# How to PREVENT dreadlocks?



## Gudj

Yeah I know, "cut your hair". 

My deal is that I have long hair that locks itself tight and fast. I need to know if anyone else has a similar problem / hair type (Really thick and pretty curly) and has any solutions for not letting it lock up. 

It was suggested to bring a brush and brush it daily. However, within 12 hours of showering, a brush won't get through my hair without ripping half of it out, it happens that fast. 

Maybe y'all know of some super effective oil or something easy to carry with me that I can put on my hair. 

Thanks for any advice.


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## Mouse

curly hair is a bitch. 

you'll probably just have to wash it out a lot more than most people would. A lot of times you can skip shapoo and just use conditioners. 

and comb it, NO BRUSHES, brushes and curles don't go together. wide toothed combs will break up the knots without ripping your hair out. 

use a detangleing conditioner when you can. or you can get spray bottles of detangler that you can use between washes. 

always comb your hair when it's wet.

if you can't wash it, pull it back to keep it from tangling up until you can wash it. pull it back when you sleep to keep from mashing it into knots in the night.

I use a beeswax sutff on my hair (it's curly but short right now so I don't have knot issues but I think this still applies) it's supposed to be for dreads/weaves/braids to keep them from getting dried out BUT it also works great on keeping non-dreaded/braided corse curly hair from being corse and curly. (curly hair is naturally dryer and rougher than straight hair so you need to keep it soft to keep it from getting messy) the stuff I have is called Proclaim beeswax, get it a Sallys for like 3$. Rub it through wet hair and when it dries it will be super soft and shinny.

if you ever get it cut, get it done in long layers if you wear curly hair long. it will take a lot of the bulk outta your hair and make it easier to handle. 

that's pretty much the best I can do from my experience. I personly, will never have long hair again because long curly hair is such a pain in the ass. so my best suggestion is SHAVE YOUR HEAD


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## Mouse

oh, and as strange as it sounds, I've found that dyeing/bleaching curly hair will take some of the kink out of it and make it lay easier. BUT you'll HAVE to use beeswax to get it soft again after use chemicals on it. 

I've bleached my hair 3 times in the past 2 months to keep it super blonde and even though it should be breaking off and dry as straw, this beeswax stuff I use makes it insanely soft to the point you can't tell by touching it that i've ever done anythign to it.


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## drun_ken

they have detangling spray out there...i use it on my daughter cuz her bed head gets WAY out of control....its in the shampoo isle...


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## Gudj

Thanks for the advice so far. 
I am not going to voluntarily shave my head.

I do ponytail it while I sleep, that does help a bit. I will look into the detangling spray, however it would be nice if I could make something similar myself.


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## drun_ken

i don't know whats in it...hold on ill go look....yup its a bunch o' shit i can't pronounce...so i have no clue as ta how you could diy some up....oh yeah i hear that shit arrow...i refuse ta cut off my last 2 dreads from when i dreaded ny mohawk...it takes me like a month ta get one dread ta form....


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## Mouse

Gudj said:


> Thanks for the advice so far.
> I am not going to voluntarily shave my head.
> 
> I do ponytail it while I sleep, that does help a bit. I will look into the detangling spray, however it would be nice if I could make something similar myself.



beeswax dude. I'm telling ya. it's a great tool. you can probably get raw beeswax at a natural foods store and soften it somehow.


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## dirtyfacedan

Damn hippies!!!!! Get a job!


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## finn

Or short hair with a wig!


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## wartomods

i have a pretty thick curl air, but it doesnt lock up , but if i wash it with certain products that take off its natural oiliness it becomes very dry and locks in a blink.


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## shabti

apple cider vinegar is a natural detangler. It's also great for your skin/scalp, and you could very feasibly make it yourself, depending on surrounding natural resources. I know that it untangles locks because I stopped using it on mine, since it was making them unknot. 


http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/08/homemade-detangler-recipes-for-natural.html

that link also has info on detanglers made from marshmallow root, and one from flax seed, but the only one I know for sure works out of experience is apple cider vinegar.

Personally, I love the fact that my hair knots and curls and tangles so readily. Then again, I've wanted dreads since I was 7, so I'm kind of biased. Mouse hit the nail on the head when she recommended bees-wax. If you have some sort of oily based stuff coating the follicles of hair, then they won't be able to get all knotty.


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## RovingGale

I avoid commercial shampoos and conditioners, 'cause they make my hair frizz and tangle like no tomorrow! A lot of curly people have a problem with commercial stuff because the sodium laurel sulfate makes your hair dryer and harder to manage. Personally, I use lemon juice maybe once a week (more often if I've been doing shit that gets excessive amounts of dirt in my hair), with olive oil afterwords as needed if it's starting to get dry (maybe every two weeks?). Brushes are of the devil for curly hair, no matter what kind - I've got hair to my mid back, but I use a regular cheap plastic comb and it keeps things so much nicer, without ripping things to shreds, especially if I start from the bottom and slowly comb out the knots from the bottom up instead of starting from my scalp.

I know that apple cider vinegar is also awesome for keeping hair nice instead of lemon juice, but I can't use it 'cause of stupid allergies. I will warn you that if you're switching from any kind of commercial hair stuff to natural stuff, you're gonna have around a month or so of absolutely hating everything to do with your hair while your body resets itself and your natural oils start doing their jobs. Just use extra olive oil and let it sit and soak into your hair after hitting it with hot water, if you can possibly manage that - it'll help, a lot. Raw avocado or jojoba oil also works super awesomely, but the first is super tasty and I feel bad putting it on my hair when it should go into my mouth and the second is expensive, so I'd say stick with cheap olive oil and just be careful to wash it all out so you don't let your scalp get gross.


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