1 month mark :) I began my journey July 4th 2015..
Dreading Methods
wow, that is amazing progress. your hair looks beautiful!
Forum Activity for @mercedes-young
Dreading Methods
hello!
Introduce Yourself
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.
updated by @mercedes-young: 08/16/15 02:32:50AM
first bicarb wash
General Questions
hello
so today is day 1 of dreading, haha. i washed my hair with baking soda and water, the rinsed with acv mix. my hair feels oily and kind of gross. lol, did i do something wrong. i put baking soda in the bath and dunked my head (i don't have a shower nozzle), rubbing at the scalp. then i drained the water, filled with clean water and rinsed it out. then i did the same with the vinegar and rinsed again. but my hair feels really gross right now. it doesn't smell like vinegar so i think i got everything out. but i can already tell that when it dries, it's going to look greasy.
or am i worrying about nothing? lol.
updated by @mercedes-young: 01/13/15 10:05:14PM
mess at work
General Talk
hello,
so i've literally just begun my dreading journey and am super excited. the only thing that worries me slightly is showing up to work with incredibly messy hair. i work in a restaurant and appearance is pretty important there. we have hired many people with dreads so i know it's not a problem - but the first few weeks my hair will be a tangled mess, not resembling dreads at all.
would it slow the process down to wear a bandana over the top of my head where it gets the frizziest? the rest i can just loop in a messy bun, i think. i work nights so normal they don't give a butt what we look like but i don't overly want to test the theory, lol.
updated by @mercedes-young: 01/13/15 10:05:13PM
Hello!
Introduce Yourself
Hi,
I've been reading this forum pretty obsessively for the past 2 days so figure i may as well join. I've been interested in dreading for as long as i can remember but usually only vaguely. I'm a pretty big girl so I've always thought that dreads wouldn't suit me. I kept telling myself maybe when i'm thinner/have a career/know what i want to do - then i can .
i'm 26 years old and finally realizing that i don't have to have everything figured out and i can do what i want right now. plus, i'm fortunate to work nights at a restaurant so no one gives two craps about how i look as long as i'm in uniform and my hair is back.
i love animals and i love helping people. I have a lot of pets and a very tiny apartment.
i think the only thing i'm nervous about is the first month when it's super messy. mainly for work and people assuming i'm just not brushing my hair to be gross. but super excited for this journey at the same time.
updated by @mercedes-young: 01/13/15 10:05:13PM