I have natural dreads that are almost a year old - 11 months. I joined this site such a long time ago, wow, it looks all different now. I found out about natural dreads through this site and I've been looking for a cool dread community to join - figured why not this one!
Right now my hair is all loops and bumps but all the hair is separated and well on there way to being fully mature little buggers. I have a LOT of hair so it's made for some fun separating issues - due to me not paying them enough attention and then having to rip apart congos. But i'm very happy with how they are coming along.
As soon as I discovered natural dreading, I knew I was going to do it. My family all tried to get me to just go to the salon and blah blah blah but I stood my ground. My hair got incredibly messy - messy beyond social acceptance standards. But I'm lucky in that my best friend wasn't embarrassed to be seen with me in public and my family has almost shut up now that it's been a year. My mom still asks if we can brush my hair when i come over.
I work in a restaurant and it was a concern for me that my job may not approve. It did come up as an issue but i simply learned how to wear a headscarf and it was no longer an issue.
My dreads have a long way to go to look like nice mature dreads but in two or three years, I know they'll look epic.
