# Anyone here have dreadlocks and make shampoo bars?



## eleighc (Jun 19, 2013)

Okay I've done a search here and didn't find much info.  I was wondering if anyone makes dread shampoo bars.  I'm not looking for a recipe per say as much as just helpful information on making shampoo bars. Mostly what is a good superfatting %  

Dreadlocks don't need as much conditioning in the beginning stages because we don't want to un-knot the hair. But instead cause the hair to keep knotting and to tighten down to hold the knots.  We want to avoid as much residue as possible so oils and yuck doesn't build up on the inside of the dread.  Also we don't want to dry the hair out so much as to cause breakage.

I wash my hair 1-3 times a week depending on weather (hot and sweaty) or what type if work I'm doing at the time.  (Sometimes I groom dogs or garden etc.) And I do a deep cleanse 1-2 times a month of baking soda and vinegar.

The purchased shampoo bar that I was using has palm, coconut, castor and hemp (in that order) of coarse I don't know what %s to use for superfat or oils.  But I made a bar with those oils and used jojoba instead of hemp with a 2% supefat but it doesn't feel quite right.

So any opinions, ideas, or knowledge sharing would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks


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## eleighc (Jun 20, 2013)

Oh wow!  Nobody here at SMF has dreads? Surely someone does.   

Well if I can figure a recipe out everyone, sellers included, are more than welcome to the recipe.  I just can't see spending approx $10.00 plus shipping for something I should be able to make.

Here is the recipe I have so far. Feel free to share your thoughts -

Did mine hot process
Lye reduction for 2% super fat

PO - 43%
CO - 30%
Castor - 22%
Jojoba - 5%

Essential oils for scent and benefits

Let me know what you guys think please.  Thanks


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## Relle (Jun 20, 2013)

Here's a shampoo bar thread for you to read and get some info, I made this about 4 weeks ago and find it very conditioning and not stripping and no build up. No dreads. This bar was SF at 6%.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f11/shampoo-bar-thanks-lindy-30946/

You might have to wait for a reply because your next post was only 10 hours after the first, not everyone comes in here every day.


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## eleighc (Jun 20, 2013)

Relle9 said:


> Here's a shampoo bar thread for you to read and get some info, I made this about 4 weeks ago and find it very conditioning and not stripping and no build up. No dreads. This bar was SF at 6%.
> 
> http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f11/shampoo-bar-thanks-lindy-30946/
> 
> You might have to wait for a reply because your next post was only 10 hours after the first, not everyone comes in here every day.




Thank you.  I will go check that out.  The recipe I listed above felt like left some residue so that's why I am hoping to go a slightly different direction.

I will practice some patience. Lol it is so very hard for me that's why I do hot process soap.  Thanks again and have a great weekend


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## Theda (Jun 20, 2013)

I am visiting my dread-headed (is that a word?) daughter tomorrow and will take a shampoo bar I made using the original recipe from the above link and see what she thinks. But I just noticed at the bottom of your post that you have Caucasian hair. Dd has coarse ethnic hair, so it might not be a good critique for you.


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## Sweetlily321 (Jun 20, 2013)

This is something I also would like to know. Some family members of mine have dreads but use a dry shampoo.


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## bodhi (Jun 20, 2013)

I used to have dreads.  When i did, the best thing i ever used for a shampoo was plain old borax and water.  put some borax in a gallon jug, fill it with water and shake for a while. use the liquid portion for shampoo.


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## eleighc (Jun 21, 2013)

Theda said:


> I am visiting my dread-headed (is that a word?) daughter tomorrow and will take a shampoo bar I made using the original recipe from the above link and see what she thinks. But I just noticed at the bottom of your post that you have Caucasian hair. Dd has coarse ethnic hair, so it might not be a good critique for you.



Dread-headed works for me. Lol That would be wonderful.  I'm not sure how shampoos would effect my type hair versus hers as everyone's hair is different but I think knowledge either way is a good thing.  I have to get a few ingredients before I can make up a batch from the link. But I think it would be awesome to get info on how it works with different dreaded hair types.  It would maybe give us some ideas where to go from there if it did or didn't work.  Thank you so much for your reply.


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## eleighc (Jun 21, 2013)

Sweetlily321 said:


> This is something I also would like to know. Some family members of mine have dreads but use a dry shampoo.




I know some are able to use dry shampoo and I could the first couple weeks but after that I couldn't anymore. I think because of the deep cleanse mix I use. It has sea salt and lemon in it that dries and tightens everything up a bunch.  What type of hair do they have if you don't mind me asking?  Maybe the recipe from the link above, or if need be, a new recipe we come up with will work for most or all of us.


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## eleighc (Jun 21, 2013)

bodhi said:


> I used to have dreads.  When i did, the best thing i ever used for a shampoo was plain old borax and water.  put some borax in a gallon jug, fill it with water and shake for a while. use the liquid portion for shampoo.



If you don't mind me asking - what type of hair do you have?  How often did you wash (No judgements here) I know with dreads some wash more often some less. And approx. How much borax did you use?

Thanks for your reply.


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## bodhi (Jun 21, 2013)

Not at all.  Fine caucasian hair.  Honestly I dont recall how often i washed it, but im sure it wasnt daily.  I forgot to mention, let the mixture settle before using the liquid portion, otherwise you will have borax grit to contend with.  How much?  eh, an inch or so in the bottom of a jug.  It doesnt really matter how much as long as you add enough so some settles.  The water can only hold a certain amount of dissolved borax.  Its the dissolved solids that do the job, not the stuff left at the bottom.  I would pour it on my scalp and rub it around there like a shampoo-it doesnt bubble so it might take some getting used to-then just rinse the rest through my locks.  Makes for a good body wash too.


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## ghia61 (Jun 21, 2013)

eleighc said:


> Oh wow!  Nobody here at SMF has dreads? Surely someone does.
> 
> Well if I can figure a recipe out everyone, sellers included, are more than welcome to the recipe.  I just can't see spending approx $10.00 plus shipping for something I should be able to make.
> 
> ...



I made a shampoo bar with high CO & Castor and found it very drying, causing itchy, flakey patches on my skin. I know everyone's hair/skin is different, but you might want to try incorporating more conditioning/moisturizing oils.


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## Sweetlily321 (Jun 22, 2013)

eleighc said:


> I know some are able to use dry shampoo and I could the first couple weeks but after that I couldn't anymore. I think because of the deep cleanse mix I use. It has sea salt and lemon in it that dries and tightens everything up a bunch.  What type of hair do they have if you don't mind me asking?  Maybe the recipe from the link above, or if need be, a new recipe we come up with will work for most or all of us.



I've bean away from all computers for a cupple day now sorry dident see the question. She has verry thin blound hair.


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## newbie (Jun 22, 2013)

Just so you know, Eleighc, this topic of shampoo bars for dreads has come up a number of times and there is very little about it. I've seen it asked several times before, people have done general searches but it seems like an elusive topic. This is the longest thread I've seen on it, from my recollection! If you come up with a good recipe, I think you could have a LOT of interest.

I have no experience with it so can't offer any suggestions but I thought I'd tell you the interest is out there, but the information about a recipe is not. Hope you find a good one- you'll be golden!


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## lizflowers42 (Jun 22, 2013)

I don't have dreads, nor do I know anyone now who has them to ask, but in the link that Relle provided you on shampoo bars, Genny suggested dropping coconut oil from your bar since it can be too cleansing.  Have you tried a regular old Castile soap?  Also, hard water can cause problems with shampoo bars rinsing clean from your hair!  Best wishes-be sure to share your results!  Also, we tend to like pictures round the forum


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## eleighc (Jun 24, 2013)

bodhi said:


> Not at all.  Fine caucasian hair.  Honestly I dont recall how often i washed it, but im sure it wasnt daily.  I forgot to mention, let the mixture settle before using the liquid portion, otherwise you will have borax grit to contend with.  How much?  eh, an inch or so in the bottom of a jug.  It doesnt really matter how much as long as you add enough so some settles.  The water can only hold a certain amount of dissolved borax.  Its the dissolved solids that do the job, not the stuff left at the bottom.  I would pour it on my scalp and rub it around there like a shampoo-it doesnt bubble so it might take some getting used to-then just rinse the rest through my locks.  Makes for a good body wash too.



H,,,  it sounds like something I'm willing to try. Although since I started making soap I so love bubbles.  Lol but I am willing to use what works best for my hair. Thanks for tips and info.


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## eleighc (Jun 24, 2013)

ghia61 said:


> I made a shampoo bar with high CO & Castor and found it very drying, causing itchy, flakey patches on my skin. I know everyone's hair/skin is different, but you might want to try incorporating more conditioning/moisturizing oils.



Thanks I will keep that in mind and monitor what my scalp is telling me while trying this one out.  I'm a little worried about the palm to as some say it leaves residue and some say it doesn't.  Lot of testing and record keeping in my near future.


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## eleighc (Jun 24, 2013)

Sweetlily321 said:


> I've bean away from all computers for a cupple day now sorry dident see the question. She has verry thin blound hair.



No problem. Thanks for the info. It really would be awesome to achieve an universal dread shampoo bar. I know that would be very difficult if not impossible.  Everyone's hair and scalp are so different.  But I still want to give it a go.


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## eleighc (Jun 24, 2013)

newbie said:


> Just so you know, Eleighc, this topic of shampoo bars for dreads has come up a number of times and there is very little about it. I've seen it asked several times before, people have done general searches but it seems like an elusive topic. This is the longest thread I've seen on it, from my recollection! If you come up with a good recipe, I think you could have a LOT of interest.
> 
> I have no experience with it so can't offer any suggestions but I thought I'd tell you the interest is out there, but the information about a recipe is not. Hope you find a good one- you'll be golden!



Thank you. I'm glad so many have responded. I was shocked that the world wide web didn't cough up much on the subject. But I am in hopes to figure it out and share.


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## jadiebugs1 (Jul 22, 2013)

newbie said:


> Just so you know, Eleighc, this topic of shampoo bars for dreads has come up a number of times and there is very little about it. I've seen it asked several times before, people have done general searches but it seems like an elusive topic. This is the longest thread I've seen on it, from my recollection! If you come up with a good recipe, I think you could have a LOT of interest.
> 
> I have no experience with it so can't offer any suggestions but I thought I'd tell you the interest is out there, but the information about a recipe is not. Hope you find a good one- you'll be golden!



Absolutely!!  I've been there and done that! I'm a white women with thick hair. I currently use my salt bar made with coconut milk and rinse with vinegar and water mix.  I often wonder if there isn't something better. Oh, and my dreads are only 8 months new.....


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## Mary_White (Jul 24, 2013)

*Sea salt and baking soda*

I no longer have dreads, :sad: but when I did, I found that the only thing that completely removed junk from my hair was baking soda to wash and rinsing with sea salt water. I tried using a bar soap one time (a dread head on YouTube used Simple Soap), and I felt yucky. When I did comb/ rip/cut my dreads out, I found all kinds of white gummy residue inside them and my brush, it was soap scum from the soap. If you DO make or use a shampoo bar on dreads, I recommend 0% superfat with olive, and castor oils, you can even add sea salt to the bar.  I would opt out of coconut as it is very drying


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## bridger (Aug 3, 2013)

when I had dreads I washed them with dish detergent. I tried dr bronners but didn't like how it left my hair feeling.

white guy with fine straight hair.


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## AlicesWonderhands (Nov 13, 2014)

Mary_White said:


> I no longer have dreads, :sad: but when I did, I found that the only thing that completely removed junk from my hair was baking soda to wash and rinsing with sea salt water. I tried using a bar soap one time (a dread head on YouTube used Simple Soap), and I felt yucky. When I did comb/ rip/cut my dreads out, I found all kinds of white gummy residue inside them and my brush, it was soap scum from the soap. If you DO make or use a shampoo bar on dreads, I recommend 0% superfat with olive, and castor oils, you can even add sea salt to the bar.  I would opt out of coconut as it is very drying



So... a salt bar with no coconut oil...just olive and castor? .... interesting. 
I have dread s..three yrs now. Nothing works like baking soda and a vinegar rinse. 
I was asked to make a dread bar... not sure what to make/ do with it, lol.


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## dreadhead (Nov 15, 2014)

I've dreads and make shampoo bars with sf +3. I use 10% castor oil in all my shampoo bars and at least 50% olive oil.


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## AlicesWonderhands (Nov 15, 2014)

have you stripped your hair to test for residue?


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## DeeAnna (Nov 17, 2014)

"...left some residue..."

No experience with dreads, but I'm not sure I'd would have subbed jojoba for the hemp. Unlike hemp, very little of the jojoba "oil" (technically it's a wax) actually saponifies, and I would expect these non-saponifiables might leave a film on the hair. With non-dread hair, that might be a plus, but I'd think you'd want a shampoo for dreads to rinse off pretty cleanly. 

Another issue with using "real" soap is your water hardness. The borax or baking soda wash/rinse that some are describing will help prevent or reduce any soap scum build up on the hair that forms from using soap with hard water.


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## dreadhead (Nov 17, 2014)

I use 55% olive oil, 25% coconut, 10 neem oil and 10 castor oil in my shampoo bar with sf3. And lemongrass eo to hide the neem smell.. I cut one in the neck after I've used this shampoo for two years and look inside the dread. It was 100% clean  I wash my hair once a week and sometimes, maybe once a month I make a deep wash with baking soda. I rinse with acv after every wash. It works fine


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## cm4bleenmb (Jun 14, 2015)

My DIL has decided to dread her hair and she mentioned that all the dreadlock-specific products she was finding were quite expensive so I offered to do a little research and see if I could come up with some things for her to try. I am a hobby soaper who doesn't do a lot of batches or have tons of supplies, so I want to have some good ideas before I start throwing things together. I guess it would be good to do some research into scalp health and hair care in general to help me determine what qualities I want my ingredients to bring to the table in a shampoo--whether it's bar or liquid.
I've read that KOH is more water soluble, so would a LS rinse better? Or is it really more about the formula and things like superfat % and unsaponifiables in the oils, so bar vs liquid is a matter of preference? They do have medium hard water, so I probably need to include a chelator. 
I've just started, so I don't have much information yet, but I will try to remember to come back to this thread on occasion and report on my progress.


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## Lion Of Judah (Jun 14, 2015)

i do not know what regiment dread-heads use but in my opinion a shampoo or liquid soap is better. i've tried using a shampoo "bar" and found that my locks ate up too much of the bar so i got like two use out of it . a nice concentrated soap liquid can go a long way . i still use tresse'me or liquid castile diluted...and i use conditioner


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## Obsidian (Jun 15, 2015)

My daughter is about 4 months into letting her hair dread and she has tried numerous shampoos/soaps including handmade liquid castile and a shampoo bar with 3% SF, both left her hair really nasty. Now she is using suaves daily clarifying shampoo.


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## jadiebugs1 (Jun 15, 2015)

*Salt Soap, Baking Soda, and ACV!*

Hi!  I posted earlier (years ago) about what I wash my dreads with.  They are no longer babies, about 2 1/2 years old and for the most part they are behaving quite well.  I've never cut open one of my dreads to check for build up of any kind, but I'm pretty sure they are not gross. :Kitten Love:  
I am a 50ish yr. old white woman with thick hair.  To help keep my hair 'dreadable' I sometimes use my salt bar recipe (co, shea, castor, 80% salt/oil and a SF of 18%?).  Get it nice and wet and just keep adding lather to my scalp, I usually do not apply the bar directly to my scalp.  I do end up using a good portion of the bar though, but what's nice about it is I just keep lathering and rinsing  my whole body with the same soap.  Feels so nice afterwords.  I freakin LOVE salt soap...it's definitely the best soap eVeR. 

Most often (weekly in the summer, bi-weekly in the winter) I just mix some baking soda (bought a huge bag at Sam's) in a large cup of water.  Wash it over my hair and repeat like 4-5 times, 'washing' my dreads and scalp then rinse, rinse, rinse!  This leaves my hair feeling so clean, deodorized, and healthy. Sometimes I follow with ACV mixed in that same large cup and rinse with that, but only like 4 times a year.  

I tried Dr. Bronners, didn't do much to impress me, though I DO use it to clean everything else in my house!  

So....give baking soda a try, salt soap if you dare, and an occasional ACV rinse and I think you will find that simple is the best solution.  Let me know if anyone tries this, because I really have no one that I know personally to compare notes with.


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## hozhed (Jun 17, 2015)

eleighc said:


> Okay I've done a search here and didn't find much info. I was wondering if anyone makes dread shampoo bars. I'm not looking for a recipe per say as much as just helpful information on making shampoo bars. Mostly what is a good superfatting %
> 
> Dreadlocks don't need as much conditioning in the beginning stages because we don't want to un-knot the hair. But instead cause the hair to keep knotting and to tighten down to hold the knots. We want to avoid as much residue as possible so oils and yuck doesn't build up on the inside of the dread. Also we don't want to dry the hair out so much as to cause breakage.
> 
> ...


  Being married to a beautician, for 15 years, all I can say is nothing will work perfectly. Dreads are VERY hard to keep as clean as free hair. I am sure some things work better than others. They are tough. Like trying to clean steel wool with bubble gum in it. lol   Good luck to you.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jun 18, 2015)

Hozhed, please keep an eye on the posted date - that quoted post was from 2013! Someone else posted recently though, so maybe you can shed some light on their problem?


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## hozhed (Jun 18, 2015)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Hozhed, please keep an eye on the posted date - that quoted post was from 2013! Someone else posted recently though, so maybe you can shed some light on their problem?


 

Yeah, how I got jadibugs mixed up with the first....I don't know.......been making too much soap I guess.......lol


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## Lion Of Judah (Jun 18, 2015)

most of these regiments are suited for dread heads and do not work for me or others like me. raw aloe and flat leaf cactus are the ideal remedies as well as yucca due to their natural saponificaton qualities . cleaning techniques become tailored and personal as time goes on . my dreads are more than 6 feet long and 30 years old and my maintenance now is different from when i started. my hair will eat through a shampoo bar easily and a bottle of shampoo lasts me two months and a half at best [washing every 2 weeks] . it takes me 1 hour 10-15 minutes to wash my hair and 4-5 hour for it to drip dry and still be moist up to a week later. reason dreads may be hard to keep clean is because of static electricity that attracts particles .
in the end in my humble opinion liquid soap is better than a soap bar because it can be diluted and it is easier to apply to scalp and locks.


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## Lion Of Judah (Jun 18, 2015)

shampooed my locks today , these are them drip drying .


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## not_ally (Jun 18, 2015)

Cool dreads, Lion!  Very leonine, somehow   I have had the same hair cut for years too, but mostly because I just snip pieces off when they stick out or get in my eyes, not cool like yours.


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## Lion Of Judah (Jun 18, 2015)

yeah i just stick to what works


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## jadiebugs1 (Jun 20, 2015)

Lion Of Judah said:


> yeah i just stick to what works



Have you used any salt base products?  You really don't say what it is that you use.  I'd be very interested in knowing.  How about baking soda?


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## Lion Of Judah (Jun 20, 2015)

i don't use none of those , no salt and no baking soda. liquid soap / shampoo works for me with a conditioner followed by a disinfectant rinse . when i started aloe plus leaf cactus did the trick .


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## cm4bleenmb (Jun 24, 2015)

Lion Of Judah said:


> i don't use none of those , no salt and no baking soda. liquid soap / shampoo works for me with a conditioner followed by a disinfectant rinse . when i started aloe plus leaf cactus did the trick .



I'm sorry, I'm confused. What do you mean by disinfectant rinse? And "aloe plus leaf cactus did the trick"? You used aloe juice? You rubbed a cactus leaf on it? Could you be more specific, please? 

Those are some beautiful dreads you've got there!


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## Lion Of Judah (Jun 25, 2015)

cm4bleenmb said:


> I'm sorry, I'm confused. What do you mean by disinfectant rinse? And "aloe plus leaf cactus did the trick"? You used aloe juice? You rubbed a cactus leaf on it? Could you be more specific, please?
> 
> Those are some beautiful dreads you've got there!



here is a nice video showing how we wash our locks in the caribbean using flat leaf cactus [aloe is done the same way] .... we do not use "juice" but rather the slime // [ame]https://vimeo.com/13405024[/ame]
seeing that my hair stays moist for long periods before it is fully dried i use a disinfectant- antiseptic that retards the chance of my hair producing mold and any type of odor .


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## cm4bleenmb (Jun 25, 2015)

Lion Of Judah said:


> here is a nice video showing how we wash our locks in the caribbean using flat leaf cactus [aloe is done the same way] .... we do not use "juice" but rather the slime // https://vimeo.com/13405024
> seeing that my hair stays moist for long periods before it is fully dried i use a disinfectant- antiseptic that retards the chance of my hair producing mold and any type of odor .



Thank you for the video, Lion! That looks like the nopales you can buy in the produce section here. I wonder if it would be good for hair in general? Guess I need to learn a little more about aloe and flat leaf cactus.


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## cm4bleenmb (Jun 25, 2015)

*looks like good webstie for dread care*

Stumbled across this: http://ragingrootsstudio.com/dreadlock-education/

It looks like some good information here, guess I have some reading to do!


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## Lion Of Judah (Jun 26, 2015)

nature gives us everything we need all we got to do is look . where are you located cm4bleenmb? at the core ,cultured dreads are different , within my culture and community you find "bongo" locks which is simply the "non" separation of locks, the hair takes its natural course in growth. the hair is not twisted nor bound .


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## cm4bleenmb (Jun 27, 2015)

Lion Of Judah said:


> nature gives us everything we need all we got to do is look . where are you located cm4bleenmb? at the core ,cultured dreads are different , within my culture and community you find "bongo" locks which is simply the "non" separation of locks, the hair takes its natural course in growth. the hair is not twisted nor bound .



Lion, I live in Southern California, in a little town about 20 miles west of Palm Springs. But I grew up in Western Michigan, also in a small town. You said "this is how we wash our locks" so I'm assuming you are still in the Carribean?  

It is amazing how you can look at the history of an area and find that nature always managed to provide the local culture with a solution for what they needed. 

I'm not about to give up all the conveniences of modern living and go back to nature, but I am happy to see more people waking up to the fact that the chem lab and big pharma are not our only options. Sometimes there's a very good reason why some natural remedies have been around so long.

If I understand the bongo locks idea, you would stop brushing or combing your hair, and never cut it, but you would still wash it. Because there's a difference between manipulating something as opposed to respecting and caring for it? Hmmm, this is fascinating but probably not a direction we should continue on since it doesn't really relate to the original shampoo bar question?


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