This is my first dreadlock update! I've been meaning to do this for a while but being in my fifth (and last!) year of university I've been extremely busy...muahaha all the more reason to let my hair tangle at its will and have one less thing to do.

I'm using the neglect method, and it's working wonderfully for my hair right now! I couldn't be more pleased! (Pictures will follow soon as soon as I find my camera cord.) I've been washing my hair once a week for a while now. This doesn't seem like a lot but it works for my hair. I cut ALL products from my routine back in October 2015 and have been going the all-natural way, using water only washing when possible, clay toothpaste, coconut oil deodorant, all those goodies. After a long transitioning phase to not using any shampoo my hair got used to only using water and actually produced a lot less grease than it used to, so that it only needs to be washed once a week or so. Recently I noticed that the sides of my hair have been being a little stringy (read: greasy), which was fine when I was brushing it. However this prevents proper locking up of dreads so I upped the washings to twice a week. I simply scratch at my scalp under running water for a few minutes, not touching the rest of the hair, then do an acid rinse using a solution of lime juice or raw apple cider vinegar if I'm using hard water. Then I just let it air dry.

(This type of hair care is so wonderful and resonates so strongly with me, since it's pretty much how I've been caring for my hair for years. I only brush it out once every week or so. Because of this I actually don't know my real "dread birthday," or the day that I stopped brushing it, but just chose October 9 since that's the day I decided I wanted to let it dread.)

As of this moment most of my hair is still in the sectioning phase, but I do have five dreads that have upgraded to tangly teenager status: three on the back of my head, one for my bangs-area, and one at the back of my neck. I'm not sure if dread beads are my thing yet, I think I might prefer not using them and just seeing what my hair does (with a little sectioning help) on its own.

This is so freeing really, to let my hair do its own thing. It seems so beautiful that if I just let my hair do what it wants, it ends up being what I want from it too. This is the ultimate way to live in harmony, that you can see a force of nature working its magic on your own head.

Life and evolution make me wonder. Cats' and dogs' hairs grow to a certain length, then stop. So does our leg hair, arm hair, underarm hair, etc. Why does our crown hair ever grow? I believe there's some sort of spiritual reason for this, but I can't be too sure what it is. Maybe it's a manifestation of our spiritual energy, maybe it's a way of marking our human species as a special one. There's no denying that our species does have the most power on our Earth, the most self awareness and cumulative knowledge. There's something about letting your hair grow out that is so primal, so natural, so beautiful that you can't help but feel its positive energy. Hair is also such a personal thing to have, being literally the same thing in every single human being, but why are we subscribing to a mass idea that it all needs to look the same, that it has to be dyed and straightened and cut to a certain style and length for people to understand who you are? When did this happen that instead of seeing another human being as just another human being, one of our own species that we can communicate and share with, we started judging them on how well we think they're being human, to our standards, and don't want to get to know them? We need to take off our glasses that society makes us view other people with, this type of worldview or perception we are expected to have, and see with our own eyes, because there is so much goodness out here. We need to let go of society's grip on us, this image and life we think are expected of us. Live your life! Drink water, let Nature take your hair in her hands and create beautiful branches and roots like in the trees, and be proud of who you are! One Love, Peace