So I'm less than a month away from my one year anniversary of starting my dreads. I'm in a bit of a crisis right now. I want to cut my hair. I miss feeling a brush going through my hair, being able to run my hands through my hair. My dreads are locking up really well, almost a little too well. Some of them are going really crazy... actually MOST of them are going really crazy. More so than I really want them to. I wish I had made smaller sections so as they sucked up and got crazy loopy they wouldn't be as thick as they are. I'm seriously debating cutting all my hair off and starting to regrow my hair with the intention of starting again when its a little bit longer.
I started my hair with T&R, followed by neglect. I feel like they've become part of who I am. But now I'm also working out in the real world again, a small mom and pop's computer shop. I deal with a lot of older customers and often times wonder if they don't think less of me because of how I look. I know it shouldn't bother me but it somewhat does. I didn't realize how well my hair would take to dreadlocks, really didn't want them to get as crazy as they are.
I don't know what to do, this has been a daily thought now for about the last week. Part of me loves my hair, the other part hates it. I don't regret doing it and it seems like a shame to throw in the towel at almost a year. What to do.... what to do...

So I am almost two months into my dreadie journey. I've hunted and have gotten my hands on some glass and also some wooden custom beads, spent some time and taught my hubby how to do hair wraps with embroidery thread. I started off with T&R followed by neglect. I used the locking gel from dreadlockshampoo.com for a few weeks and then gave up on it, I'm keeping it around for times when I might need to smooth my dreads out for a special occasion. I do think it helped them not come out as quick, but besides that really don't know.
Each dread has a good 3-4 inches of undreaded hair at the ends, which I like because it curls and lets my hair dry way faster. Roots are locking up and after only two short months I'm having to make sure that I keep them separated. So needless to say I'm uber happy with my progress so far.
I'm thankful and also happy that having dreads has allowed me to just not give a crap about my hair anymore, no fighting with it everyday to make it do what I want. I gave all of my hair products and left over shampoo and conditioner to a good friend of mine, made her day The bathroom is less cluttered now and that makes me feel better too.
I did have several dreads come completely out at my hairline and have been debating re T&Ring them, half my hairline is a curly mess and the other half is baby dreads that didn't come out.
My friends and family for the most part have either given me positive feedback or kept their comments to themselves. Well besides one of my grandmothers, she felt the need to tell me they look dirty. But this is the same woman that complained because my husbands hair/dreads is down to the middle of his back now. Oh and the reason my son when he was a newborn only wanted mommy and no one else was because I breastfed him and held him too much. Needless to say her snarky comments usually slide off like butter on a hot skillet.
The initial itchiness I had was gone after a couple short weeks, and I haven't been having any problems with dandruff for the first time in my life. Washing twice a week with BS/ACV and EO's; Rosemary, Lavender, Peppermint, and a bit of Tea Tree Oil. LOVE how it makes my hair smell and I usually add a little of the Lavender and Rosemary to my ACV rinse as well. I never smell vinegar in my hair, just my lovely EOs.
I love some of the comments that I got from out local Mom's Group right after I did my hair. Everything from them arguing with their husbands about wanting dreads to people saying that it always seemed like I was supposed to have dreads and that they fit me and my personality so well
Thanks to everyone who has offered their support to far and all the great information and opinions I've found on here ^_^ Blessed Be.

So today is the first day of the rest of my life, also the day I start my journey with dreads... No more frustration and heartache about having frizzy out of control hair, wanting to shave my head because I just can't figure out what else to do with it!

I'd been debating for close to 3 years now wanting dreadlocks... and now that my husband's dreads are going on 3 years old this summer it kinda hit me that if I had started them back when I was first thinking of it I'd have an awesome set of dreads by now.

We learned A LOT when it comes to my husbands dread journey, had quite a few bumps and back slides. I'm happy that we learned so much and finally found a place with some good solid information from this website, not to mention a ton of awesome people! I know that I have no intentions of starting dreads like we started my husbands by back combing. Of course that was after we went to a woman who "knew how to do dreads" and she twisted and gobbed his hair up with a crap ton of gel, after two weeks he STANK because she told him not to wash his hair. From there we combed them out and bought a dreadheadhq kit, fortunately we used minimal wax on his tightly backcombed dreads. We've learned better now, I look forward to seeing the difference in our results! And also this helps us learn that much better so in a couple years when our son wants a set of dreads of his own our now 19 month old little boy will be set up even better for some nice dreads.

So it starts, today I'll be washing my hair with Dr Bronner's to get it stripped. I know its not ideal because we have hard water, but I already have it on hand and don't want to spend money on something special when I only have intentions of using it for this first time. After today I'll be going to baking soda and apple cider vinegar with essential oils. I figure any residue that the Bronner's could possibly leave behind should come out with the next BS/ACV wash. We will follow my wash today by some air drying time and start the rip and tear process, I plan to order some of this locking gel from dreadlockshampoo.com that I've been hearing people rave about. From there I don't think I'll be doing anymore rip and tear, we will just let them become the awesomeness that they will become on their own, with a little extra help from the locking gel when I get it! And also my husband has some difficult spots that might benefit from some help of the locking gel.

Wish me luck! I'll also be starting a project shortly of making a crocheted tam for myself out of some merchandised cotton yarn that I've been wondering what to make with it. Again I hear wool is ideal, but this will be something that will be cooler to wear in the summer time if I need to put my hair up. I should have enough left over to maybe make a visor for myself too!