It's not a race

This isn't an introduction to myself. Most of you already know me, anyway.

This is an introduction to your new journies.

I hear it a lot. Many people start their locks with the anticipation that in a few days or weeks, they will have nice formed mature locks. Some people will even be willing to damage their hair in order to make their dredlocks look older. I know many of you have come to terms with the fact that it's a process that takes time and patience, but there's a new person almost once a week that has some story about how they either crochet'd, or used wax, or palm rolled, or went to a salon, only to find out that after their first wash, all that work and money they spent was for nothing.

So I compiled a few pictures of members in various stages of their journey. I I know most people don't actually check the photos of member unless they are urged to by the forum topic or specifically asked to.

Don't worry. Every person featured has been notified that I am using their pics

Here you go:

updated by @baba-fats: 02/14/15 02:09:12AM

Here's a few more

And last.

Sorry for the multiple posts. The internet didn't upload the first 3 in the first post, so I had to add them later.

Thanks to all the members who's pictures I stole for this thread

u know u can add them in the post instead odf as attachments? and then u can add as many as u want to the post u arent limmited to 3

like

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I tried it. It was giving me a hard time. So I ended up doing them as attachments as a last resort.

As a hairstylist I did not know that we were disliked by so many. I started my dreads with twist and rip, I used no products at all. Before I started my dreads I did quite a bit of research. I've been in the industry for 6 years now, and still felt I wanted to be completely educated on dreads and all of the processes. I will tell you all that in school we are taught to use wax, and told that shampooing will damage the dreads. I now know differently, as do the other stylists in my salon (thanks to me educating them). So really, a person shouldn't blame a stylist for being poorly educated. We all think we are receiving top notch education when we pay thousands of dollars for it. We can however blame the stylist for not FURTHERING that education once entering the industry as a professional. I do wish, however, that I wouldn't get a bad rap just by being a hairstylist, like some of my peers do. It kind of falls into a stereotype situation, the same as people thinking dreads are a dirty disgraceful thing to want or have. I really hope I've made sense in trying to explain myself, and that this doesn't come across as mean. I'm really just trying to shed some light as to why some stylist think they should do things the way they were taught.

I never blame the stylist for that same reason. but I agree they should keep furthering their education. I'm glad you did, and not only for yourself, but for your peers. I am a science major. So I know the value of continuing education.

I don't even blame the people who go to stylists. I just try to educate them on the damage most salons do. If they choose to continue to use wax, I don't write them off. It is their choice. I still love locks that have been waxed. They still look cool to me.

Maybe you could go back to your school and show your teachers this forum. Don't just help your peers, help the future stylists as well. If you old teachers get the right information, they will hopefully teach it to their next students.

I am aware that some people grow locks as a style and don't think of them as anything more than that. That's OK with me. I just don't like it when they, then, start to claim it's a spiritual practice in order to not cut them for jobs. If it's not spiritual, don't claim it is. That ruins dreadlocks reputation for those of us who do find a spiritual connection with our hair

oh i know you are 100% right the thing is

when you tell some of them how bad say wax or crochet or interlocking is they call you crazy and refuse to listen or even concider the facts

like on youtube skillteacher pushes crochet ..to hundreds of thousandsa and even tho his wifes dreads fell off in his hand if u dar say crochets bad he blocks you instead of listenung

then theres the shaggy weirdo that interlocks and makes ppl go bald yet you try to teach em diferently they go on the attack

now many stylists do undrerstand the try]=uth and u gotta respect them

but then therers others that say they know crochet or wax or whatever is harmful but they do it anyway cause thats what the customers want..but dio thety try to educate the customers? do they try to talk them out of it? or do they just take the money and run

hell ive even had some salons lie about the techniques they use like weirdsistas they orif=ginaly told ne they hated crochet cause it was too destructive and they instead used their own secret weaving technique.. a month later i find out they do crochet andthats all they do

oh we even had a guy who is 1 of the ppl that teach the teachers that teach you to use wax he joined here and we made a discusion called teach a teacher about dread wax or something but he refused to listen at all and went on and on with some nonsence about wax causing "hair memory" that made the hair remember how to stay togetbher in dreads..none of which n]\made sense

then there was the great debate with jonny clean..lol where he admitted that wax prevented the formation of any new knots after day 1

then defined maturity by how hard the wax inside got..

i guess im rambling but the pint is we love and respect hairdressers that are wulling to learn!

hell panterra id say has an honourary phd in hairology and we all respect the hell outra her

but

more often then not the salons and locticians and hairdressers we come in contact with are the types tbhat refus to learn or ven concider logical truths or even discuss the issues without blowing up into nonsence arguments

Stephani said:

As a hairstylist I did not know that we were disliked by so many. I started my dreads with twist and rip, I used no products at all. Before I started my dreads I did quite a bit of research. I've been in the industry for 6 years now, and still felt I wanted to be completely educated on dreads and all of the processes. I will tell you all that in school we are taught to use wax, and told that shampooing will damage the dreads. I now know differently, as do the other stylists in my salon (thanks to me educating them). So really, a person shouldn't blame a stylist for being poorly educated. We all think we are receiving top notch education when we pay thousands of dollars for it. We can however blame the stylist for not FURTHERING that education once entering the industry as a professional. I do wish, however, that I wouldn't get a bad rap just by being a hairstylist, like some of my peers do. It kind of falls into a stereotype situation, the same as people thinking dreads are a dirty disgraceful thing to want or have. I really hope I've made sense in trying to explain myself, and that this doesn't come across as mean. I'm really just trying to shed some light as to why some stylist think they should do things the way they were taught.

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thank you for understanding what I was trying to say. I really wasn't sure if I worded it right, and really didn't want to come off as being mean or snotty.

I have actually been trying to set up something with my old school so I could go in while they are teaching the new students how to dreadlock. They told me they'd love to have me come in sometime. So when I do go in and teach an education course I'll post some picture's here .

I'll admit, I have truly admired the beauty of dreadlocks for years. Although I have always thought they were beautiful, I never realized how much of a spiritual journey they are to most people until recently. I did start mine because I love them, and wanted them for style. Now that I have them, I'm realizing it's much, much more then just a style. It really makes me excited to keep going in my drealock journey.

Oh believe me I completely understand what you are saying when it comes to hairstylists who don't want to listen. I even work with one. When I told my coworkers I was giving myself dreads, she was first to pipe in with "oh you are going to stink". I literally just laughed in her face then looked at her and said, well I guess you wont have to smell me then. It's funny how people get so set in their ways, and never want to grow and learn. To me life is all about learning and experiencing new things, and never settling for anything less then that.

As for the one who said the wax makes your hair remember how to lock up. That is just nonsense and actually kind of humorous. There is not one thing in this world that can make your hair remember what to do. Hair does not have a brain, therefore, it does not remember. Hair is made of keratin, which is protein. If you cover the keratin with wax it is just going to build up on the hair.

As for Jonny Clean, he clearly just wants to sell his products. Which is sad.

soaring eagle said:

oh i know you are 100% right the thing is

when you tell some of them how bad say wax or crochet or interlocking is they call you crazy and refuse to listen or even concider the facts

like on youtube skillteacher pushes crochet ..to hundreds of thousandsa and even tho his wifes dreads fell off in his hand if u dar say crochets bad he blocks you instead of listenung

then theres the shaggy weirdo that interlocks and makes ppl go bald yet you try to teach em diferently they go on the attack

now many stylists do undrerstand the try]=uth and u gotta respect them

but then therers others that say they know crochet or wax or whatever is harmful but they do it anyway cause thats what the customers want..but dio thety try to educate the customers? do they try to talk them out of it? or do they just take the money and run

hell ive even had some salons lie about the techniques they use like weirdsistas they orif=ginaly told ne they hated crochet cause it was too destructive and they instead used their own secret weaving technique.. a month later i find out they do crochet andthats all they do

oh we even had a guy who is 1 of the ppl that teach the teachers that teach you to use wax he joined here and we made a discusion called teach a teacher about dread wax or something but he refused to listen at all and went on and on with some nonsence about wax causing "hair memory" that made the hair remember how to stay togetbher in dreads..none of which n]\made sense

then there was the great debate with jonny clean..lol where he admitted that wax prevented the formation of any new knots after day 1

then defined maturity by how hard the wax inside got..

i guess im rambling but the pint is we love and respect hairdressers that are wulling to learn!

hell panterra id say has an honourary phd in hairology and we all respect the hell outra her

but

more often then not the salons and locticians and hairdressers we come in contact with are the types tbhat refus to learn or ven concider logical truths or even discuss the issues without blowing up into nonsence arguments

Stephani said:

As a hairstylist I did not know that we were disliked by so many. I started my dreads with twist and rip, I used no products at all. Before I started my dreads I did quite a bit of research. I've been in the industry for 6 years now, and still felt I wanted to be completely educated on dreads and all of the processes. I will tell you all that in school we are taught to use wax, and told that shampooing will damage the dreads. I now know differently, as do the other stylists in my salon (thanks to me educating them). So really, a person shouldn't blame a stylist for being poorly educated. We all think we are receiving top notch education when we pay thousands of dollars for it. We can however blame the stylist for not FURTHERING that education once entering the industry as a professional. I do wish, however, that I wouldn't get a bad rap just by being a hairstylist, like some of my peers do. It kind of falls into a stereotype situation, the same as people thinking dreads are a dirty disgraceful thing to want or have. I really hope I've made sense in trying to explain myself, and that this doesn't come across as mean. I'm really just trying to shed some light as to why some stylist think they should do things the way they were taught.