DreadLocks smell! HELP!!!

[malachi74]

My brother has had dreadlocks for the past year. Within the past 2 months I have been noticing that his hair has a very strong odor. It's not the smell of dirty/oily scalp, but a more pungent, sharp, odor. Almost similar to that of old cat urine, spoiled food caught in a dirty discloth, or something along those lines. I am not playing,I am serious. It is so strong that I cannot take a shower after he has showered in the same bathroom b/c the smell is all over the shower. When I pass him in the kitchen I have to hold my breath b/c the stench stings my nostrils. The stench lingers after he is long gone too.

At first I thought that the smell could have been coming from his clothes, like he hadn't dried them properly. But after holding my tongue about it for a month, I confronted him. I smelled the clothes and they were fresh. I smelled his skin to see if maybe he was bathing with an old/dirty wascloth, but his skin was fine. When he bent down for me to smell his hair.....

I don't know what to do to help him. Could it just be that he is not washing or drying his hair properly? Is it a fungus? HOW DO I GET HIM TO GET RID OF THE STENCH?

I'm his sister and I didn't want to mention the odor to him, so I can just imagine what other people are saying behind his back.

Have any of you ever had this experience with your hair or someone you know? How did you get the smell to go away? Please help!

 

[glamazon386]

Tell him to wash his hair

 

[malachi74]

lol, I confronted him about it a couple weeks ago. I just assumed he would have washed his hair for real by now, but the smell is still there. I will talk to him about it again today. I just hate telling someone they really stink. I don't understand though, before he never used to smell like that. He's had his hair locked for a while now and nothing was wrong. This "stank hair" issue has only been going on the past couple months!

 

[Tamrin]

You may have to hold him down inspect it and see whats up. Sometimes you gotta be forcefull maybe it moldy due to wetness. Does he cover the locks. If its a fungi infection her may have to cut.

 

[MizAvalon]

You may have to hold him down inspect it and see whats up. Sometimes you gotta be forcefull maybe it moldy due to wetness. Does he cover the locks. If its a fungi infection her may have to cut.

That's the first thing that came to my mind, some kind of mold.

 

[malachi74]

You may have to hold him down inspect it and see whats up. Sometimes you gotta be forcefull maybe it moldy due to wetness. Does he cover the locks. If its a fungi infection her may have to cut.

I'm thinking it's due to wetness too. i notice he has his hair in a ponytail all the time. Maybe it's moisture trapped.

 

[Xavier]

I know a couple of people with locs and this is not normal. I would talk to him...you may have to resort to nagging him about taking care of the problem.

 

[NewYorkgyrl]

Locks do not smell. If they do then that is do to the hygine of the person. Using herbal shampoos and oils makes the hair of EVERY single person I know with locks smell soooo good.

Is your brother taking care of his locks. Lack of proper care to any type of hair relaxed, natural, locks can result in smelly hair (as well as dry and dull).

Like others may have stated maybe it is mold. If your brother is washing is hair frequently he needs to make sure that he lets it air dry before putting it up into the ponytai.

 

[sprungonhairboards]

Tell him to wash that stuff. NOW!

He don't smell it?

Ya'll got my skin crawling. erplexed

What does his pillow smell like?

 

[SUPER SWEET]

I asked a locked person about this he suggested cleaning the scalp with witch hazel and if it got that rank again spray a mixture of diluted surge braid refresher. If all is lost he stated frebreeze aint bad either (mint flavor) .
But I have smelled that stench in the gym before....the man on treadmills hair was bad he cleared the place out.

 

[~*~ShopAholic~*~]

Yeah, I agree with his hair not drying properly b4 he puts it in a ponytail. A friend of mine (she may be reading this, ) shampooed her hair and put it in a ponytail to airdry and when she came later that day for me to rollerset her hair I was like erplexed when I took that scrunchie off, . I said girl you sure you washed this cause it stank, and she was like no it don't, I told her to smell it and she knew it was stinking too, (didn't you girl ). Anyway we shampooed it and DC and the smell was gone.

His might still be lingering a little longer if he had been trying to airdry in that ponytail for awhile, it may take some serious cleansing of the scalp, a very smell good shampoo, maybe even medicated and a smell good deep conditioner and then blowdry the hair dry or sit him under the dryer to make sure it dries all the way.

 

[malachi74]

LOL, thanks ladies!

I am going to try to help him out and try running the witch hazel down his scalp (while wearing a surgical mask) and maybe even help him to wash it once. I was thinking to send him to a natural hair salon to get them to wash it advise him on how to care for his hair. I used to lock his hair for him but that was b4 he started smelling like that; now I don't even want to be near him when he comes over.

I don't want y'all to get the wrong impression...I KNOW dreads don't usually smell like that. In fact I have never in my life smelled that odor on anyone, dreads or not. I was thinking it may be some kind of rare fungal thing that someone on our forum knew about.

Anyhoo, if he doesn't get it together I'm going to suggest that he stop coming by...seriously.

 

[Lotus]

Suggestion: wash hair w/neutralizing shampoo, condition, then do an AVC rinse (ACV fights odors and bacteria)... then *yes there's more- lol* do a lemon-water rinse. AVC and lemon water w/cut out the smell... but... BUT... he has to stop air drying his dreds in the ponytail. Also if he is applying a heavy oil and his hair is still soaking wet his hair is probably not getting dry quick enough. Oil should be applied after the hair is damp, almost dry, if not.. bacteria, mold and/or fungus w/set up. Same thing as if you wash clothes then leave'em soaking wet in the washing machine or a pile on the floor.

HTH

 

[sprungonhairboards]

LOL, thanks ladies!

I am going to try to help him out and try running the witch hazel down his scalp (while wearing a surgical mask) and maybe even help him to wash it once. I was thinking to send him to a natural hair salon to get them to wash it advise him on how to care for his hair. I used to lock his hair for him but that was b4 he started smelling like that; now I don't even want to be near him when he comes over.

I don't want y'all to get the wrong impression...I KNOW dreads don't usually smell like that. In fact I have never in my life smelled that odor on anyone, dreads or not. I was thinking it may be some kind of rare fungal thing that someone on our forum knew about.

Anyhoo, if he doesn't get it together I'm going to suggest that he stop coming by...seriously.

 

[Katt73]

Hi! Your brother has a mildew problem. I wore locks for eight years and the smell has nothing to do with cleanliness. It just takes a heck of a long time for those suckers to dry, especially if you've got a thick head of hair. Sometimes, I'd go to bed with my waistlength locks "out" and they'd be moist and sorta smelly in the morning. The previous poster hit the nail on the head: he needs to do a vinegar rinse and *gasp* sit under the dryer to let them dry. Airdrying won't work, especially if it's humid outside. Tell him to save the ponytail for after they're completely dry.

 

[DeepBluSea]

Go over to http://www.nappturality.com and do a search on smelly locs. They have an entire loc board over there. You do not have to be a member to search.

 

[RosesBlack]

I can recommend Knotty Boy products as well. Their shampoo is really good. When I wore braids a lot they took care of any smell factor. Also a friend of mine who's had dreads for 20 years swears by this stuff. http://www.knottyboy.com/shop/dread_shampoo/

 

[imstush]

^^^ or the Rasta line, http://www.rastagroup.com/html/cactus_products.html

 

[Gryphyn]

Suggestion: wash hair w/neutralizing shampoo, condition, then do an AVC rinse (ACV fights odors and bacteria)... then *yes there's more- lol* do a lemon-water rinse. AVC and lemon water w/cut out the smell... but... BUT... he has to stop air drying his dreds in the ponytail. Also if he is applying a heavy oil and his hair is still soaking wet his hair is probably not getting dry quick enough. Oil should be applied after the hair is damp, almost dry, if not.. bacteria, mold and/or fungus w/set up. Same thing as if you wash clothes then leave'em soaking wet in the washing machine or a pile on the floor.

HTH

This is exatly what I was going to suggest. Lemon and ACV are natural disinfectants. If the smell is as bad as I'm imagining it is, he may need to soak his hair in a basin of lemon water for like 10 minutes.

 

[malachi74]

HEY! My brother has finally decided to do the ACV rinse! Yes, it's taken him this long to realize that his hair needs help. I need to know how to do it. Is it to rinse with straight ACV or do i mix part ACV and part water? I am thinking to throw the lemons in there too. How long should it be left on the hair?

 

[Lotus]

HEY! My brother has finally decided to do the ACV rinse! Yes, it's taken him this long to realize that his hair needs help. I need to know how to do it. Is it to rinse with straight ACV or do i mix part ACV and part water? I am thinking to throw the lemons in there too. How long should it be left on the hair?

I dilute just under 1/4 AVC (approximate eye measurement) to 3/4 water.. in the shower. Let him wash hair first... then AVC leave it on until he finish bathing.. then rinse it out. *Make sure he uses his finger tips to stimulate scalp for build up*. If he uses conditioner... he can add some a tsp/tbs in conditioner then do a good rinse... and air dry or if his hair is real thick get under hair dryer.

 

[ms jadu]

Suggestion: wash hair w/neutralizing shampoo, condition, then do an AVC rinse (ACV fights odors and bacteria)... then *yes there's more- lol* do a lemon-water rinse. AVC and lemon water w/cut out the smell... but... BUT... he has to stop air drying his dreds in the ponytail. Also if he is applying a heavy oil and his hair is still soaking wet his hair is probably not getting dry quick enough. Oil should be applied after the hair is damp, almost dry, if not.. bacteria, mold and/or fungus w/set up. Same thing as if you wash clothes then leave'em soaking wet in the washing machine or a pile on the floor.

HTH

I was just about to suggest ACV as well. Wonderful hair rinse.