Michelle's Twist n' Rip Timeline!
Hey guys! I'm a little over 4 months into my journey and thought I'd post a timeline on here. I haven't been taking as many photos as I would like, which is a shame (since I AM a photographer!), but I have been trying to make sure I at least take some every month. Can't find my tripod adapter so these are all just snapshots with the iphone. This will be photos and my thoughts and experiences during the process which I've been journaling.
So, before dreads ... I love my hair, but had always admired dreads and toyed with the idea of trying them myself. This was best photo before I started them. Clearly, it's Christmas
My story:
I have thought about doing dreads for years and years. I've gone back and forth on it for lots of various reasons, many of them out of worries and fears. Would they look good on me? I mean, part of doing it is to NOT care but I'd be lying if I said I really did not care. Who doesn't want to feel attractive? So yeah, I really worried about that, what my family would think, etc. What would others think? Would it affect my business negatively? What about people's assumptions? Would everyone think I was a drughead? What about dirty? What about the questions, like "can you wash them?"... the fears of the unknown ! I did 2 dreads on each side towards the nape of my neck to kind of test the waters and then a few days later, I knew the time was right. Doing this represents a lot...facing fears, the unknown, having courage, having patience, letting go, trusting, and loving me no matter what my hair looks like. It was also about doing something soley for me for once and not caring about what anyone else thinks about it. But then again..it's just hair right?
After doing TONS of research, I went with the twist n' rip method.I'm going to technically say my dreads started on April 5th . That is when I really began the process, though it took me a few days to do all of my hair because I did them all on my own. I have a lot of hair too and I did small dreads because I like them smaller plus they will get fatter and fluffier over time!
First real photo I took. this was on April 7th. I still hadn't finished them at this point..you may can tell at the bottom.
April 7th
April 9th - Almost finished and down
April 17th - almost 2 weeks. Fuzzy McFuzzerson!
April 21st - Trying to Love the Process
I have had some really not fun days of major crazy itching....for the record, if you ever do the sea salt and water spray, try your best not to get it on your scalp and also plan to do it 20-30 minutes before a shower. You will thank me.
I also happened to see a girl with beautiful hair today and it made me want hair like that, plus you know, not being able to do the normal hairstyles that I love doing. I know this is a journey and all, but dang, I really have been considering taking them out today. Hey, I gave it a go!!! HAHA!
But, I gotta see this thing through. I sure hope there are more days where I can say I love them and don't want to take them out! And I hope it happens soon...ish.
I am really missing having "normal" hair right now!
Part of me wants to give up and comb them out. The other part of me is feeling like that I should stick with it because my urge is to "run away" from the process if you will....to fight the change and whatever that brings.
Maybe I'm exactly where I need to be.
Nothing special either..just a couple of shots on the iphone. I am a photographer, so I should take a decent SP soon!
Some of them have fallen out quite a bit and the bottom part is loose and a bit curly. It is what it is!
So yep, they are now two whole months. Most of the "twist n' rip dreads" around the top left side have fallen out. Others are sticking together...so much so that it's been a total bitch to separate them and keep them separate. I've heard of some people doing the rubber bands and I'm tempted. My hair tangles and mattes up so easily that it's extremely hard! Part of me thinks I should just let them be but holy shit the other day after washing, it hurt so bad to separate them. And it took forever. Bleh!
So here are some photos. 2 months.
I am still loving them so far, though I finally washed them with regular shampoo (gasp!). The front area was just not feeling clean and felt too oily so I used Shampoo Three by Paul Mitchell to try and strip the crap. I didn't do that before starting and I guess I should have. I will go back to just baking soda (and occasional Dr. Bronner's Peppermint) and see how it does now that I used the Shampoo Three.
What else.. hmm.. I think I've had more fear of what others will think than what they actually do. I guess because I witnessed it before with a friend who had dreads so I expected it, but the truth is, everyone has been really positive. And that's SO AWESOME! Granted, it still looks like "normal" hair a bit, but I am still really happy that I haven't felt treated differently or in a negative way. And I sure hope I don't but the truth is, if I do, that's on them and not me.
Here is the back that I took earlier for a friend who wanted to see them.
It's kind of a hot mess right now but I also kinda like it. I'm embracing the messiness. I've got TONS of crazy loops and it's starting to shrink too, which I didn't expect so soon.
The past couple of days I've had thoughts about combing them out. Not sure why, except maybe because they DO take time. Patience, patience! I don't plan on taking them out though...I am going to see this through!
2 & 4 month comparison. Only thing I did is separated the funky dread in the middle that started to congo.
updated by @michelle-stone: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM