T&R Timeline (1 year 6 months)
Mar 3, 2016 0:10:21 GMT
alethionaut, olivebreath, and 2 more like this
Post by BrokenJetSki on Mar 3, 2016 0:10:21 GMT
Hello! My name is Delaney and after years of wanting to dread my hair I have finally decided to do it. I originally backcombed but it all fell out since I had to dread my entire hair by myself. Welcome to my journey!
Before:
Day 1:
Week 1 (After first wash):
Month 1 (My top layers came completely undone so I redid them):
Month 2:
Note: My loops are crazy, but I love them and I can definitely see them shrinking. The huge mass that has gathered at my roots from them trying to congo isn't congo-ing quite as much and I don't have to separate them every day. I do not palm roll and I do not use wax. My only maintenance is separating and retwisting when one falls out completely.
Month 3:
Note: The mass of loose hair on my upper layers joined into other dreads in a very uncomfortable way so I spent 3 hours separating them where I wanted them and then backcombing them. I showered and they all held up so they might finally start cooperating!
Month 4:
Sorry for updating so late, they turned 4 months on September 26th.
Note: After this picture I noticed that my hair was getting a bit sticky, even after a wash (this was freshly washed) so a week later I did my first deep clean.
Month 4 Deep Clean:
Note: After my deep clean I noticed how much tighter and nicer my hair felt. I've lost a considerable amount of length. Hair that once touched my lower back barely spans over my shoulders now. Near the base of my hair the hair is actually starting to really look and feel like dreads, while towards the ends is just a mess of loops and folds. I can no longer get my hand around all of my hair when I go to put it in a ponytail.
Day 1 and Month 4 comparison:
Month 5:
Note: I've been struggling to find something that works for my hard water. I tried the dreadhead HQ and switched to Dollylocks but neither did what I needed them to do. Just to get everything out of my hair, I showered and used some Dawn Dish soap because I knew it would work, at least better than my other options. After I got out of my shower ALL of my dreads were stuck together. I ripped them apart but the soap did WONDERS for my knotting process!
You can see I've lost a lot of length, and a lot of my ends have flipped up. Much harder to see through them now.
Month 6:
Note: WOW! 6 months already! I think they have shrunk all they really can and I will start gaining length again soon. I ordered yet another dread shampoo but with no luck. I think I will save them all for when my dreads reach maturity and use either dish soap or baking soda from here on out. I actually had to cut (ahhh I know but it was me or the dread) a dread down the middle. It had combined in a long rectangle and the corners were killing my scalp. I split it right down the middle and they feel so much better already. I'll keep an eye on them since I know they are structurally compromised. I love them more and more every day. Over Thanksgiving with the family my cousins asked about them and they really really liked them so I'm glad they are being more supportive than I had originally anticipated.
When I need to look nice at an event or to meet new clients this is the most common way I wear my hair. Basic messy bun (but extra messy because hey, they are dreads after all).
Month 6 Week 2:
I decided to post here since I feel like a lot has happened for my dreads in the past two weeks. Earlier today I chopped off the wispy ends on the clubs. I'm not a fan of clubs for me and they looked like the rear-end of a vinegaroon with the little wisps that were never going to get absorbed. I feel like a lot of my dreads are having way more definition in the back of my head (thank goodness) and using diluted dish soap has made my hair feel the best it's ever felt during this entire dreading process!
Month 7:
Dec 20 I had a family photo shoot with my cousins to give as a surprise gift to my grandparents for the holidays. Luckily my hair wasn't very messy for the shoot but the tiny frizzies I had anyways I smoothed with a small amount of Aloe Vera. I also bought my first tam and I'm loving it so far! It does wonders for keeping hair out of my face but not giving me a headache like a ponytail would.
Oh here's one of the photos we took. I'm second from the left, in case you were wondering how they turned out.
Month 10:
Okay so I completely forgot to update the past few months... Oops!
My hair is too short for a bun so spikey ponytail it is!
Right after these pictures I did a deep clean and it worked wonders on my frizz.
Month 11:
I've been so lazy about my updating! I am still finding that dish soap works best for my hard water. My deep clean helped tighten my hair and suck up some frizz. I can't believe it's already been almost a year! Around month 9 I lobbed off a few of my clubs because they were too heavy on my scalp but now everything is running pretty smoothly!
Update: Around 11 1/2 months I dyed some of my dreads. I have roughly 80+ dreads so I dyed 20 dark brown, and bleached 20 up blonde. It gives them some dimension and I get a lot of compliments. It has also made them feel sooooo mature!
1 year:
I'm posting these late cause I've been so bad at keeping this thread updated. One year! What a crazy year it's been, and I had the perfect crazy hair to show for it!
1 year 2 months:
Doesn't seem like anything new is happening, although I'm FINALLY gaining some of my length back. I miss my long hair daily but I knew what I signed up for when I started this whole journey. My hair has definitely locked and I am so excited for all my new dread growth. I still use dishsoap as my shampoo and haven't had any issues or residue build up! I'll try to update more often.
1 year 3 months :
Started using Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle shampoo diluted and have been very happy with the results. My hair doesn't feel nearly as dry as with the dish soap.
1 year ~6 months:
I am at the point with my hair that I find more and more excitement every day as i see it gain length. My bottom dreads have smoothed themselves out and they look more and more like real mature dreads daily!
Month 1 vs. 1 year 6 months
Before:
Day 1:
Week 1 (After first wash):
Month 1 (My top layers came completely undone so I redid them):
Month 2:
Note: My loops are crazy, but I love them and I can definitely see them shrinking. The huge mass that has gathered at my roots from them trying to congo isn't congo-ing quite as much and I don't have to separate them every day. I do not palm roll and I do not use wax. My only maintenance is separating and retwisting when one falls out completely.
Month 3:
Note: The mass of loose hair on my upper layers joined into other dreads in a very uncomfortable way so I spent 3 hours separating them where I wanted them and then backcombing them. I showered and they all held up so they might finally start cooperating!
Month 4:
Sorry for updating so late, they turned 4 months on September 26th.
Note: After this picture I noticed that my hair was getting a bit sticky, even after a wash (this was freshly washed) so a week later I did my first deep clean.
Month 4 Deep Clean:
Note: After my deep clean I noticed how much tighter and nicer my hair felt. I've lost a considerable amount of length. Hair that once touched my lower back barely spans over my shoulders now. Near the base of my hair the hair is actually starting to really look and feel like dreads, while towards the ends is just a mess of loops and folds. I can no longer get my hand around all of my hair when I go to put it in a ponytail.
Day 1 and Month 4 comparison:
Month 5:
Note: I've been struggling to find something that works for my hard water. I tried the dreadhead HQ and switched to Dollylocks but neither did what I needed them to do. Just to get everything out of my hair, I showered and used some Dawn Dish soap because I knew it would work, at least better than my other options. After I got out of my shower ALL of my dreads were stuck together. I ripped them apart but the soap did WONDERS for my knotting process!
You can see I've lost a lot of length, and a lot of my ends have flipped up. Much harder to see through them now.
Month 6:
Note: WOW! 6 months already! I think they have shrunk all they really can and I will start gaining length again soon. I ordered yet another dread shampoo but with no luck. I think I will save them all for when my dreads reach maturity and use either dish soap or baking soda from here on out. I actually had to cut (ahhh I know but it was me or the dread) a dread down the middle. It had combined in a long rectangle and the corners were killing my scalp. I split it right down the middle and they feel so much better already. I'll keep an eye on them since I know they are structurally compromised. I love them more and more every day. Over Thanksgiving with the family my cousins asked about them and they really really liked them so I'm glad they are being more supportive than I had originally anticipated.
When I need to look nice at an event or to meet new clients this is the most common way I wear my hair. Basic messy bun (but extra messy because hey, they are dreads after all).
Month 6 Week 2:
I decided to post here since I feel like a lot has happened for my dreads in the past two weeks. Earlier today I chopped off the wispy ends on the clubs. I'm not a fan of clubs for me and they looked like the rear-end of a vinegaroon with the little wisps that were never going to get absorbed. I feel like a lot of my dreads are having way more definition in the back of my head (thank goodness) and using diluted dish soap has made my hair feel the best it's ever felt during this entire dreading process!
Month 7:
Dec 20 I had a family photo shoot with my cousins to give as a surprise gift to my grandparents for the holidays. Luckily my hair wasn't very messy for the shoot but the tiny frizzies I had anyways I smoothed with a small amount of Aloe Vera. I also bought my first tam and I'm loving it so far! It does wonders for keeping hair out of my face but not giving me a headache like a ponytail would.
Oh here's one of the photos we took. I'm second from the left, in case you were wondering how they turned out.
Month 10:
Okay so I completely forgot to update the past few months... Oops!
My hair is too short for a bun so spikey ponytail it is!
Right after these pictures I did a deep clean and it worked wonders on my frizz.
Month 11:
I've been so lazy about my updating! I am still finding that dish soap works best for my hard water. My deep clean helped tighten my hair and suck up some frizz. I can't believe it's already been almost a year! Around month 9 I lobbed off a few of my clubs because they were too heavy on my scalp but now everything is running pretty smoothly!
Update: Around 11 1/2 months I dyed some of my dreads. I have roughly 80+ dreads so I dyed 20 dark brown, and bleached 20 up blonde. It gives them some dimension and I get a lot of compliments. It has also made them feel sooooo mature!
1 year:
I'm posting these late cause I've been so bad at keeping this thread updated. One year! What a crazy year it's been, and I had the perfect crazy hair to show for it!
1 year 2 months:
Doesn't seem like anything new is happening, although I'm FINALLY gaining some of my length back. I miss my long hair daily but I knew what I signed up for when I started this whole journey. My hair has definitely locked and I am so excited for all my new dread growth. I still use dishsoap as my shampoo and haven't had any issues or residue build up! I'll try to update more often.
1 year 3 months :
Started using Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle shampoo diluted and have been very happy with the results. My hair doesn't feel nearly as dry as with the dish soap.
1 year ~6 months:
I am at the point with my hair that I find more and more excitement every day as i see it gain length. My bottom dreads have smoothed themselves out and they look more and more like real mature dreads daily!
Month 1 vs. 1 year 6 months
