Dreading--what causes it?

[princessdi]

I was up until 2:00 last night trying to detangle my hair and boy was it a task. I couldn't have gotten through this process without the help of EVOO. I just wanted to cry and today I'm so exhausted.

I am currently 21 weeks post relaxer and am probably official APL by now (haven't relaxed since my last update pic), but I have never had this happen before. What could be causing the dreading. I've been fingering combing, but lately that's just not working. I also have two different textures going on which, after so many weeks post relaxer, is not working with me.

I was trying to make it to 26 weeks (6 months), but if this keeps happening, I don't think it's going to work. If I can't find a solution to this problem, I'm probably going to go ahead and relax next weekend.

After detangling last night, I put my hair in several braids (can't corn roll) and plan to keep it that way until I figure this out. Could it be a porosity issue? I'm telling you, the dreaded area feels really dry and course, but I guess that's how dreads feel, it was completely locked in areas. I cringe to think about it again. I don't ever want to deal with that again. For all of you who love dreads and who have mastered detangling the dreads and still keep your hair -- I commend you!:notworthy I'm just not suited for this, I'm so weak!erplexed

Anyway, if you have any suggestions as to why this is happening and can offer any solutions, please let me know.

Also, as mentioned above, I have two different textures. I'm not sure what's caused this, but I have hair that appears relaxed at the top and ends, but some how in the middle, the area is more coarse. A stylist told a friend the only way to fix this problem is to cut off the hair to the point of different textures; however, I really don't want to do this because that means I will lose all my growth. I'd be back to NL. Although I know it's a no no, I'd rather take my chances with trying to relax that coarse area the last 5 minutes or so of my relaxer application process for a corrective fix. Has anyone done this before, and if so, did you have any negative effects from it or were you successful? I know I've read a post in the past of someone who did this successfully, but don't remember who it was or how they did it. If you are still on this forum, please let me know how you did this?

Does anyone else have any suggetions for doing this without causing a set back? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you, and sorry for the long post.

 

[tatiana]

bumping

dreading, at least your kind, can be cause by hair getting tangled and shed hairs is getting caught in the tangle. Does it occur after you wash your hair or are the dreads there before you wash it?

how are you styling your hair during the week? wet bunning? how do you sleep at night? how often are you washing and dc-ing?

not sure if it is a porosity issue but you can try it.. A conditioner with Silk Amino Acids can soften NG and help some with detangling.

Do you wash your hair in braids? if so start. May have to start using a wide tooth comb and/or Denman brush after your finger combing session.

 

[princessdi]

bumping

dreading, at least your kind, can be cause by hair getting tangled and shed hairs is getting caught in the tangle. Does it occur after you wash your hair or are the dreads there before you wash it? During the wash, and it only happens with the section of hair that is underprocessed or coarser than the rest. My new growth is okay and so are my ends.

how are you styling your hair during the week? wet bunning? how do you sleep at night? how often are you washing and dc-ing? I keep my hair pinned up under a wig and moisturize daily. I co-wash almost daily and every co-wash lately is a DC.

not sure if it is a porosity issue but you can try it.. A conditioner with Silk Amino Acids can soften NG and help some with detangling. I have tried using Porosity Control (blue bottle), but that hasn't helped at all.

Do you wash your hair in braids? if so start. May have to start using a wide tooth comb and/or Denman brush after your finger combing session. No, but after last night's detangling session with dreads, yes, and it's going to stay that way until I figure out a solution.

Thanks so much for your response.

 

[ryanshope]

Sorry to hear you are having such hair woes...when I was still relaxed I couldn't go more then 4 months with out relaxing..especially as my hair got longer. It would mat and tangle something awful. Also; try rollerset more often to help with the stretching--this kept my new growth smooth enough for me to deal with. If your hair is longer; when you go to bed at night try braiding it in 4 plaits before sleeping--I could NEVER do a wrap after about 2 months of new growth. Creamy leave ins were a blessing too. Try getting braids if you want to stretch past 4 months; that certainly will prevent your hair from matting/tangling.

 

[princessdi]

Sorry to hear you are having such hair woes...when I was still relaxed I couldn't go more then 4 months with out relaxing..especially as my hair got longer. It would mat and tangle something awful. Also; try rollerset more often to help with the stretching--this kept my new growth smooth enough for me to deal with. If your hair is longer; when you go to bed at night try braiding it in 4 plaits before sleeping--I could NEVER do a wrap after about 2 months of new growth. Creamy leave ins were a blessing too. Try getting braids if you want to stretch past 4 months; that certainly will prevent your hair from matting/tangling.

Thank you. I think I will try the braids and relax soon to prevent damage.

 

[ANUBIS]

I had this happen to me everytime i wet my hair in the shower and it lasted for almost a year!!!! I was so frustrated I almost gave up on growing out my hair. From my experience it was the shedded hairs that would tangle and lock up around my hair and moisturizers and oil just made it worse. I went for months in those same braids because it was the only thing I could do to kinda prevent the dreading. I finally sectioned off each braid and gently used my Denman brush to clean out all the shed hairs and then did an ACV rinse and my hair has been doing great ever since...no dreds thus far! HTH!

 

[Reinventing21]

I am getting ready to detangle and I am having this same issue. I dont' want to rip out my hair trying to get these mats out that are only on one side of my head. I had intense new growth and no for some, it's not good to wait too long to relax. In my case I don't like to comb much when there is a lot of growth so I really need to make sure to relax sooner to avoid the mats that come with shedding hair getting tangled in the hair as someone already mentioned.