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hey everyone

i just am putting the finishing touches on a brand new social network for the philly area the philly hangout scene http://www.phillyhangout.com/

its all about the arts music culture and community in and around Philadelphia

its just 2 days old today got its 1st search traffic so its ready to take off but i need all ya philly folks to get ion there add stuff add content make it happen

also

i want input what should i add and improve

im adding a local business listing classifieds jobs and personals extension as soon as the new subdomain forwards properly so expect that to replace the crappy business directory thats up now

the vision

an all in one social network that brings the people the region the visitors and tourists all together in 1 place to hang out make friends and discuss the communities imagine a hangout spot where joe shmoe from center city can hang out meet jane doe from Germany whos coming fir a visit share stories of the favorite hangouts and hotspots then meet and greet when she gets here

but its more then that

its a showcase for all Philly has to offer

small businesses to city wide celebrations can showcase what they have to offer

just the music arts and culture scene alone will make this site explode in no time

so start posting events

start posting your fave hangouts the out of the way secluded isles of serenity and the wild whacky and crazy

you may even discover things in your own neighborhood you never knew existed

My Gilly Bean was one of those nearly bald babies . She had just that little tuft of brown fuzz on top of her round little head and it just seemed to take forever to grow.

But grow it did! And once it started it had no intention of stopping! It seems hard to think back to a time when she didn't have a long flowing mess of dark brown hair upon her little head.

But brushing that hair was something that no one looked forward to. It was WELL beyond the usual annoyance for a small child, Gill would cry and sob whenshe was having her hair brushed and it was getting to the point where it seemed more like torture for my little lady.

Her little spirit was happiest when her locks were wild and free!

In May of 2011, at 3 years old, we started talking about Dreadlocks. We looked at lots of pictures and talked a lot about it. Gill is in a very awesome day care and a lot of her teachers and the people who care for (and about) her at her school were all for the idea. We decided to do up some "temp dreads" that she rocked for a few days before we washed them out to see what she thought about them. We watched "Horton Hears a Who" and, in true big sister fashion, Ell helped put a few in.

Gilly loved them... she did not love washing those temps out. Her father boycotted the idea of dreadlocks at the advice of his sister (and everyone else under the sun) who pressed that she was too young to make a decision like that. And so the hair brushing torture continued and an appointment was set to chop off all of Gills long brown hair into a bob.

That appointment was canceled! Because deep down Gill's Dad and I both knew it was not what we or she wanted and it wasnt the answer. So glad we listened to our hearts in the long run.

The months went on, the brushings went on amidst the sobs and crying and begging for dreadlocks....In December of 2011 something changed. Gilly's Dad called me up and told me he'd decided that yes, she can have dreads.

The idea was met with plenty of protest from plenty of people.Gill and I discussed that not everyone was going to like her dreads, but that that didn't matter so long as SHE liked her dreads. We talked about the fact that once they are in, they are in and that she would have to cut them out if she decides she no longer wants them. When we were sure she understood what would go into having them, and she still wanted them, we went for it!

There was NO way her Dad would allow her to go totally natural and grow some neglect dreads, so we put them in with a combo of back combing and twist and rip (bummer I really understood twist and rip after the fact, so only 10 of her dreads are done like this... I actually combed out the others and put these in after a week).

While her dad sometimes has trouble with the idea of how frizzy her dreads are, he's getting used to it and really is understanding that for them to be natural, we just have to let them do their thing. I'm so in love with this process... just like parenting, we'll learn as we go!

Wow! I looked back at all my notes and posts and realized that I started this journey only 30 days ago, yet strangely enough it feels like forever. I say this only because this journey started out from a state of "knot" knowing anything, and yet wanting this so badly.

I have a long way to go, and in the last 30 days, I haven't friended anyone, not because I do not want to, but because I feel like I have been this needy baby dready taking a tremendous risk and believing I was ready for it, but realizing I had not anticipated the reality of it. In reality I am transforming as my dreads form. The insecurity I felt initially, the fear of screwing it up with what little hair I had, has made me realize the reality of this spiritual journey.

I admit to impatience, I saw all the lovely photos and thought I could be one of those people who had beautiful locks after 2 weeks, but this was not reality and i realized that the dreading was happening but not as i anticipated. Today at day 30, I have probably 3 or 4 honest dreads forming. My hair loves the baking soda wash, and the ACV. In fact, I have started using it on my 16-year old daughter (Thank you so much Soaring Eagle) who has bi-racial hair and her scalp was flaky and we tried for more than a year to make it go away, but nothing worked. The BS rinse and ACV rinse was a miracle! And best of all, it brought the curls out of her hair more than the high priced product we bought at the mall boutique. It was also a bonding experience for us with me doing her hair.

My husband has become much more relaxed with my journey and seems to be embracing it more. I would say he has been lovingly indulgent of the experience. He has seen that I do not allow myself to just let myself be wild. He sees me mix up the rinses, and tend my baby locks (which are virtually invisible) and realizes that this has been a joyful experience.

I will admit, at the beginning of the week I was going to quit the journey. My hair was lying about the face and I had only scraggle rock. Yet when I got home from school that afternoon I looked in the mirror and I took the scraggle and I gently twisted it back from my face, straight back. I took those little itty bitty clips and I clipped it and let the rest scraggle away....and guess what, I liked it. It allowed me a compromise. Now I see the dreads forming and I realize it will be one here and another there for awhile, but I will not look to the destination but enjoy the journey.

I have done the sea salt spray, and that helps with my hairs natural tendancy to smooth out. It seems like after my wash day it feels like the dreads have disappeared, but by the next day, they pop out again. Eventually I figure they won't feel like they have washed out.

I am glad to see so many people who started at the new year like me, and will read of others whose journey is similar to mine. I will not lose heart...at least not today.

Peace

Hey guys!

Happy February!!

My dreads are 5 months old today woot!

As some of you may or may not know, my dreads started out as twists that I re-twisted about once every 3 weeks and then it dawned on me, this is a waste of my time. So I stopped re-twisting and have let them dread on their own accord and the results have been tremendous.

They have come such a long way in these short 5 months and I'm looking for more to come.. The dreadies are essentially (for the most part) dreaded.. There is just like an inch or 2 at most on the ends of each that aren't dreaded..

In my opinion, they have progressed quite rapidly in the past month or so. All thanks to not re-twisting anymore. For reals its not necessary.. Here's to 5 months and many more to come!

<3 you all

Hey guys!

Happy February!!

My dreads are 5 months old today woot!

As some of you may or may not know, my dreads started out as twists that I re-twisted about once every 3 weeks and then it dawned on me, this is a waste of my time. So I stopped re-twisting and have let them dread on their own accord and the results have been tremendous.

They have come such a long way in these short 5 months and I'm looking for more to come.. The dreadies are essentially (for the most part) dreaded.. There is just like an inch or 2 at most on the ends of each that aren't dreaded..

In my opinion, they have progressed quite rapidly in the past month or so. All thanks to not re-twisting anymore. For reals its not necessary.. Here's to 5 months and many more to come!

<3 you all

Hey guys!

Happy February!!

My dreads are 5 months old today woot!

As some of you may or may not know, my dreads started out as twists that I re-twisted about once every 3 weeks and then it dawned on me, this is a waste of my time. So I stopped re-twisting and have let them dread on their own accord and the results have been tremendous.

They have come such a long way in these short 5 months and I'm looking for more to come.. The dreadies are essentially (for the most part) dreaded.. There is just like an inch or 2 at most on the ends of each that aren't dreaded..

In my opinion, they have progressed quite rapidly in the past month or so. All thanks to not re-twisting anymore. For reals its not necessary.. Here's to 5 months and many more to come!

<3 you all

Hello,so i have wanted locks for a veryyyyyy long time.i have now started my long journey! my locs were started with a plastic comb and wax,a very dumb and impatient way.but after watchin youtube videos a came to this site and inspired for natural dreads.i have had them since december 8th and they honestly look like natural dreads of people that have had them a few months.all loose and everything.there is wake holding the tips together but not much and all the rubber bands have been out a for a little bit.i want to resort to all natural now if posible.i want my dreads perfect and am very dedicated.tips such as types of natural soaps or shampoos to wash my hair,sleeping in bandanas,home made spray such as salt and lemon or anything i could use is asked for.thank you very much and am looking for some great responses!

Reading up on dreading currently. I'm super excited to start. I'm thinking of doing the natural route but I haven't completed my reading up yet so it's still debatable.

Switched to no-poo today & already my hair feels so amazingly soft, why didn't I try this before? (oh yeah because I loved the smell of my conditioner) I don't like the apple cider vinegar smell, so I may be messing with the recipe some, but I'm really enjoying how my hair feels after only 1 day!

I'm planning on going no-poo for a while, putting henna in my hair again to darken it some (it's really really red right now, I want a more brown/red) & then starting the dreading process.

I've always loved the look of dreads, & it makes sense to do it now with kids (won't be able to knot their fingers up in my hair & pull, but they will be able to pull on a dread or two, but I'm assuming it will be less hassle). I've always hated my hair, strawberry blonde wavy & won't hold a style. I resort to cutting it off, dyeing it, & hating it some more. I've only had maybe 3 hair cuts I've ever been satisfied with. I'm hoping I will love my dreads, I think I will.

Just by poking around this site a little bit today I've already learned so much I didn't know dreads & dreading, I can't wait to learn more & put that knowledge to good use!

So my dreads are really starting to get messy !

I did the twist and rip method on them but have now decided to start the neglect method, so by doing that I won't be able to help the root hair right?

(sorry they're crazy right now and really messy right now)

I've been wanting to dread my hair for a while now but i convince myself not to. I work in hardwood floors and there is constant dust all day long. I don't know to much about dreads, i'm assuming that would not be a good thing if you want to grow them naturally. Anything helps.