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Members from Russia and Ukraine lets talk about this war threat. War isn't personal, its political, so lets discuss this on a personal level, from your perspective.
I don't want to talk about world opinions, but your thoughts, fears, and insights.
It has been a long time since my son has had his hair cut. He is 14 years old and a bit OCD about who cuts his hair. He has been seeing the same hair dresser for the past 6 years. His hair was so long I kept asking him if he was going to dread his hair with me however he was not up for that. So last night I brought him to his favorite hair dresser. I really love her, she is so patient with my son and they both crack me up as I listen to their conversations and especially my son's dry British humor. Any ways, she was the first person that said something about my hair and the first person I felt I had to educate. I myself do not even know everything about dreads but I do know from what other people have said to stay away from wax. She told me that I should have back combed and used wax to keep the frizz down...but I honestly don't care about the frizz.
She then went on to tell me a horror story about her brother in law's dreads and how he had went on a camping trip, he returned to having to cut his dreads off because he got lady bugs infested in them. She said that when she cut them they smelled and had dead skin in them and were just super nasty. As horrible as the story was I did not tremble 
I held my head high and thought to myself as horrible as that is for him that will not be me. hahaha It was weird however to be kinda put down by someone who had thinning hair from over dying. That although it was a hair salon and they should care about your hair they did not care about it entirely because blow drying, flat irons and the use of chemicals in it is not good either! As the woman next to me was spraying the crap outa her hair with hair spray making me gag it put things in prospective that I was different. The hairdresser talked me into buying my son some hair gel for his new do and since it was not tested on animals I gave in, she then joked about now I will have to compete for bathroom time now that my son will be doing his hair. I reminded her I am lowmaintenance....and thank God! That whole experience was really an eye opener for me. Although I support my son having free will to make his own choices I do try to push my views on him a little but he is young and I have faith he will learn. I am thankful I am not a high maintenance person and I look forward to defending my dreads 
So the nightly conversation with my son is about God and other religions (which came up because of our visits from Jehovah witnesses) I tried explaining in my own way the discrepancies of religions which mind you made him more confusedso I ended the conversation with God is all love and wants us to love everyone. He then responds So God is a Hippie LOL my kid cracks me up!
The Sea brought forth;
a seed within me
placid by the rushing waves
still like the rocks that rest in her path all of their days
along a sand filled shore
I feel the life that moves in me a little more
her glory, her love
her pain, and her rage
yet she will become sacred again today.
All that lives within her needs
creatures from above praise her,
And still she is the greatest mystery.
Her calming voice whispers secrets to me
The Spirit who made her has made me..
The voice becomes prominent as she pulls back
words spoken without a sound
my love I have found
you properate me and make me whole.
A thousand words cannot cover these shores
I am non existent as I face the Sea
She has a power over me
I look at her amongst all her glory
She stares back at me;
Who are you? Let go of your worries!
she proclaims linguistic form to me
you cannot buy peace or solitude it is a cardinal virtue.
My mind wonders off as I think about that thought
It is then that I am brought where the pathway marks the spot
in his arms I move along
shaped by the roots of time
awakened by the dreams that dance in my mind
I am becoming what I set out to be
I realise then that honesty flows deep from my seed
spinning in and out of me
sweet surrender has found his way to me
though the path we walk upon is shaded by the many trees
I feel protection over me
vigorously he walks beside of me
his voice sings love to me
It is now that I have come upon all that was created for me
I have Aspergers Syndrome. This video is unlisted, so you need the link to view it. I saw something last night that inspired me to come out as Autistic.
Love Is The Most High by Fortunate Youth
No song has ever grabbed me like this one. I honestly can't put into words what makes me listen to it ten times a day. Wish I knew what I was trying to say
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"The Alcoholic" A Puppet's Tale by Royksopp
I used to be a raging alcoholic, and this reminds me of some forgotten times
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Spirit Bird by Xavier Rudd
I was sleeping on a hardwood floor on a popped air mattress, going through withdrawals, trying to hold together my sanity, and a relationship. This song would be the soundtrack of that time.
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God of Second Chances by Carlos Whittaker W/Danny
Two beautiful souls merge together
Friends are dropping like flies. Ever since starting my dreadlock journey, I've found myself on a very liberating journey. I happen to fall under many dreadlock stereotypes, not because I want to be cool, but because I have found each stereotype I fall under, individually, and at seperate times. Yes I smoke weed and partake in entheogens, yes I am reading about Buddhism(and after showing someone the path of enlightenment before I knew what Buddhism was, and before I knew what enlightenment was, I'm beginning to believe I'm a Buddhist), yes I play music, yes I live in a rough town, yes I'm losing friends, and YES, I am happy with my life.
While lost in thought after reading part of a post by YUKON ***"...dreads let me know who ppl are really fast w/out them having to say a word to me"*** I begin to realize that someone with dreadlocks has a story to tell. I believe it boils down to one of two sides: 1. Whoever is wearing dreadlocks has been through some shit, or 2. We are strong minded and don't let the actions of others affect us in a negative way. I fall somewhere in the middle.
One thing that gets to me, is selling out. I know deep down I'm not selling out, but on the surface, I wonder. When you spend years among people, you tend to feel in debt to them in some way or another. So when you get dreadlocks, and your friends start calling you poser, or insulting you in some way or another, you may begin to wonder who you really are. This is when it REALLY gets tough. It's like digging a hole with a golf club. A big hole that can take days, even years to finish. There is a box at the bottom of this hole, and in it is a mirror. The only mirror that YOU can see. Once you get to that point, whether it takes a minute, or a lifetime, you'll find out who you are. I don't exactly know who I am, but I'm close enough to say that 99.8% of the people I have surrounded myself with over the past ten years, were only temporary helpers. At the end of your story, you're going to have one beautiful book. When I see someone with dreadlocks, I see a part of myself. I can definitely see where YUKON was coming from.
1. Start
I have come to realize that my crochet dreads did not seem to be the best of choices. Just a little misfortune to find this site after having the crochet dreads installed. Don't get me wrong; I love the dreads I'm having now, but during my dread search I wasn't able to find a way to let the dread develop the way I encounter here: the - lovingly - neglect way.
So now I have arrived, I have thrown overboard the crochet needle. Funny enough, somewhere on this site I saw a bent crochet needle, accompanied with laughter and a serious warning. Well, I had to straighten the needle several times a session the last two weeks. But, that's in the past now.
I'm new to this site and haven't by far explored the blogs, forums and advises, but I feel that starting right from the beginning might provide a guide for others who will visit this site in the future and stumble across me, having overcome problems the past few years. I'm sure I'm not the first and only one starting the crochet-neglect conversion, and will refer to predecessors on this site when I find them.
I like to run tests on myself, checking if the statements made by others apply to me. Usually they don't. I have found out and have come to the realization that I have to undergo situations myself. My current project is using my hand for a whole year when eating - I'm a leftie - just to convey that if one wants to change a well worn habit, all one has to do, is change the mind and chose the opposite. I do this for a friend, stubbornly stating not being able to use the right hand when eating, even though religion dictates. I'm not religious (at all) and I'm not only doing this to bring a point across, I cannot change ones mind when the other doesn't want to, but for me it's a great lesson too: I used to state I wasn't able to use my right hand, I even have a banjo for lefties. So to prove myself I can apply my own statement to myself, my cutlery has switched hands for three months now, nine more to go. Doing this makes me realize I have checked my thinking regularly over the past few years, whether my state of mind is maturing. After all, my today's truth is tomorrow's lie; they are merely a state of mind with an expiry date.
I have digressed... Back to the dreads.
So my plan is to let the hair grow, without further nurturing the dreads I have now and watch the results of my actions unfold. My current idea is that if I would have had neglects, the new outgrow will dread itself eventually over time, so why not when wearing crochet dreads? The principle seems to be the same.
I was so over the moon with these dreadies - and still am - I suggested my sweetheart to swap from colorful extension dreads to the real deal. She replied with a big no no, stating it took too much effort to maintain them. Now having found the neglect way, she might change her mind, she looks great wearing dreads.
When cruising this site I have come across many pictures of forests. I'm a seafarer myself for over thirty years now and would like to post one or two special ocean views. Hope you don't mind. Funny thing is that I feel like a landlubber who accidentally became a sailor; I love the smell of the forest's soil when I get back in my home town and go out walking the dogs. Or when I overview the slopes and my mind floods with emotions. And love. This is something the ocean can not provide. On the other hand, at sea I have experienced the craziest situations, which a non-mariner may have great difficulty in comprehending. Digressing again. Oh well, I don't mind, and this is my blog after all.
What's this "Dreads Online" and "Knotty Chat"? Doesn't seem to be working. It looks as if my sentences vanish into space.
So here's my from-crochet-to-neglect project/adventure.
3 Months! I'm blonder and my animal friendly pink hair dye (LaRiche Directions, Pastel Pink and Carnation Pink) have arrived. (FYI, I also used some great and animal friendly bleaches, from the good people of Sanotint). Oh also, this might be of interest to some... after I think the first time bleaching (my virgin hair), my dreads went crazy kinky, and were quite hard to unloop. After the second bleach, my hair felt so dry I used some of the conditioner that came with the bleach. I know conditioner and dreads are a big no-no, but it REALLY helped! I also only left it in very briefly, maybe 30 seconds, and not on the roots. Just wanted to share
The dye looked fantastic going on...
But took on a more orangey hue when dried / after a couple of days
I realized the Pastel Pink really only shows up as such on pretty much white hair - I increased the ration of the Carnation Pink to Pastel to about 1:3 (from 1:5 or so... the Carnation Pink is Quite Strong!) ... and am finally getting somewhere
I liked the idea of having a mix of blonde and pink dreads, which is also a good way to test bleaching time and colours before going BIG with it
Might try and do a pink-blonde ombre thing next time though