I decided a while back that I would stop combing my hair, and wash it far less frequently. I wanted to take a more natural approach to my hair: Dreads weren't exactly my intent (although I must admit, I was aware that my hair would mat). I embraced my dreading hair, and I feel its coming along nicely (it may not look pretty, but I'm not exactly going for pretty). It's hard to calculate how long it's been dreading because it happened gradually, but its somewhere around 5-6 months and shoulder length.

Being natural is all well and good, but I also want my hair to be healthy. I've done some research, and I've found nothing but contradictions. How often to wash and with what: how to dry your hair: what to avoid and what to use. My goal was to have as little impact on my hair as possible, while still maintaining healthiness (and not looking like a complete shleb). Any suggestions?