Dreadlocks

[viri]

wow thx, really damn cool 

[Souldier]

That's kind of a different circumstance though.
I was thinking more totally synthetic dreads... fake hair... removable...

If you started your locks with real hair... well... they are real! You just got to skip the waiting for god damn ever only to watch them grow less than 1 inch in a year. But then again... anyone who starts their locks in reasonably long hair gets to skip this.

Lots of folks get real hair incorporated into their already existing locks. Either to make them longer, to give them thickness, or to save a dread that is suffering from mad breakage.
I don't know much about it though... seeing as I live in a town where we don't really have any decent hair stylists... well except Frank Marasco... and he doesn't deal with dreads. 

i braided my hair added colored mohair to the ends and strips of carded wool its real hair just not human

Of course by this I meant that if you started locks with "your own hair" they are considered real locks.
If you have clip ons... or something in that nature... well it just doesn't compare. Of course you get the "style" but you don't get the experience of having locks. 

I'm not one of those people who is against synthetic dreads or extensions or anyting of that genre. On the contrary I am fascinated. I love how unique some of those styles can get.
I also happen to think your hair is awesome!

wow 101 pages about dreadies!

I've been feeling its time to redo mine, I chopped them when 2 years ago and it just isn't the same having boring hair LOL

These are from the night they got chopped when I was 8 months pregnant
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/ellami/dreads/5797ff67.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/ellami/dreads/19f62cea.jpg

Now I'm thinking of getting some more wax and going again soon. Last time I used the knotty boy stuff and it worked well. Has anyone used dread HQ wax? (i need wax with my hair, won't lock up properly otherwise)

You had beautiful dreads!
Anyway I wouldn't recommend DHHQ wax... It contains microcrystaline wax and white oil... ew. Microcrystaline wax isn't good for dreadies.
If you have your heart set on using wax I'd go with Knotty Boy (www.knottyboy.com) or some of the others I've mentioned in earlier posts.

Also you do not "need wax with your hair" and it will "lock up properly" without it.
Too much wax, on the contrary, will prevent your hair from locking up properly.
Before I knew any better... I too believed that I needed wax. Trust me, you soo don't.
It can be a useful tool though. It will keep your knots together in the first washes and it can tidy things up if you need your dreads to look a little neater. Just use it properly and don't glob it on.

Viri:
Your dreads look soo great!!! Can't wait to see what they'll look like in a few months.

[milkweed*]

"(i need wax with my hair, won't lock up properly otherwise)"

that makes no sense....you really don't need wax for your hair to lock up, wax keeps your hair from moving and to make knots your hair really has to move...
and when i first got my dreads i used dreadhead hq wax and it took forever to get out of my hair, and off of my hands (not to mention it smelled like shat). and i've heard that dreadhead has some crap in the wax thats bad for your hair but i don't really know...

[irish_chicky]

Aloe is a moisturizer... It will calm down the frizzies but it won't get rid of them. Neither will wax. The only way to get rid of frizzies is by either tying your roots, physically pulling them in with a crochet hook, or letting time to it's job.
Also because of it's moisturizing effect, pure aloe shouldn't be used on new locks.
If your using aloe on fresh locks, the best thing would be to add a little sea salt to it.
Also aloe will not "hold things together". This is the only advantage to dreadwax, but it could also potentially be it's pitfall if used improperly. If you use it properly, it will hold the hairs together during the first washes and prevent new dreads from unravelling which not only saves time, it also keeps things looking a little more proper for those of us who have jobs that demand us to look tidy. Now if used improperly, this continuous hold on your hair will prevent it from forming new knots which will keep your dreads from maturing properly.
What I've come to notice is that most people think they use wax properly, when they infact don't. All of the people I've talked to who have had problems with wax think they have been using it properly till I lay out the differences between what "properly" according to the jar is, and what "properly" according to common sense is.
Also most people refuse to admitt that their problems are caused by "their" mistake. Wax is a nice scape-goat. They often neglect to mention things like how they waxed daily, or decided to wax right out of the shower because they were in a hurry.

Also, I'm not trying to say that everyone should use wax. On the contrary, I'm just trying to let people know that there is a good and a bad side to wax and that their decisions will affect the outcome.
But if you choose the option to boycott wax, that's all good too.
Choose your own path, just be certain you know where each road can take you.  

sorry ninja but I do not agree with what you are saying. So what if your hair is going to be frizzy, which it will be. So what if some of it falls out, which it will. Its all in the process, it's ment to happen. aloe is not bad for new lock, it's not going to make them fall out unless u go overboeard with it, just a little will be ok. in my opinion anything is better then using wax.

If you add sea salt to your aloe you have the added potential to dry out your new dreadies. They have already gone through enough dont you think? but if you found this worked for you naked_ninja thats kool.. in my opinion pure aloe would be much better. it has a sticky texture that will keep the frizzies down enough for them to look presentable, and plus they will smell good, other then, from what i have heard, the dreadwax smell.
Things should not be "held together", maybe i should have worded hat better, they are ment to move free, knot up like they normally would. if hair is stiff or waxed into place how are those frizzies going to move about, catch onto the dread and knot itself in?
Also how will tying your roots get rid of frizzies that are on your entier dread??? all that does is keep things tight up to your scalp, which in turn can creat more oil in your hair, or even weaken the roots, some elastics even will rot and can be bad for your dreads. if you just leave your roots they will knot up and do fine on their own. If you want to crochet, all the power to ya, i have no problem with that, i do that myself to keep the halo around my head in my dreads.
" for those of us who have jobs that demand us to look tidy"
I will soon be a RMT and know others that have dreads that are RMTs that went natural, or backcombed and didnt use wax on their dreads, and seem to be doing fine if not look better then those who used wax, for example myself. My soon to be profession is like being a doctor, clean, sterile, well groomed, but as long as you keep them tied back, and put on a head band or wear a tam or hat, nothing is different from the next person over with long sleak hair.
The ppl that have told me they waxed the right way and still have it in their dreads told me exactly how they waxed, which is exactly what you said to do. so I dont see your argument as justified here.

[Miss Mermaid Strikes Back]

COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC!

i finally completely made dread wax, two 8 ounce jars of it!  and i used it, and it works well.  one is being sent of to viri today. and the other im keeping for myself, but i have enough supplies to make more if anyone wants to do a trade.  it is made from 100% bees wax and either pure oils of --walnut, grapeseed, or almond. it is a fifty fifty blend. 

Ariel

[rachelyra]

Also you do not "need wax with your hair" and it will "lock up properly" without it.
Too much wax, on the contrary, will prevent your hair from locking up properly.
Before I knew any better... I too believed that I needed wax. Trust me, you soo don't.
It can be a useful tool though. It will keep your knots together in the first washes and it can tidy things up if you need your dreads to look a little neater.

Dude, Naked Ninja, you know a lot of stuff and are really helpful but sometimes other people have different circumstances and it's a little counterintuitive for you to act like you know how their hair acts.  Keep the good flow of information coming but try to respect when other people say they know their hair.  Sure, sometimes they'll be wrong - but sometimes they're not and i think it's a little disrespectful to always act as though they are.

[viri]

It's really nice to hear that most (like 99%) people have positive feedback on my hair.It's really annoying parents are keep saying how bad they are. Like several times a day.
What is RMT? Anyway It's cool to hear someone in the health industry can have dreads. I'm in my 4ht year of psychology. My plan was to get rid of my dreads after graduation in 2008, but since I have them I can't even think of it. I plan long years with them.
I think proper dreads are only exist in sy's head. Altough I have a lot of frizzy hair and I
do a lot of maintenance in order to have less frizzy hair (my muscles are aching from the palmrolling) but I love my hair as it is. 
I want to give a try to the wax as I have thick straight stubborn hair, I know it won't lock up too fast, so if i want to wash it i think i need sg to hold it together a bit.

[rachelyra]

When i first started washing mine again i was sorry i had waited so long - they really locked up a lot after it because they were free of a ton of oil etc.

[irish_chicky]

It's really nice to hear that most (like 99%) people have positive feedback on my hair.It's really annoying parents are keep saying how bad they are. Like several times a day.
What is RMT? Anyway It's cool to hear someone in the health industry can have dreads. I'm in my 4ht year of psychology. My plan was to get rid of my dreads after graduation in 2008, but since I have them I can't even think of it. I plan long years with them.
I think proper dreads are only exist in sy's head. Altough I have a lot of frizzy hair and I
do a lot of maintenance in order to have less frizzy hair (my muscles are aching from the palmrolling) but I love my hair as it is. 
I want to give a try to the wax as I have thick straight stubborn hair, I know it won't lock up too fast, so if i want to wash it i think i need sg to hold it together a bit.

an RMT is a regestered massage therapist. I love my course, at the moment I'm in my last year. We have a student clinic were ppl come in and get massages from us, and so far I havn't gotten any comments except for "how long have u had them?"
The thing you have to remember is that if you are professional, know your stuff, and project a motivated, understanding and knowledgable self, your hair really doesnt matter.
I think phychology is very interesting, i was thinking of taking that after my massage course, i love to learn. Plus think about this you'll have a little over a year for your dreads to form before you graduate, and after a year dreads are tight and awesome looking. Looping is inevidable, though some ppl are lucky not to get many, but if you just put a bead oy a sleeve over it for a bit, or just leave it on there, it may go away, or it may just hide it, either way its not a bad thing to have them. It just means that your dreads are tightening up and forming well, one side tightens faster then the other and you get a loop, I have tones but love them cause they make each one uneak, and have personality.
For showering, what i would do would be maybe just put some wax on the ends of your dreads to keep them from unraveling, but I wouldnt put it on my whole dread. if you just put some on the end it should keep most of the hair together. then if anything comes out you can crochet it back in, or you can leave it to catch in your dread again.
frizzies are your friend, they can show you progress, as your dreads get older, and pending there is no wax or other stuff on your dreads, they will catch in your knots that are forming and you will notice less and less of them. Within a year I couldnt seeing you having a lot of frizzies left, though if you did you could always put some aloe gel on them before clients or something if you were that concerned about them. 
"I think proper dreads are only exist in sy's head" who's sy? lol and what are "prper dreads" there are no proper dreads everyones look different, everyone has different stories on how they came to exist. Dont worry about what other ppls dreads look like, if you are happy with your frizz, and with the way they look right now, whats the problem? I think they are beautiful as they are, of coarse they are going to look like this now but they are going to look completely different in a year. Plus from what you say they look like they are forming awesome on their own, and you havnt used wax yet!
Also no hair type locks up very fast, no matter what they use. I had medium thickness hair and it was pin straight when i did mine, and true i used wax (biggest mistake i made personally) it still took forever to lock up. When I mostly noticed it locking up was after I would rince my hair I would let it towel dry for about 10-20 mins then I would palm roll them one at a time maybe 3 or four times each and they would tighten up so much.
If you are not comfortable with actually shampooing your hair right away I would just start out rincing them maybe every second day just to get oils out of your hair, towel dry for a bit, then palm roll them. 
I'm telling you, it will work better then any wax or gels you put on there.
I hope this isnt sounding like i'm telling you what to do or anything, just want to give you my 2 cents lol hopefully it will help out. If you ever want to pm me about details or to get my msn or whatever that would be cool, I love to help out. I made mistakes with my dreads but i have learned so much. Plus if i take a phycology course You could help lol, we'll trade heh. Anyways good luck with your dreads, they look awesome so far, keep up the good work, and give your arms a rest lol.

[phreeduh]

what would be the smallest "size" dreads possible? I've been fascinated by them for ages now, but I have very thin hair and would want thinner dreads so that I could have more of them... and I also have bangs that are only a few inches long, could they be dreaded too?