Forum Activity for @earth-rose

Let It Go [Warning, LOTS of photos] TIMELINE

Member Journals and Timelines

I kind of thought it might inspire those who are starting their journey, or are down the road a little, that aren't feeling confident about the way their dreads are forming. This is my extensive journey, mapped from my awful "rats' nest" -as I'd been told - to beautiful, mature locks, that I love more and more each day.

My method, "let it go"....completely natural/neglect, with some string and beads here and there, to completely naked dreads.

This journey has been a beautiful and mind expanding experience, and I'm glad to share it with you all now.

5 and 1/2 years of Letting It Go begins here....

Before letting it go...

And it's going....

updated by @earth-rose: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

Managing my neglected dreads....

Dread Maintenance

I just thought this was funny, the other day I was at the river, and my baby hairs were drying out - which means curly and frizzy - and some guy said "Whoa, looks like you need to work on your hair a little.." to which I responded, "I took the neglect route for a reason..."

It goes either way, some people will ask if it's a lot of work to have my hair look like this too.

But really, I just was sick of painfully finger combing [since I've never used a brush] knots out of my mess of hair in the first place. So I let it do it's thing. I guess OCCASIONALLY, I'll pull some apart, but only if the big ones are trying to get bigger or grabbing a dread that's not right next to it. Other than that, they're their own thing doing as they please.

updated by @earth-rose: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

Second thoughts

Introduce Yourself

That is apart of the journey. Shit gets real, and quick. I think it took almost two years for my hair to start looking nice, to me and other people...for the first couple years it was a rats nest on my head that was absolutely out of control. It's a beautiful learning experience. Growing locks definitely brings up a lot for people, with strangers or even those they're close to, but I believe it's worth it.

So I back combed my dreads before I signed up here

Dread Maintenance

I'd say just let 'em grow... you should be fine. You should post photos too.

dread wraps?

Dread Accessories

Personally...I'd avoid wrapping your dreads...when you get them wet they'll retain more moisture and make you more susceptible to mold. When I had my dreads wrapped they'd stay wet for days...and some eventually developed a slime to them...I took all my cords out and had to do some serious washing. Just sayin....

Grey hair? Mildew? Or Baking Soda build up??

Introduce Yourself

There is also the factor that a lot of the hairs within your dreads are not live, attached hairs anymore and may lose pigment after dettached from your head! I think that's what mine is, I don't use BS just Dr Bronners....and it's not my tips that are grey, it's interwoven into my locks - no mildew or mold present either.

Do early wraps help lock your hair? and other wrap concerns...

Dread Accessories

Oh...but if you really want to wrap to help with the dread process, I think it's much more effective to tighten already matured dreads...not babies.

Do early wraps help lock your hair? and other wrap concerns...

Dread Accessories

For myself, I think the dreads that were wrapped before they were mangled didn't really dread faster, and had some parts that didn't dread at all....the roots of the wrapped hairs went nuts though, and once I unwrapped the hair they had established sections, if you will..

I personally wouldn't recommend wrapping dreads at all, I've had many wraps, of many different materials, some for years, some for short amounts of time. I notice they stay wet much longer than any other dreads...and eventually the string kind of melds with the hair and becomes slimy....I think it puts you at risk for mold. When I finally got all my wraps out I had to do some pretty serious washings to feel like my hair was normal again and not housing any fungi.

Hair elastic alternatives?

Dread Accessories

I just use a cotton/spandex headband as a giant hair tie. Simple!

Heading to NorCal!!!

Introduce Yourself

From San Diego, I'm heading up the coast, I know there's a ton of you Cali dreadies on the way, let's meet up and play!!!!
updated by @earth-rose: 01/13/15 09:02:32PM