My friend did a "test dread" as we called it last weekend and it took 6 hours to do one dread. I have really long hair, seeing as I can tuck it into my pants, but is it really going to take that long? We tried back combing and twisting and ripping and it just went on for hours. We didn't use any wax, but don't you apply the wax at the end anyway? I'm just not sure why it took so long.
Umm, no it should definitely not take that long. Maybe about 10 mins for each one? You must not be doing it hard enough. When you back comb, you’ve really got to PUSH and FORCE the hair all the way up to the scalp. It has to feel tight. Same with twist and rip; you’ve got to really pull it hard, otherwise nothing will happen. Backcombing is easiest I’d say, especially for long hair. And no you don’t need to use wax at all. When you backcomb as hard as you’re supposed to and then palm roll to smooth it out, the hair will hold itself and won’t fall out. You won’t need elastic bands or anything. It will take a long time to do your whole head, especially if your hair is that long, mine took about 6-8 hours and my hair was half way down my back, so it is going to take you a while. But no, you’re dong something wrong if it took 6 hours for one dread. Watch some youtube videos showing you how to do it. Just search for “how to backcomb dreadlocks” and there are loads, most around 5 minutes long, which shows you how long it really should take you. Good luck.
To the Anon. It really depends on a lot of factors, but it is possible for your dreads to 'fall out' or break off. If you do not keep your hair and scalp moist/oiled it may cause your dreadlocks to break off. Of course, this can depend on your hair texture and other factors, but not oiling your scalp or hair is one reason why your dreads can fall out.
It can often depend on how long you’ve had your dreads for before you need to start oiling/moisturising them, but yes, generally having overly dry hair won’t do your dreads any good. This will include if you regularly bleach your dreads, or if you bleached it a lot before.
Having weak spots in dreads made by beads or elastics being on for too long may also cause them to snap. Over tightening roots causing the hair to thin out too much will also cause problems, but depending on what your issues are, I’m sure the problems will be fixable before anything like this will happen.
