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Ah separation, how I took thee for granted when I first heard of you. Everything I read about natural dreadlocks said Separate, make sure you're separating those dreads that are growing together! Make sure they don't grow together at the roots! Pull them apart! So sure I kept separating them, pulling them apart all blissful and ignorant. Not until over 3 months in did I realize OH you don't just pull them apart, GO THROUGH THOSE THINGS AT THE ROOT HAIR. BY. HAIR. Make sure that they're separated at THE ROOT and not just the dread itself or you will end up with a giant hairball with some dreads sticking out of it (sounds cute right). Once I realized how vital this is, it took over an hour (s'okay it was good music time) to go through those suckers hair by hair and even a 15 minute break because it became so overwhelming to separate the last three (see image) and I was convinced that the back right side of my head was forever destined to have just one giant dread. Honestly now that I know this it's all good and my dreads are progressing better than ever, but WOW was it a fun time really separating them for the first time. It is easier after they've been washed, then the single hairs that you're separating have more elasticity and won't break.
So as Ive been dreading my hair Ive noticed way more vibrations in people than I ever could before. Is this a thing? I have a background in the eastern healing and modalities as a massage therapist and deal with these kinds of things often but Ive felt it more consistently since my hair has been locking up. I must try some more reading about the antenna that is the hair and how locking attracts more energy so to speak. Maybe Im just hyperaware of people and their reactions because I feel on guard most of the times Im in public but so far no one has just come to me out of the blue and shat on me for having dreads. Im about to start a new job soon so I will see how things go from there. I really feel like this is how my hair is suppose to be on my body. It feels natural and like Im more connected to the world, the universe, the earth. I look around and want to help so many people but when I look at the one person who means the most to me I know he will never be able to see it. And so I broke up with my boyfriend of 5 1/2 years.
I want to be there for him. I want to help and see him grow but its not happening and I can't make it happen. Im growing as my own person too and think we just want different things in life. Similar things, but oh so different on very many important levels of a relationship. I didn't plan this to happen it just did. Im incredibly upset but the stress of everything else around me stifles my tears. I feel like the bad guy because I can't cry it out and get it over with. I dont want to leave him 100% and hopefully we can still work through this rough demotion in our relationship to find a way to be friends because I still care about his happiness even though I just shattered his world. Im not doing this out of spite. I really think this is a necessary part of my life. But man I never in a million years thought Id write this post.
So many of you know I have been growing my dreadlocks 25 almost 26 years so know the history of my dreadlocks but not of my name.
Right about the time I tarted growing my dreads, less then a year before I broke my back, suffering a spinal chord injury, just a mile or 2 from where I grew up, and from a little 'old timey' grass airfield with gliders and biplanes.
The sound of gliders releasing from tow, and seeing WWII era biplanes doing aerobatics over my backyard, was the backdrop of my youth. I think I took my 1st glider ride at maybe 6 or 7 maybe younger.
25 years ago after breaking my back and being paralyzed, just weeks after getting out of the hospital and facing this new reality, only to find out that this little airport, I rode my bike to as a kid, that I even lived right next to for awhile around age 14, was the home to something else that would shape my life.
I discovered Freedoms Wings would help me change my outlook on my new reality.
The most magical things can happen to you, when you climb out of your wheelchair to soar high into the sky, and see eye to eye with hawks and eagles. It was of those moments, just me on my second solo flight, circling in a thermal with 4 golden eagles that earned me my name (by way of a Seneca mentor of mine).
Unfortunately life happened as it sometimes does, and that solo light with the eagles was the be the last 1 for a number of years, with the exception of 3-4 or so every couple years (each 1 lasting a good 5 hours though). That is, until this year!
Last fall I resumed my flight training, and hope to get at least 1 or 2 lessons in each week in the spring so hopefully by next fall can take any of you up for a ride!
But Freedoms Wings needs support and volunteers.
If you live in the PA NJ DE area we have 2 airports we fly out of, and volunteers often get to fly and some have gone on to become pilots themselves. If you are unable to volunteer, there are other ways to support us .
Volunteers can join the site now, because safety is of utmost importance there is some volunteer training involved (if your volunteering at the airfield that is, we could use fundraisers etc all over the world).
Winter won't last much longer and then it will be time to fly! So who wants to come soar with me?
Normally when a woman gets to 12 weeks in her pregnancy the first trimester is over. I will have started my dread journey 15 weeks ago tomorrow. It has been an interesting journey and I have the support I never thought I would have. I reconnected with a couple of friends that my boyfriend also has and life has been bliss since hanging out with them regularly. My friend, Cletus really thinks my dread compliment my personality. And the more they mature the more Im in love. I really feel like my whole head is dreaded aside from a few loose hairs about. I know everything will find its place eventually and I can't wait to see the transformation happen.
Having my dreads is really like watching a pregnancy grow. It amazes me what different way my hair will want to part today or what weird entanglement they will get themselves into next. It also staves off my desire to get pregnant too, be able to watch something so similar. We aren't in a good place financially to expand our family unfortunately. Having my dreads gives me a healthy outlet to tend to something and passively watch them change. I also got a four week old kitten in September and he's now almost 6 months old. Having him around to cuddle does kind of trick my brain to not think about actively wanting another baby.
Its been an amazing life since I started this dread journey. I feel so amazing and positive all the time. I really talk to myself now in a positive light. I smile more. Im happier and a better mom to my son. Life is aaahmahhzing. I couldn't have asked for more.
I started natural/patience/neglect in summer of 2012 – here it is 2016 and I am still not fully knotted yet. I have to laugh. But still going and this year I finally have enough knots to lose track of the count and have to separate daily to keep things under control.
I had difficulty figuring out how to manage the water here... it's a well and it's just weird water. I figured out with my hair texture (2B/2C wavy, brown/red/blonde, style-resistant) to NEVER use clay of any kind. It absolutely kills my hair–sucks the life out of it– and I had to cut a bunch of fried locks off at the mid-point back a couple of years ago which really sucked... and then I tried a different recipe this spring with much less clay and it happened again. I'm still finding massive tree-like split ends this week (winter) so I might lose my ends again in the coming year. And for shampoos unfortunately Vickie's bars leave a bad residue with my water so I had to stop using them on my head. So for washing these days I use Vital Goods shampoo bars (occasionally liquid) every 2-5 days with diluted ACV rinse and 1-2x per month BS with diluted ACV rinse to clarify because the shampoos still leave something behind. If I do BS too often my hair gets brittle but this occasional use seems to be a good compromise. And at least once per month I try to just soak and scrub everything good with plain warm water and no other cleaning agents, to give the hair and scalp a chemical rest.
I'm sorry there are no photos available right now – I just wanted to jump on here and record the progress before another month or year went by!
If anyone is having trouble with things taking "too long" I'm happy to answer any questions I can... Or just to offer some friendly support. I am happy that I didn't do much to try and speed things up, because it's really become a special journey to me. I've matured and I have been able to take a lot of time to reflect on the symbolism this holds for me, practice letting go of expectations, etc.
Cheers and have a happy new year
Oh No!
So I came across this site the other day while I was worriedly browsing the internet. Why you ask? Well, I've had my dreads for about three months now, and things just seem to get crazier and crazier. I started my hair by the ripping and pulling method, I wash two to three times a week(sometimes more, I work in a greasy kitchen), and I was also palm rolling two to three times a day. I thought I was doing everything in my power to help my hair to where it would be at least a little better than what I had started with. Boy was I way wrong! My hair has gotten sooo short, there are also weird lumps and loops in the most unattractive places. I was beginning to worry that things were headed south and that I would have to either cut off my little dread babies, or make an attempt at brushing them out, neither solution seemed very appealing. In a last ditch effort I began scouring the internet, hopefully finding a way to fix my seemingly horrid problem. What I actually found was relief, I wasn't the only one going through this crisis! In fact practically everyone, if not everyone, does! Sadly I came across this site while it was being updated, so I had to wait to actually make an account. The wait definitely did not detour me though. After everything was all done, I got a fast welcome from the site creator, Soaring Eagle. With a short conversation, he helped calm my fears. Not only did he tell me to check out some pictures of others with newly began dreads, but he also told me not to worry about my loops and zig zags. It was what made my hair unique, that help me see the light! I've begun to appreciate my hair and all its messiness. He also told me to discontinue with the palm rolling because it was aiding in damaging my hair. This was news to me, after the research that I had done prior to actually making the commitment of dreading. But boy am I glad that he told me now, and that I hadn't found out later down the road. I will definitely post updates on my journey, I'm excited to see how things go. I haven't gotten the chance to post any pictures other than my profile one, but I'll do so tomorrow for sure!
Until then-(: Khyrsta(:
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.
My whole life I have been restricted by what I could do with my hair. My mother cut and styled it for the longest time. Mostly out of our financial situation. As I got older I was able to have more control over my appearance but I could never dye my hair and had to have the length approved by Mom before a cut. I always enjoyed shorter, easy to manage hair. I watched Mom get up every morning at the crack of dawn (sometimes before) to shower and get ready. It would take her hours. It was always a rush. I like to sleep and didn't mind my natural state. I didn't mind my hair being wet when I got on the bus or the fact I was probably the last girl to learn how to apply make up. I wore what I felt was comfortable and only 'dressed up' once in a blue moon. I was going to school after all, who did I have to impress?
My first major decision was in the 7th grade. I wanted a perm in my hair to make my hair curly for our upcoming vacation. My mom agreed and for my birthday I got a perm in my hair and it stayed in for months. I like it but it wasn't my favorite. The next year I chopped my bangs off to a blunt tip. And slowly I let my hair grow out. I started to see a hairdresser who cut my hair into layers. In the 11th grade I begged Mom to let me get a pixie cut. This was also the time in my life I decided I wanted dreads. I wanted to chop all my hair off to the pixie cut to see how I would look and how I would enjoy it in case I ever had to do it again for let's say after I don't want dreads anymore and must cut my hair off (which I now know isn't true). I maintained my pixie cut for 18 months, loving the low maintenance but hating the constant trips to the salon. By this time I was graduating from high school, making huge transitions in my life.
Here I decided I wanted to grow out my hair for dreadlocks. It took me five years to grow out my hair past my shoulders. It was the longest I ever grew my hair. In Dec 2015 I chopped off 12 inches to make it all one length and now (Oct 2016) it is right at my shoulders and ready for dreading. Before I have tried dreads before my 12 inch chop. I was always too scared and not supported enough by my own self. My significant other is not very fond of the hair style so that has also been an obstacle to over come. Now that Im almost two weeks in he is helping separate when he can and in return I will brush out his own hair which is almost four feet long and well below his butt.
My hair is pretty oily when it isn't washed but it slowly adapting to itself and regulating the oils. I just got back from camping for a whole week and it really helped my hair to get to know itself again. Knots are forming like crazy and I am so excited to officially once and for all begin this journey. Life is too short to not have awesome hair. So I plan on experimenting with dreads for as long as I can stand it. Then when my hair starts to gray I will dye it the crazy colors and grow it long or cut it short. Who really knows but this is what I want in my life. I feel like dreads will fit in with my aesthetic and my personality. Maybe it won't. Anyways Im happy with the progress so far. Im so happy to share the experience with anyone who took their time to read this!