MAJOR SHRINKAGE. The loops...the loops!

The boyfriend is not being very encouraging. I've been on this journey for over a year and my dreads "don't look like dreads, go get them done so they look good, it's just a hairstyle." Blahblahblah. They looked good in the beginning with the backcombing and the palm rolling and the so-called maintenance, which, sorry to say, is total bullshit. They were fauxlocks, pseudolocks. But now this is real. They're tight as fuck though towards the top- so they're definitely growing in right. So the beginnings of my newly growing in dreadies are good and tight and round, but towards the bottom... not so much. Why are they so flat and somewhat stiff? Perhaps they are too dry? Maybe it was the fucked-up-ness of the backcombing in the beginning? Or should I *gasp* start palm rolling again? Or ACV rinses? Or maybe just more patience.

I find myself incredibly jealous of people who've been dreading for less time than I and have "better" locks. I feel like I've invested so much time to achieve what? Flattened loops, beaver tails, loose hairs... all sorts of madness.

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely NOT thinking about cutting them, even though I'm constantly encouraged to... "You were so pretty with your nice long hair!" "I got a bottle of conditioner and a brush for you, giggle giggle." "What happened to your hair?" "Where did your dreadlocks go?" IT MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM. But I don't. I patiently explain, over and over and over. I'm tired of explaining. Yet I continue to explain, and answer questions, and yes I wash my hair, and yes you can touch them, wax is bad, natural is good, talk to me in another year or two and see how they look then [motherfucker]!

So is it a coincidence that I'm most dissatisfied with my dreadlocks at the same time I'm most dissatisfied with myself? There's an interesting parallel here. I worked so hard, waited so long... all for what? I kicked heroin for fucking what? To be homeless? Homeless and not on drugs? (It was easy to sleep outside when the needle kept me warm. It was easy not to care.) And the jealousy! There's a phrase from certain blue book- "Are we judging our insides by the outsides of others?" Yes, yes I fucking am. I mean, at least now I have some friends, people who have opened their homes to me, for which I'm eternally grateful. I haven't had to sleep outside. Still...the lack of stability, my own apathy, my sense of worthlessness, my plain bad luck. Now I have to feel this instead of blindly stumbling around searching for some sense of comfort.

Nothing to do but walk through the pain and discomfort of my slow-maturing locks and my slow-maturing self, to hope that we'll be okay, and to hope for some strength on the other side.

Some people don't understand... this way more than just a hairstyle.

Hey People , it's Pete here, again. I just wanna share a story with you guys.

If somebody doesn't know i'm 15 year old boy from Finland.

I've gotten a role in my small town, that i'm the one that you talk to when you need to talk.

there is around 10 people that daily talk to me irl, and in facebook about their problems, and most of them have achieved happiness after talking to me, and i couldn't feel better. Helping others really make me happy + it's free!

I finally know how to become happy ! God bless you ALL !

Share the happiness

Here I am, approximately two months after I stopped combing my hair. My baby dreads are progressing quite well, the majority of my strands are at least knotted at the end and well defined. Three or four folded onto themselves, resulting in shrinking and massive knotting, a process I first considered with some apprehension.
But now, I must admit those have become my favorite. I like their density, the feeling under my fingers, how they're shorter than their less developed sisters. I feel like wrapping them, decorating them, like to celebrate their rebirth. While looking at my hair today, I suddenly realised how weird untangle, fluffy hair would seem to me now. How heart breaking it would be to disentangle all those babies. Almost... what? unnatural, yes. A bit sad too... depriving them of the personality they are slowly gaining. I don't know how long this state of mind will last, but right now, I feel like there is no way I ever regret dreading

Hello people, it's Pete here, happier than ever.

It's been nearly 1 month and 3 weeks since i started my Dreadlocks, i have been letting them be after, most of my TnR has fell apart.

I hear daily "Your hair doesn't look like dreadlocks"

"Did you open your dreads"

"Why don't you go to a salon"

"Why don't u remake your dreadlocks"

And everytime i happily answering to every question.

I'm 15 years old, but amazingly, i've gotten away very nicely from my EGO, which i find great.

I've been smoking cigarettes for 1 year or something, not physically addicted , but mentally.

I've never had what it takes to quit.

Here is the point where i must thank you all for being so open minded and so on, it's something to appriciate, this is first community, that sticks together and so on.

After you people told me i have problems with some thing, i fixed them.

Yesterday, i was with two of my friends, they had basicly everything that i wanted, but this time i didn't use any of them.

Alcohol, Cigarettes and last, da herb.

If i would've had smoked da herb i would've wanted to do both alcohol and cigarettes.

I'm really starting to grow as a person.

I know it's been only bit over 2 days that i haven't smoked, but this time i know, i can do it.

And that's thanks to you.

The difference now is that my attitude is good.

Thanks everyone for being you and such

Jah Bless. Pete.

Here are my dreads after drying, in their band.

In this video i said "rubber band" I mean this headband thingy, so don't mind that. I'm only using 1 bead, no rubber bands.

Hello,

I recently cut off my dreads that were started using the wax and palm roll method and decided to start over using the freeformmethod.I had been growing them for to years and I didn't feel like they were healthy. In all honest I only used that method because it was what everyone around me at the time told I should do if I wanted my dreads to "look nice".

I see now how ignorant I was back then. I am a black female in a family of many black females whose idea of beauty have been handed to them through a TV screen. Theyregularlyperm and press their hair and when they learned of my deciding to grow dreads, I could see the disapproval all over their face.

I know that I've started down a road less traveled but it is a journey that I really want to make and it helps to know that there is a site like this that offers support.

hmmm i saw this briefly one day was bigger than in pic and sort of pulsated and got smaller i snapped pic as fast as i could ended up like this i got it! before it dissipated! never saw this before an may not ever again not sure of! has anyone else seen this yes or no and if yes where and post pics of any u saw love rainbows and everything about them.please share:) o forgot to mention probly no connection but wen say this was exactly 8days before birth of my son:)

warning, if you recieve a phone call like i did from 1-661-748-0249 (caller id jswilliams1712)

its a scam they claim to be from windows tech support (suspicios enough since windows is microsoft tech support and would never call) when i got suspicios of her attempts to access my pc i asked for verification (these people sounded indian or arabic) i was told to type assoc in the cmd prompt and they would read off a number to verify they were receiving a report from my pc (i assumed the activation number but no they wanted to use a diferent 1

this

ZFSENDTOTARGET CLSID

heres a article on the scam

http://www.webologist.co.uk/internet-security/pc-support-security-scams-zfsendtotarget-clsid-trick

then when i further got suspicios that they wanted to connect using a 3rd party software not the built in windows remote support i requested a microsoft phone number to verify she gave me this number 209 676 4447 and said to call and verify and that her nane was william (another red flag) so i googled the number and scalled it was a cell i believe and the guy answers in the same accent windows tech support

i say hello is this microsoft he says yes this is microsoft windows tech support if you got a call you can continue to work with that person

red flag so hows he know i got a call? hmm she said only 100 ppl in oregon and washington were being called

im in pa

so 100 ppl in the whole country are being called microsoft (real) tech support takes 20 minutes to answer he picks up right away and knowsi got a call?

scam scam scam

i knew it from hello but needed to verify so i googled the csid string used to "verify" they were legit and there it is..a scam

beware

Hey there everyone tuned in! (In more ways than one )

It's been about 3 and a half weeks since I've decided to take the

dread road. My hair is pretty dry towards the ends due to the bleach process I did a few years ago.

Which is helping the process of course.

So far my hair has separated itself into small sections of what look like perfect sized dreads to be.

I'm just hoping they arent TOO thin. But with the looks of things now, I'm hoping to be okay.

I'm doing the natural method, no vinegar or baking soda. Just letting my hair separate and do it's thing.

In a case that a few turn out too thin, any suggestions on how to get them thicker before they matt?

Any and all suggestions accepted and appreciated!

Marissa

Some weeks ago I thought I would try and make my own dread shampoo, as I already knew how to make soap. Never did a shampoo before and heard so much good of those from dreadlocksshampoo so I had a look at the ingredients the lady uses. After other research on different blogs I know, I came up with a trial formula... and here it is now, usable after the necessary drying time !

I used beer, coconut oil, castor oil and olive oil, white clay and essential oils. Well, the smell is pretty bad (should never have mixed lavender, rosemary and... patchouli ! yuk !) but the soap is working really fine. I hope I can come up with a nicer scent next time... and little by little improve the formula... Thanksfully the scent doesn't linger in my hair at all !