WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? :(

[vannievillain]

hope the pics help out

ive been making loads of dreads and i cant get it quite right, ive watched vids and vids, i read on it all the time, and i cant get them perfect yet, what am i doing wrong? or am i doing anything wrong? are they suppose to look like this?

i really want to get better because i want some for Halloween, and i want to make a set for a friend, please help.. i will love any comments or suggestions.<3

-much love,
vannievillain

[NirvanaMarie]

They look pretty darn good to me

[twigletstar]

They actually do look pretty good!

If you're unsure about the whippiness, I'd try more hair and more backcombing. The more hair you push to the top, the more you can pull back down to create the dread taper. As for bumps, that can be irradicated in the backcombing stage. Literally every couple of combs, pull the hair back down, feel how solid it is, and if it's not even all the way down then pull the bump apart before backcombing it any further.

In the past if I've come to seal a dread and there's an unslightly bump, I've cut the worst out and wrapped around it. If it's just dreads for yourself then that's an okay technique (I wouldn't do that for something I sold!).

With the ends, there's plenty of ways to do it - there are discussions on here. Flat irons are a good method, or what I do with mine is twist very tightly and blast a hairdryer at the ends. It's solid but not melted and can be snipped very neatly

[vannievillain]

They look pretty darn good to me

Really? ) -GASP- yay. thank you so much, now i have a bit more confidence that im doing them correctly, and will stop bugging out about them <3 once again thank you.

[vannievillain]

They actually do look pretty good!

If you're unsure about the whippiness, I'd try more hair and more backcombing. The more hair you push to the top, the more you can pull back down to create the dread taper. As for bumps, that can be irradicated in the backcombing stage. Literally every couple of combs, pull the hair back down, feel how solid it is, and if it's not even all the way down then pull the bump apart before backcombing it any further.

In the past if I've come to seal a dread and there's an unslightly bump, I've cut the worst out and wrapped around it. If it's just dreads for yourself then that's an okay technique (I wouldn't do that for something I sold!).

With the ends, there's plenty of ways to do it - there are discussions on here. Flat irons are a good method, or what I do with mine is twist very tightly and blast a hairdryer at the ends. It's solid but not melted and can be snipped very neatly

Thank You, i think i do need a bit more hair cause my dreads are skinny, and most i see are a bit filled, and thanks about letting me know that theres sealing discussions on here, on my way to read right now. Now i know im doing them correctly, i just need to change a few things.. <3 muchas gracias .. i appreciate it.

[Stormith]

For the ends I find the best method is to use a flat iron. Think of the end of a shoelace, how it's the shoe lace and then the end is a hard plastic tip. Be sure to leave a bit of extra hair at the bottom just to grip for when you're sealing the end. Just clamp the end of the dread in the flat iron and hold it there for a second or two until the end becomes a smooth, shiny, solid plastic tip. Then trim it and the end will be nice and sealed off.

[Monique_marion_may]

Practise makes perfect. Stop being so hard on yourself they look pretty good to me!

[CryptiquesBizarre]

They do look quite lovely. As twigletstar said, the bumpy areas is covered when you're backcombing. When you've backcombed the dread, run your hands down the length of it and you'll be able to feel where the bigger bulges are. You can pull them apart a bit and backcomb it again to get it more even.

What I'll do is backcomb down the length of the dread a few times and this helps even it out for me. Be sure also when you're steaming (if you steam) to pull it with the same tension as the rest of the dread or you may come out with some areas not sealed as well as others.

The ends it seems many people use different techniques. Personally, I've been using at teapot to seal my dreads and I hold the loop with my hanger and for the hand thats hold the actual dread, I wear leather garden gloves. This way I can get close to the steam with it being only hot and not burning my fingers.

Another suggestion would be to get the jewelry forceps that tighten the grip by clicking together and have acrylic tips at the end. This way you have a tight hold and it's not harsh on the hair and you wont have any difficulty getting close to the end and burning yourself.

Hope it helps and you really are doing lovely!

[trippytroll]

i really dont see any problems with them, you;re doing fine
when ive sealed i just use a big peg thingy to twist the end and keep it on and then steam it, that way i am holding on to the end of the peg not burning my hands