Should i get dreads?!?!?
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1: You can't wash your hair for a long while.
2: If you don't want dreads anymore, you have to cut it all off (Bald) or uber short.
3: Doing it wrong can harm your hair and make you look insane.
4: Dreads don't happen overnight, it's a constant process, trying to keep them dreaded is a full-time job.
I've had my hair dreaded for the last 5 years, just recently cutting them off to start over again. The first thing i noticed when i started dreading was the constant work i had to do to keep them looking good. Also, the horrible smell of my hair through the first month of going without washing my hair in the locking process. Trust and believe, the locking process doesn't happen instantly. Its a pain, but worth the time and effort if it looks good. As your hair grows, so won't your dreads and that requires more beeswax and more twisting, less washing. But this is only if you want the ends of your hair dreaded and not all the way to the scalp.
Such a decision has to be thought over thoroughly. It's not life changing, but can mess with your social life if done wrong or sloppy.
It's AH-mazing. =]
Also recognize the fact that you may get flak from those who think they are dirty. And realize that you may step on other people's toes getting them. They are gorgeous of course on all people but it's a sensitive subject since they are more than a hairstyle to many, they are a lifestyle. To black people, myself included, they represent a pride in African culture as they started there. History has shown that the locing of the hair is part of a deep spirituality or even the Rastafarian religion. If you are not a rasta or of African descent you may be seen as an imitator. Just respect where they come from and you should be fine.
This is a post straight from a thread in the 4A section of Curltalk on naturallycurly.com.
{{{{1. you can start your locs and maintain them by yourself. you can start them with 2-strand twists, palm-rolled coils, braids, or freeform from an afro. however you choose to start them, make sure the base of the loc is about the thickness of a pencil. if they are too thin, you'll experience breakage down the road. if they are too thick, it will take longer for them to matt and loc and the individual locs will be heavier as they mature, which can cause stress on your scalp years down the road.
2. you do not have to forgo cleansing your scalp to form locs. your scalp should be shampooed 1-2 times a week just to keep sebum and perspiration washed away. don't worry about coils or twists unraveling. redo the ones that become undone or just leave them alone and let them loc that way.
3. choose a residue-free shampoo. you won't want to use conditioning shampoos that leave your hair coated, nor will you want to use leave-in conditioners, as they attract lint and dirt, which will embed in the locs and make them dirty and difficult to get totally clean. your focus should be on cleansing your scalp. a light, natural oil smoothed throughout your locs should be an adequate conditioner. avoid wax, shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, pretty much anything that is solid at room temperature. it will create a nasty buildup within your locs that will never come out, no matter how much clarifying you do. trust me, i've seen it, and what you'll end up with are clean-looking locs on the outside, but nasty ooze from product buildup on the inside of each loc, which will make them feel heavy in time. clean locs should feel light and spongy, regardless of texture.
4. some people have good results with liquid castile soap as a shampoo. just be mindful to dilute really well because these soaps can leave residue if you aren't careful.
5. personally, i would use a nonsoap cleansing method like a baking soda paste with a couple of drops of oil added and rubbed into the scalp, then rinsed away. or green clay, which is a good skin cleanser and will wash away easily under a steady stream of water.
6. buy a nice scarf (satin, cotton, silk, whatever) to keep your hair wrapped at night or when you are lounging around or in windy weather when dust is blowing around to prevent lint and debris from becoming trapped in your locs, as you won't be able to brush or comb or even pick out debris as easily as you would with loose hair.
7. be patient with the formation of your locs. if you have multiple textures on your head, as many people do, you may notice that parts of your head will loc faster than others. everyone goes through an awkward stage of locing in the beginning. you can use scarves, head wraps, etc., to get through those periods.
8. your locs can be manicured, meaning, you will want to keep all fuzziness at bay by twisting your newgrowth regularly, showing evenly parted sections on your scalp. or you may want semi freeform, where you simply gently pull apart your locs after a fresh shampoo to discourage the fuzzies from matting and connecting locs. or you may want to have organic locs, in which you will let your hair do what it will do, creating spaghetti thin locs in some places, and fat ones in other areas. most people don't wear organic locs, especially if they plan to work in corporate environments. if you plan to have manicured locs, just make sure you don't overtwist them, as the constant twisting of the new growth can weaken the base of your locs and create breakage down the road. there are some people who use crochet-like hooks to keep the base of their locs from fuzzi
*sigh*
I just started my dreads 4 months ago : ) As another poster stated, they aren't permanent, you can comb them out when you are tired of them. HOWEVER, I highly suggest you look into it before you get them, they really aren't meant to be a temporary style. If you are iffy about it you might want to wait just because dreads take a lot of time to comb out and you want to make sure you will be happy with them : )
I think they would look amazing on you, you are beautiful! Just keep in mind they start out really messy and crazy and only develop into what a lot of people consider dreads over time. But I can give you some awesome advice on how to start them if you decide they are right for you ^_^
1) NO PRODUCT!! this one's the only one that really matters. A lot of people and websites suggest wax etc. this is okay for some african american textured hair, but outside of that, it's not really good for other textures! Wax in your hair holds it together but the hair can't move so it doesn't knot up (which is what you want with dreadlocks) so stay away from products, especially wax. (another icky wax fact: it's really really hard to wash wax out, so it stays in your dreads! when dreads are done right they aren't smelly and gross like the stereotype suggests, but wax is really not good for them)
2) section them as best you can! The sectioning is one of the few things that remain constant with dreadlocks. Try to make the sections as round / square as you can, you don't want the sections to be too long (like rectangles) because the dreads wont form as well.
3) to start them, just backcomb. This is just combing the hair backwards-- like teasing it, I suggest a flea comb because the bristles are so small (obviously not a used one xD ) you want to backcomb it as tight as you can, the better you do this the sooner they will start to look like dreadlocks.
(and keep in mind, you are going to have days when your dreads look a crazy mess, they really aren't a hairstyle you have too much control over! Just make sure you get them for the right reasons and love them no matter how crazy they are, they really seem to have a life of their own sometimes : D )
.. I think I've covered most of it, just keep in mind, dreadlocks are the hair in it's natural state. Most people can get dreads by just continuing to wash their hair but without using conditioner or combing. Basically, the sectioning and backcombing are just to help them develop faster and more uniformly, it's definitely not necessary.
Hope this helps, if you have any other questions let me know, I'd be happy to help!
you are very petite and asian.
while dreads look good on some people they do not look good on petite people.
dreads are also frowned upon by society.
you could get not hired for them
you have to shave your head to get rid of them.
you dont want to look dykey so that you can get rid of perfectly good hair.
EVER!!!!
it turns your hair into a mess!!
if you aren't completely sure though, i wouldn't do it.
wait untill you know cause you don't want to hate it afterwards.
your hair is gorgeous as is! dreads are hideous!
pleease dont
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March 9th, 2010 at March 9, 2010 | | Permalink