transitionals

[Amoura]

are the devil... -_-

anyone have tips for making them smooth, the method im using currently is when you make a "hole" in the end of one dread and fit the end bit into it.
however then my dread gets skinny and then fat where there is more hair.
any tips would be appreciated!!

[IKickShins]

Use less hair for the second color so that the thick part at the top of the second color isn't as big as the top of the entire dread

[Moody108]

i use less than half the amount in the bottom half and i still have issues with the join!

[Amoura]

yea, i use like a quarter of the amount, so when doubled it -should- be the right size... but no luck. *sigh* guess i just have to practice more.

[AntaresJB]

Try keeping the hole you poke the hair through as small as possible, and be careful how much you pull on it so it doesn't get too stretched out and thin above the hole. I use a latch-hook to pull the hair through, so that I'm not interrupting the base dread as much as I would if I had to make a hole big enough to poke my fingers through. Also it can be helpful to re-backcomb the base color in that area once you've got the second color through, to even out the thickness the whole way down. I still occasionally get big lumps, but these steps have definitely improved my transies.

[ANNloses]

I clip the top color to the top of my work station, so that the hole doesn't get pulled on while backcombing. Also, taper your lower section! Don't push it ALL up to the top of the loop, that's how the bumps are created! thin>thick>thin is where it's at. If I notice a bump I'll twist/wrap the first section more until it's even.

[MissAnthropik]

I agree that you need way less hair in the bottom colour. I probably even use less than a quarter (remember if you have the hair longer than you need it then you will need less as well). I would cut the length of the hair in half and then backcomb until the tips were between 4 and 7 inches long, so you don't need very muh hair for that. This means that the bit being poked through the hole is thin and doesn't disturb the top part of the dread too much, and also gives you more flexibility for how to backcomb.

Try hard not to pull on the hole otherwise that will make a thin bit above the new colour. Try to backcomb the bit of the original colour that is below the hole into the new colour a bit. And, unhelpful as it sounds, try to get a "feel" for the dread. Is it starting to feel like one continuous dread before you steam? If not then it won't steam/seal looking smooth and continuous either! If it feels wrong try to work out why and either work part a bit more, or unwork a bit. It is very hard to explain, you just need to practice a lot and try to get a feel for what the hair *should* feel like.