time fixing them. So I went for the "alternative" (which should really by called the original, nature-inspired solution) and made a DIY wash with apple-cider-vinegar, lemon, tea tree oil and a bit of baking soda.
On top of being nastily unwasheable, the wax doesn't help my hair lock up. It sort of just keeps it in place and makes the dreads look less fuzzy. In reality, it prevents the hair from sliding up and down past each other, which is actually necessary for the locking process. So the first lesson of my dread life- no dread wax. A bit of fuzziness is a small price to pay when my dreads are healthier and lock up faster.
I thought that following the DreadHeadHQ recommendations to the dot would help. The website is great in many regards, but like every business that makes money, it will sometimes (literally) comb up the truth to make their advice a bit more attractive. I learned this about their dread wax.
When I first got my dreads, I glanced over the criticism of dread waxing because I thought it came from people who would never put anything other than water on their head. Well, surprise surprise- after two months, I decided to quit using dreadwax altogether. It leaves nasty, oily-soapy residue at my roots, turning white-ish after each washing, and I cannot get it out even when I leave the particular dread under hot water for a few minutes. Below is my graphic evidence:
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| Yap, doesn't look lovely. |
On top of being nastily unwasheable, the wax doesn't help my hair lock up. It sort of just keeps it in place and makes the dreads look less fuzzy. In reality, it prevents the hair from sliding up and down past each other, which is actually necessary for the locking process. So the first lesson of my dread life- no dread wax. A bit of fuzziness is a small price to pay when my dreads are healthier and lock up faster.
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