WASHING. Before I had my dreadlocks, I washed and conditioned my hair almost every day. Without slowly weaning your head off of washing, your scalp will be horribly itchy. Dreadlocks in their early stage will probably be itchy, and (in my case anyway) may be itchy in the middle of the night. Start preparing 2 months in advance if you wash your hair on a daily basis. Skip a day or two, and continue to do so until you can go over a week and a half without washing. Do this, and you can prevent some very agonizing hours of itching.
MENTALLY: Are you ready to be "that guy/girl with dreads"? Just as you may identify someone by their tattoos, piercings or brightly dyed hair, people will identify you by your dreadlocks. You will probably notice during your premiere public outing that almost everyone will notice you. Suddenly your presence in any public place is noticed. After a while, you'll probably stop noticing how much attention you really get. It's not so bad if you really love your dreadlocks, and are confident that people are looking for positive reasons. Not to sounds snobby or overly confident, but if my dreads spoke, they would probably say something like "yea everyones looking at me. No big deal. They LOVE me." :) Generally speaking, I'd say people get a confidence boost after getting dreads.
FAMILY: Not so much an issue for me. My parents are very supportive of my dreadlocks (surprisingly!). Everyone is entitled to their own style, but family can become an issue. If your not ready to hear what your family may tell you, then maybe hold of of the dreads.
NEGATIVE COMMENTS: People generally won't say that they flat out don't like your hair, but its always obvious how they really feel. You will get negative comments, but you will also get many positive ones as well. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and accept that not everyone is going to like it, and that the important thing is that YOU love them.
ok so ive had my dreads for about 4 months n i havent got em retwisted since wht shuld i do now
ReplyDeleteAre your roots nice and clean? As in separated nicely and tight? If not I would stay to start from there. Hair will dread naturally so make your roots your main priority. If they have started to congo, i suggest have someone help you cut them apart (or combine them). Put new rubber bands in and dread in the loose ends with a crochet hook. Ive also started wrapping my roots with embroidery string. It doesnt get soft like old rubber bands will and wont slip as much. Keep palm rolling whenever you can and crochet if you have the time. If your roots are nice, the rest will follow.
ReplyDelete"The more you love your dreads, the more they love you back"
does anyone know the name of the white boi in the pic is? or how i can i find out
ReplyDeleteIt's John Butler :D
DeleteStarted growing out my hair about 3 months ago and suppose that it will take me a year to year and a half before I can begin the dreading process as I was told that hair usually grows 1/4 of an inch per month. Also, I have began taking vitamins that help hair growth and health. I'll bookmark your page and I appreciate any insight and helpful tips you can offer along my way. Peace out, cub scout. - Skye
ReplyDeleteI meant to ask you, should I go completely without a hair cut for the next year to year and a half until I get the desired length that I want before I begin or should I get trims along the way? I'm not wanting too terribly long dreads, but long enough to pull back in a pony tail. Thanks.
DeleteSorry it took me so long to reply! It always makes the dreading process easier when you have long hair. You'll probably want to wait until you hair is around shoulder length (so that you'll be able to put it in a pony tail). If you skip backcombing and stick to crocheting, you'll be able to save an inch or two. While you are growing your hair, you will want to trim it regularly to prevent split ends. Once you get dreadlocks, this wont be necessary (as the split ends wont split up to the root like they would normal hair). When you do finally dread your hair, I suggest putting rubber bands at the ends to prevent them from coming undone (this tends to be a problem for shorter dreadlocks). Please feel free to ask me anything along the way. Good luck!
DeleteThanks, Sunny! Really appreciate the reply. I'm so stoked about finally reaching the point to where I can begin the process. Yeah, I've seen some guys on google images who have very short dreadlocks and I wondered if they just dreaded their hair early in the process with hopes of just continuing to let the length grow out, but it seems that you're telling me for best results grow out your hair to the desired length and only then start the dreading process. And forgive me for my ignorance, but I have no idea what "backcombing" and "crocheting" mean. What is it and how will it save me an inch or two. Thanks for the love, Sunny! Oh, and sorry for the late reply as I thought you had given up on the block when I didn't hear from you several days after I sent it, but no worries. Thanks, again. - Skye
ReplyDeleteHey Skye. If you absolutely cannot wait to get dreadlocks, doing them with short hair is fine, but they will be harder to maintain (as the ends tend to come undone easily). That and In my opinion, you skip a little bit of the awkward phase when your hair is long because you can tie it up nicely and hide your messy head. As for the crocheting, I have some information on how to do that on my post "Making Dreadlocks." I have posted a video on how to do this. It takes a little practice, and everyone does it differently. After a few dreadlocks, you will discover what is comfortable for you. I donʻt think Iʻve posted anything on how to backcomb, but I will do that soon!!!
Delete*given up on the blog...damn, typo
ReplyDelete