Dreadlocks

[SidekickFancy]

Wow, I just finished reading this entire thread over a span of three days. What a journey. I learned a sh**load about dreadlocks. I am now seriously contemplating getting them. I just have to decide if I can handle going through the journey that is having dreadlocks. I'm going to let it float around in my mind for a while before I do anything, because I tend to be an impulsive person and I know that dreadlocks are not something to be taken lightly.

Also, Red Alibi, I absolutely ADORE the picture of you with the blonde and pink dreadlocks. That's so cool. I really like the more natural pictures of everyone else's as well. It's so cool that there are all sorts of different kinds of dreadlocks and they all look so beautiful. The first picture of your dreads you took, viri, they remind me of spider legs for some reason. But that's cool

It's so weird how I just randomly got linked to this thread, and then spent three days reading it...

[the wallaby]

Hey everyone, guess what I did this morning!

Yep, from 9am to 3pm it was nothing but me and a brush (and a bottle of l'oreal detangler). No more dreadlocks for the wallaby.

I'm not sad at all, and I will have the whole story (don't worry, its short), as well as some, er, interesting photos, up shortly

[andy8715]

I always see this girl on my way to art class and she has beautiful dreads.  It makes me want some really bad.  I've thought about it on and off for around 6 years.  I think in a few more years I may be ready to get them.  It's sort of a healin process I'm going through with my confidence issues and all and now I feel like it's ok if I get dreads. No one will say anything but I'm still having insecurities. 

And this is why i'm not a writer.  My thoughts are everywhere in the above paragraph.  Sorry.

[the wallaby]

Ok, photo time!

Before-


After-


Result-



There was alot of wax in there. Alot. It was actually the only reason my hair was staying in dreadlocks. The wax (haven't used it since june btw) was collecting dust, which was then sticking to my hair. You can see all the dust in the giant hairball (seriously, the size of my face!!!)

I wanted to get rid of them because they weren't working out. I know you all say 'all hair will knot up on its own in time' and 'you have to be patient', but really, my hair was getting worse by the day, and thats after maintanence. Knots constantly coming out. The parts without wax I took out with my bare hands- no comb.

My hair does not knot up on its own. PLEASE don't say it does, I know my own hair... not saying its like this for everyone. Its my personal experience, and I'm sure you all have had your own experience. I'm pretty sick of being bashed on this board because I'm not doing the right thing with my hair, or I'm not taking the right attitude.
I really liked my hair in dreadlocks, but the fact is, my hair doesn't knot up enough for them to stay in for a long time. If not for the mass amounts of wax (which was gross, imo), they would have come out already. Anyway, I enjoy running a brush thru my hair.
Thing is... I don't need to brush my hair. Even now with straight hair, I don't need to brush. Just shows how knot-resistant my hair can be. NOT everyones hair, just saying mine is.

Things I used- blue goody comb, l'oriel kids detangler, seam ripper, hands, 6.5 hours.
Age of dreads- 4.5 months (may 20-oct 9)
Remnants- 1 white bead, 1 bullet, 1 giant hairball
Total length gained/lost- 1 inch lost, 4.5 inches gained


A last comment on wax (our favourite subject!!!)
MY EXPERIENCE with wax has been that it stays in your hair. Forever. I suggest using it in moderation, as it does stick dreads together very efectively this way. Too much wax will cause hair to become slick (wax has nothing but more wax to grab onto= slippage.). Wax is also a pain (literally, ow my scalp!) to remove, and does attract dust, dispite regular washings. If you can deal with that (which will probably be minimal if wax use is also minimal) then dreadwax is totally worth it! I have a near full tub of knottyboy dreadwax (dark coloured) here, and I actually think it smells alright. Ok, I'm all done with my rant and rave and removal.

[irish_chicky]

that's sucky that u had to take ur dreads out cause of the wax issue, the unknotted bits are notmal though since your dreads were only 4-5 months old. Anyways i'm not going to bash u about the wax thing, cause i made the mistake of useing it aswell, and I'm not going to bash u or tell u ur hair can knot cause u think it cant, its your disision and its kool. Maybe you can try them again sometime by just going naturel. not brushing your hair at all, and only washing it with a resedue free shampoo. it could take up to 6 months to start seeing results that u like but its a lot more worth it I think.
good luck on your non dreaded future! I think you look good with or without them, though i'll always go for the dreads lol.
kudos though after a year and a bit of having my dreads I dont think I could get rid of them.

[toeknuckles]

i think the way hair knots is very dependant on the way their scalp in general works.
i wash my hair regularly (without over-washing), but some parts of my head are just oiler than others. and the oil seems to make the hair not want to knot.
i imagine that people who naturally produce a lot of oil have a much harder time knotting up. don't know if that's you or not, though. 


if you're dreads aren't making you feel happy, ditch 'em. they're not an easy hairstyle to have, so there's really no point in having them (or ANY hairstyle) if they are buggin' you. 

also, my god! that's a lotta hair! and i know what you mean with the wax and the dust. i had that problem. i didn't have much information about wax when i first started, and i REALLY overused. it was gross.

[viri]

Wallaby: if you are happier with your normal hair it was the best thing to do. Though I like your dreads on the before photo looks pretty much the same as mine right now. Beside the fact mine is only 11 day old and I see improvement every day without the wax . I've never used brush or comb in the last few years just my fingers every now and then, so I guess I'm lucky. The only thing knotted my normal hair was my cotton/polyester lined sleeping bag. Weird huh ? After a week of camping I always had the use a huge amount of conditioner to comb my hair out. Next weekend I'll go camping so I'm curious if   it will affect my dreads or not.

SidekickFancy: two of my friends told the same thing, and I guess they /you are right about my spiderlegs. Sometimes when I wake up (still being under the affect of one of my weird dreams) I expect the sudden appearance of 8 eyes and a hairy body.... LOL Though the more frizzy hair I have the less spidery it looks like. I have some problems with distinguish left from right so I can't crochet my frizzy hair in (the mirror is totally confusing for me). My friends will do it in the weekend instead.
Letting the idea of dreadlocks float around is exactly what I did. It worked. I waited almost a year. Then I had a dream and in it I had dreads. I was great. Then I decided to knot up.  I remember doing my first tiny lock in April. It was a huge shock. I took me time to get used to that single one. But since I have the whole thing dreaded I feel like if I always had them.

[aliengrace]

i haven't read the whole saga of this thread, but here's wot i do for my dreads.  i crocheted them together to begin with, and i only use a crochet hook now.  the last time i had to cut off my dreads they were stiff and waxy from beeswax, but i suppose with a light touch i could maybe use this water-soluble wax stuff?  i don't wash my hair that much, especially as i'm allergic to permanent colourings, so my hair is not that colourfast with black, and i imagine i'd get quite linty with anything a lil sticky, and i still think i'd trap stuff in the middle of the dreads.  so instead i roll my dreads when they are wet, and crochet them when they are dry, and i've had people paying me compliments and even offering to pay me to do theirs (i told them to go get a crochet hook)!  i like that i can leave them for a bit when i'm feeling lazy, and then go felt them up when they go a bit fuzzy and knobbly, and that i can neaten the roots also, and my round end tips, which i keep cutting to keep my dreads short.  i don't put my hair in a wrap, it's got an undercut, so the roots are very visible.  it's true that my dreads look a bit dry and slightly fuzzy without wax, and they blow around in the breeze cos they're relatively light (and short) which is fine by me, but they are felted up.  i use a 0.75mm hook.  oh and ps, i have seriously freaked out a couple of my arachnophobic friends by waving my hair at them.  anyway, my 2 cents.

[sarahpanda]

Don't feel bad, my hair will not dreadlock either--it's just too thin and slippery. When I braided wool in with it, the result looked pretty silly, because my hair is so fine that it took a lot of it to make one chunk big enough to hold onto the wool. I ended up with like, five big, wool dreadlocks and it looked kind of silly.

It's unfortunate that your dreads didn't work out, 'cause you looked really cute with them! But I can totally understand wanting to wash and brush your hair and feeling like the dreads just are not working.

[the wallaby]

Thank you everyone for the kind words It is aggrivating though, because in almost 5 months, I used wax twice >.<

Viri- I've probably said it before, but I loooooove the way your locks are looking! I really hope you keep up with them.