Dreadlocks ....

[karma_gypsy]

I have been thinking about them a lot lately ... it's (almost) a life changing decision ... and one I'm slightly apprehensive to make.

My husband supports me in this decision and it's something I really want to do with my hair. I've read opinions on the internet and I've read some great reviews and then some very uninformed bad ones. I've even checked out knottyboy.com (http://www.knottyboy.com) and even saw that they offer an emergency dread removal kit.

Now, I work in retail (at a Pawn Shop), but I only really deal with the public on occasion. My main job is to sit up on my little desk and post eBay auctions (I have a co-worker who does all the shipping, bookwork, etc). Occasionally, I get pulled away from my work to help out on the floor, in the pawn room, etc. I guess it would be a wise idea to ask the owner first before doing this. I hate to have to ask my boss if I can do a style change as something as drastic as this, but I have to respect his position as well in running a business. (It's a privately owned business). He is a pretty easy going guy though as well.

My sister is also a hair stylist (and has been for the past five years or so) - and could possibly assist me in creating my possibly new found hairstyle.

I tried to educate myself as much as I can on the style. I know that *have* to be kept clean (or else the style doesn't work!) and it takes them a couple of days to "mature" but, I guess I'm basically looking opinions. Is there anyone here who has dreadlocks and would like to share any ideas?

[crazylegs]

I've never had dreads but have worked with people who have, if you do get them expect a lot of people do the following
Tell you that they (dreads) are dirty
Ask you how you get dreads
(Applicable if white) Tell you only black people should have dreads! :eek::confused::eek:
Tell you that you shouldn't be doing that to your hair

However it is your hairstyle and hving your hair in dreads is not innapropriate for the job you are doing (nor any retail job), as long as you can tie them back then go for it. Please don't let the detractors put you off but do be aware they exist, as they do for anyone who is 'different'.

[PuckishOne]

I saw a guy getting dreads put in last time I was at the hair salon...bring a good, long book! It seems to take forever. In the time it took me to come in, wait 15 minutes, get color & highlights, and leave, this poor guy was still stuck in the chair and maybe she'd done one row of locks. Definitely requires more patience (and hair!) than I have, but best of luck to you!! Send us a photo!! :)

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I love dreads. I think they are sexy, edgy, and cool. They are not dirty, they are not smelly. You wash and maintain them just like you would non-dreaded hair.

Having said that, I can honestly say I've never seen a white person pull them off. I've known many people with dreads. The black folks all had hair to die for. The white folks just looked...well...tangled and nasty. Apologies to any white folks here with nice dreads, but so far, I've seen nothing to compell me to change my thinking. And that observation goes up to and included the Jack Sparrow do. Which, don't get me wrong, it works for him, but it is a far cry from the beautiful dreads I've seen on black folks around here.

I don't know what kind of hair you have. If you think you hair will look good in dreads, go for it. If you have fine, smooth hair, you might rethink it. Maybe getting cornrows and braids would be a feasable alternative.

[Shangri-laschild]

My suggestion would be to get all of your hair braided. It's the closest you can get to trying out dreds without actually committing. Then decide from there. My friend's boyfriend had them and constantly got asked if he had drugs which ticked him off cause he didn't do drugs.

I have seen them look awesome on people and if they will make you happy, go for it.

[Bright_Star]

Go for it. So if you don't like it then you can always revert back to your regular hair style.

[karma_gypsy]

Well, for one, I appreciate all the supportive replies!

My hair - well, kind of does its own thing. It's not fine and straight (my husband has this hair (with some long length to it) and doesn't even brush it in the morning -- it always looks PERFECT!!! damn him .... :D :rolleyes:). More like wavy and thick and brown ... although I guess those with fine, straight hair would probably appreciate it more because it's easier to style (but I'm not really into 'styling' my hair, I don't have the time, nor the talent - I can put it up in a pony tail, that's about the extent of it!!). I am white as well .... (just to answer some of the race questions - I completely understand that race can play into this type of hairstyle (and religion as well)).

I have braided it before (not all of it though), just out of fun and would aim for the thinner dreads. Although, that's why I am hoping my sister could help me out, her being a stylist could probably help make it look better ...

I still have yet to ask the owner of my work ... although I'm going to feel right childish for doing so!! :lol: He could very well say 'no' and then I'd have to find other outlets for my creativity!!

[Seshat]

He could very well say 'no' and then I'd have to find other outlets for my creativity!!

Fine braids, each with a different colour ribbon braided through it. ;)

[karma_gypsy]

My boss okayed it (in fact, he said it wouldn't really bother him). Plus, my sister said she would help me with it and actually, I should start sportin' the dreads next week. I'm rather excited!

[Gravekeeper]

I use to have people try to sell me weed all the time when my hair was long. Though I never dreaded it. My ex would gleefully braid it ( It was longer then hers and ripe for playing with apparently. ) but no way in hell would I leave the house like that. ;p

But yes, its rare for a white person to be able to pull them off. Although an Australian accent helps for some reason. No, I don't know why. It just does. I didn't make the rules.

[Shangri-laschild]

It seems like white females can pull it off a little better than the guys though. Or maybe all the girls I knew that had their hair like that just did a really good job. Who knows.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Yeah, one of my guy friends had a bit of a crush on a didgerido player from a neighboring camp one year at Pennsic. She was swarthy, blonde, dreadlocked, and had a gold tooth. She was pretty much Jack Sparrow before anyone knew who Jack Sparrow was.

Okay, THAT white chick could pull off the dreads. They weren't pretty dreads, or even nice dreads. They were crazy, awful, Jack Sparrow dreads. Suited her. :lol:

Heck, I think I even had a crush on her, and I'm not even into chicks. :lol:

Yeah, Gravekeeper, my husband constantly had people asking to buy weed from him when he had long Slash hair. My husband would be coming out of men's rooms going, "No, look, I don't do or sell, okay! Fuck off!" :rolleyes:

Can't you just see it? A guy decides to make his life's vocation that of a dealer, so he grows his hair out to the standard drug dealer do. But then, we aren't talking rocket scientists here. (say it with me now, "this is why I dont' do weed.")

[the_std]

Just realize that dreads are a LOT of work to maintain (especially if you have Caucasian-type hair), painful to get/keep up and can be a true pain in the ass. My sister had them for four years and worked as a Knotty Boy agent/seller. She had very long, fine hair and even put in fake extensions at one point, bringing her hair down to her knees. The worst part, she said, was the summer time because of how ridiculous hot they get.

Know that this is a long-term commitment, that your dreads will take more than a few days to mature (it can take months for the "frizzies" to go away and for them to start looking like "real" dreads, especially if you have Caucasian hair), and that they take a lot of work to remove. If you're lucky, you can do it without cutting them off at the base. My sister was lucky, all it took was four days of Goo-Gone, hair conditioner and very painful combing-out, and it took her hair a year to completely heal from having been in dreads.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I often helped her roll them (needed for maintenance purposes), comb them, wax them and listened to her problems with them, so I'm fairly educated when it comes to dreadlocks.

(PS. My one and only rule that I beg you to follow: DO NOT USE BEESWAX. In severe cases, it can kill your dreads and make them completely impossible to remove without cutting out. For all your dread needs, I'd heartily recommend the Knotty Boy products.)

[ArenaBoy]

Good luck on the dreads.

My good friend R has dreads, they look nice on him too. And his hair is long. We're talking past the butt long and it might be longer than it looks due to him wrapping part of his hair up in a style similar to a turban. Dude has had the dreads for as long as I've known him, didn't even cut his dreads when he got married.

[BlaqueKatt]

dread horror story******not for the squeamish*****













Please if you get them keep them clean-I had a friend that didn't and finally decided to cut them off after a few months-tangled hair traps oil and dead skin-and what loves to eat dead decaying flesh.........yes her dreads were full of maggots:eek:, they were on the inside-so I guess they really were "locks of dread"-I had to help her shave her head she was too busy retching.

[Seshat]

I've been researching dreads for a friend of mine, and found out you can do temporary dreads. Or at least, you can in some hair. Mine will do it. I'm temp-dready right now! (Whoot)

But you must be willing to have very fine dreads. More like micro-braids than the 'classic' dread.

Anyway, since you're all dying to find out how:

* Section hair as for dreads or microbraids. (Or section a row at a time, if you're sane!)
* Take one section, and twist it. Around and around and around, rubbing the hair lightly between fingertips. Let go, and see if it holds.
* If it doesn't hold, try making smaller sections. Mine are millimetres thick!
* If it still doesn't hold, twist it and keep it held in your fingers, then heat with a hairdryer or the pads of a hair straightener.
* If that doesn't work, try hairspray, a strong-hold mousse, a light-hold gel, or one of those creams that's somewhere between mousse and gel.

If you want to be able to take it out, don't backcomb, and make sure that if you use any product, it's one of the shampoo-and-water soluble products, not a dread wax.

Mine work just with twisting and a light bit of hairspray, though I plan to get some gel or cream next time I'm at the shops and just apply that to the very base of each temp-dread.

Removing them is a matter of washing out any product you've used, letting them dry, then very gently brushing them out with a fine brush or comb.

Test your hair and your method before doing your whole head. Make one, make sure it stays on its own, then make sure you can brush it out easily enough. Then redo it. :)

[the_std]

Seshat, that sounds really fun! I bet it looks great! :D I tried something similar to that once, but my hair is too soft to hold it. Makes me sad.

And, to karma_gypsy, I'm sorry if I came off all scary in my other post. Dreads can be super fun and a great way to express yourself. They can also look really sexy, or elegant, or hippie, or whatever it is you're going for. I just wouldn't want you to get them in, hate them, and then have to cut your hair off. Happened to a friend of my sister's, and she cried for weeks.

... But I love dreads. :D

[Seshat]

Mine has enough curl to hold, and is chronically dry so it tends to knot easily.

Which brings up a point: sebum (hair and skin oil) is a lubricant. Lubricants untangle knots. Dreads are knots.

Dreads are (or should be) REALLY clean. Washing out the sebum washes other stuff away too: all a dread should have is hair and dread wax. Well, unless your hair tends to be so dry it breaks, in which case you should have hair, dread wax, and a small amount of sebum replacement.

So what's sebum replacement? Well, the best known sebum replacement is hair conditioner. ;)

[karma_gypsy]

I use to have people try to sell me weed all the time when my hair was long. Though I never dreaded it. My ex would gleefully braid it ( It was longer then hers and ripe for playing with apparently. ) but no way in hell would I leave the house like that. ;p


Yes, my husband has long fine hair .... in which I, too, gleefully braid it, french braid, pony tail, pig tail, whatever humiliating hair style I can come up with - but it never holds because his hair is too fine ... I don't think he's left the house either when his hair is full of braids ...


My sister was able to start my dreads, but she used professional grade hair spray and spray gel ... which isn't working .... I've got wax and some other stuff on the way. My husband and I are going to spend Tuesday (his birthday) working on my hair.


My husband has told me horror stories of smelly, unkempt dreads and maggots. But I still have every intention of taking care of them and, well, washing my hair ... :)