I hope this is the right place - Dreads???

[ali_celt]

I KNOW there was a thread on the old IP about dreadlocks, and Spiral's intro just reminded me about it.

I have decided that I am going to go for it - my hair is waist-length and I haven't had it cut in about 6 years and I really want to do SOMETHING other than stick it in a ponytail every day. And I've always wanted dreads.

I have a friend who has never done them before but says she'd like to help me. I was hoping it could be done in stages, working from the back/bottom up?? As in, sectioning off the underneath and rolling a row of dreads, sticking them in a hair tie or something, and then doing another row in a few days etc etc so that it doesn't have to be all done in one sitting.

My main question at the moment, is what about head lice? How do you get rid of head lice if you get them and you've got dreads? Declan brings them home from school at least once or twice a year, and although I've never had evidence of them on my hair I still treat everyone. Can you treat for headlice on dreads? Obviously you can't comb out any nits tho...

Hrm.

So, people with dreads, tell me more...

[mumofmany]

My DP ended up getting headlice from our girls mid last year. We couldn't actually see any though, but he kept complaining of his head being really itchy.
We ended up cutting off a dread in a place you couldn't really see (his were quite thin) and it was full of them.
We didn't try anything to get rid of them, we just cut them all off and then shaved his head without a gauge. His scalp was in a really bad way and was very inflamed and sore looking.
He was a little upset (they were nearly to the top of his butt crack), but said that it was instant relief to wash his head, and that he had had the best night's sleep in a long time.
I'm guessing he had them for quite a while but didn't want to believe it (if you know what I mean).
I think his case was pretty extreme though. He is now growing his hair to dread again, it is now down to his shoulders and I will be starting to dread it in the next couple of weeks.
Funny thing was, I think the lice must've been way too comfy living with him, they never jumped ship and inhabited me!
When I did his first lot of dreads, I did them the exact way you described, from the bottom.
Good luck, and would be interested to hear from others how they dealt with dreads and lice.
Maybe preventative spray? Like tea tree oil and lavender blends?

[´*~·Meje·~*`]

ive just moved this over to 'Nurturing the Spirit' :D

[spiralgirl]

im just hoping to never get nits.....i know the dread salon i got mine done at sells nit treatment

[mummabare]

when I had dreads I used to go on a dread forum to get advice on maintenance etc, a few people had talked about nits there, you might wanna check some of the forums out for types of treatments. The thing with nits is that they love clean scalps, and dreads require keeping your head very clean (the cleaner you hair the better it dreads).
From memory those who had nits had used some hardcore nit treatments, and used them a few times as you cant comb the eggs out, so you need to do a few treatments). I do remember a couple had just found it easier to shave them off tho.

Also I remember someone talked about a nit repellent spray (essential oils of some kind sprayed onto the scalp when they knew the kids had nits). Im sorry I don't know the ingredients but if you google around you might find it :)

I loved my dreads and I think they are an experience in themselves :)

[jodiemiller]

I loved my dreads too, but can relate to the relief of finally being rid of them. Had them four years. Developed psoriasis on my scalp, despite lots of rosemary oil and massage. They're not as low maintenance and easy as they appear. And if you have a baby, be prepared to have to start over or have them re-woven, as your hair will fall out, as usual, but just stick in the dreads and make them heavier, and the regrowth makes you look like a fluff ball. You have been warned! :rofl

I still get dread envy though.

[spiralgirl]

im totally crazy about dreads ( i cant elieve i waited so long to get them) but yeah i have a very itchy scalp alot ( im hoping its just itchy skin, not nits! eeps!)

im also worried about the loss of hair post partum, but i have an AWESOME dread goddess that comes to my house to do my maintenance etc and im sure she can help me deal with that stage ( shes awesome and seems to know how to solve all dread issues )

[Moneypenny]

Yep, have had nits with dreads and gotten rid of the nits, not the dreads :D

I had to resort to chemical treatments weekly for 4 weeks to be sure and one night of serious teatree oil overload but they went pretty easily. I check my kidletts at least once a week and every couple of days after comming back from school holidays. Prevention is better than cure so I give mine a lavender/teatree/rosemary oil spray after each wash (twice a week usualy)

[Phoenix]

I don't have dreads but I sure do have an itchy head after reading all the nit stories.:laugh

[JAHJ]

:2lol Phoenix, so do I

[Snoozie]

Me three!!! Hehe

[ali_celt]

Argh I think my dreading is going to have to go on hold - this is the fourth week in a row that I've had to treat DS2 for nits. He's the only one who seems to keep on getting them - either that or we're just not thoroughly killing them when we do the deed. He has waist-length, THICK THICK THICK hair - more hairs per square centimetre than I've EVER seen on a head before - and it seems the nits love him right now.

So until I can thoroughly sort them out, the dreading will have to wait!

[michelle_j_r]

and.... ? any plans?

[ali_celt]

All plans on indeterminate hold right now. Nits, then $$$ then more $$$ and OMG it's like the WORST year of my life this year. No dreads. Might even shave my head and start wearing orange and chanting Hari hari hari krishna to appease whatever it is that has been haunting us these last 6 months *sigh*

[Ayla]

im also worried about the loss of hair post partum, but i have an AWESOME dread goddess that comes to my house to do my maintenance etc and im sure she can help me deal with that stage ( shes awesome and seems to know how to solve all dread issues )

Who is it T? I want to get dreads next year but I have no experience with dreads and I'm a bit nervous about the maintenance n stuff.