Blogs

I really hope to use this site as a way to track my dreadlock journey, in pictures, in blog posts, and in the friendships I make with other users.A friend and I braided my hair about 5 weeks before I started TnR'ing. I remember being nervous about other people's reactions. I had never braided my hair before, and I worried about negative comments, especially those with a tinge of racism. I worried that I would be harrassed for being a "white girl" sporting a "black hairstyle." Those fears came from growing up in rural Arkansas where residential segregation still exists and where I'm sure I heard those comments from people in my community.But you know what happened? I received more compliments on my hair the last 5 weeks than I think I had received in the previous 20 years of my life. And they came from many races, ages, and genders. How beautiful that made me feel! How confident!When I started locking my hair, I was not longer worried about what other people might think of my hair. Yeah, there will be messy days, funky days, crazy days, but I'm looking forward to all of them. I know this will be a journey, and I am so excited for the experience.I finally finished with the TnR last night. Today as I walk into my office building, one of the building administrators asked if I was dreading my hair. I told her yes, and she said, "Well, it looks really good!" I just smiled and said thank you. What a wonderful way to begin the day.

I sat and pondered the very existence of me, of the world,and the universe since I can remember. Still the answers are unclear all the riddles a bit fuzzy. Not because of a lack of since or a lack of self awareness. I feel strong in who I am and the science makes perfect since to me. The problem lie with the placement of me in life. I feel aware but alone in my awareness. I'm told that I am out of the box and my mind is far gone but my grasp on reality though different it feels firm. It feels right so why am I wrong for thinking different wasn't it different thinking that sparked all of mans innovations. Perhaps I should except that lifes riddles may never be solved.... but no that idea just seems to wrong I'm not so weak. Curiosity is simply my nature. I have a need to know why and what we are. Its the same need that has pushed so much of humans knowledge, but why isn't it more common around me. Why does everyone seem blind. Am I supposed to awaken them? Some times it seems like we are all apart of an elaborate system. Designed to hide the truth of what life is to keep its mysterious just out of reach. A constant stream of distractions are pumped into our homes by the second. Man no longer has morality for it seems morals where simply a limiting aspect. Instead now we have laws. A cage if we do not follow them. We as a people have lost touch in what we are so badly that this is what its come to. The system is now its own entity. A god if you will, and like a god the system has power over man. Complete control. It exist beyond any one man, and only a select few have the ability to affect it. Basically what I'm getting at with this statement is that the system has gotten to far out of reach. It no longer is for the people, but instead rules the people. As time depicts the creation will always destroy its creator. We have designed our own prison our own demise shall we sit and and allow it to take hold. The time grows nearer daily. It wont be long I fear before its to late. Man shalt take heed for the system will control. Freedom, our inner animals for thats all we are.... gone taken by the idea that grew to large. ~Vates~

today my husband and i took our son Gauge to the doctor. we noticed that recently this cough he had was getting worse and worse and last night he scared us because he sounded like he was choking on the wetness his cough was producing. we also noticed that his cough was eerily simular to the commorcial for pertusis aka whooping cough. the couching so badly that they sound as if they are gasping for air in between each cough. not a pretty sound that you want to hear your two year old son having thats for damn sure. so as scared as we both were john and i decided to take gauge to the doctor today. after hearing the cough for herself Gauges pediatrician started him on the meds for whooping cough as a better safe then sorry scenario and we had to take him to the hospital to test him for the sickness. in this case they stuck a swab far into his nose and are sending it to be tested right away. we will know in 5 days or so if it was actually whooping cough. thankfully my sons pediatrician assured us that shes hopeful that it wont be she said the likeliness is about 25% chance but just the severity of the cough and already canceling out pnemonia she just wants be be sure since as of now there are no cases of it in our area although i have heard that its making a comeback unfortunatly. so lets hope he just has an upper respiratory thing instead of a severe sickness such as the previously mentioned. but even though gauge took his first dose of his medication today we have already seen a significant change in length between coughing and even just the sound of his voice. he slept for about 4 1/2 hrs today wich is about double the usual amount and he seems like hes on the fast track to a successful recovery no matter what he actually has. ill make sure to keep those of you who read this updated because i know that alot of you on here love my little dready toddler and even though most of you dont personally know him he touches everyone heart with his beautiful smile. i wish you all could meet him in person. hes one of those kids that just light up a room and create smiles on everyone he meets. hes so warm and generous and say such smart and entertaining things. hes definatley ahead of his time in so many ways. hes good at reading ppl and their moods as well as very intelectually advanced when it comes to speech, numbers, animals colors all of the above. i hear from so many diffrent ppl young and old how awesome and cute he is. he really is my sunshine as well as the light that shines on others aswell. i just cant think of one negative thing about him besides the fact that theres only one of him. but i wouldnt have it any other way. im definatly very proud to be his momma.

...WAX IS BAD (in my opinion)...wax is a sticky icky nasty substance i sadly used in my locks. i waxed twice. i didn't used not too much but it was enough to make my dreads stiff and kinda nasty. i shaved my head a few days ago sadly, but i have my reasons. but as an experiment i cut open a dread to see what it looked like inside...what i found was what other than some fucking gross black waxy shit. yeah i waxed twice washed my hair a hundred times at least and I HAD BUILT UP WAX ON THE INSIDE OF MY DREADS FOR OVER A YEAR. wax has no purpose in dreadlocks and never will. i'm actually upset with my self for using it. if there is anyone on this site who is considering wax and reading this i just wanna say this....i'm not going to tell you what to do. its your life do what you please. but i highly highly highly suggestion you don't wax your dreadlocks. i didn't think it would stay in my hair this long. thats pretty much it.

Ok, well I've decided to kind of give the natural dreads a go and see what happens. I'm still nervous about my internship in a year so I may not keep em. But I figure, I will go ahead and see if my hair will even dread. So right now, I just got out of the shower, I used Dr. B's peppermint (love it!) liquid soap. When I first got out of the shower, I was wondering about the way my hair felt. Almost a sticky, greasey feeling - but not really... I thought perhaps that it was because I've never washed my hair with a soap that leaves no residue and because for the first time since I can remember - I didn't use conditioner. Needless to say - I thought that I would be in trouble if I tried running a comb through it. My hair is silky straight, fine but thick so this is a true experiment.Anyway, as my hair is drying now, it is feeling less strange and more normal but I still wouldn't want to try running a comb through it! I hopped on DF to see about asking around and I should have realized I wouldn't need to. Of course there it was, someone had asked basically the same question and there were two pages worth of replies! HA! I completely forgot about rinsing with cold water!!! Oh well, next time, I suppose.If things move along as they are supposed to, I guess I will have to invest in some baking soda and av. I am a little overwhelmed at the moment with all the information on this site - I like to keep things simple. But I'm just beginning so I suspect that it will all become very clear to me as I progress.Done for now, I really need to finish my research paper and hand the bugga in. While I do that, my hair will be drying naturally (as I like to do) and we shall see how the knots begin to form. I wonder what my hubby will think of this.... lol!!!A

whats happening fellow dreadies, so its been almost a month since i stopped combing my hair n almost 2 months since i got out the Marines letting my hair grow from bald (well close to it lol)..anyway so ive got my tea tree shampoo n jus been checking out how things been goin, ive noticed very slight knotting but mainly since my hair is still short its just been curling in some spots, and just fuzzin in others....my main thing ive wondered is the fact that i wear a baseball type hat most of the day at work, i can tell my hair has grown a bit but doesnt really look like it cuz the hat keeps it in this kinda smashed down kinda look lol, will this slow dreading down?

I decided yesterday, driving home in traffic while talking to a girlfriend of mine. She was considering shaving her head and starting again. Her and I are both biracial and have been putting product (relaxers) in our hair for years now and are completely tried of all the chemicals and work that having relatively tame hair on a day-to-day basis.I said something about dreads and how I'd dread my hair before I'd shave it all completely off. That I don't have the head for it to be completely shaved and how I'm just not that brave. She was saying how dreads aren't for her. How they don't fit her personality and may not look as nice with her face.We agreed that we may have found the best options for each of us and she told me how her and her girlfriend's had decided or considered to do this together. I thought it was great that she had that kind of support and someone/s to share in the experience.Before I do anything in life I always research it. Find all the information I can in books, articles, online, and by word of mouth to make sure I'm making the right decision.Everything doesn't require this type of decision making, but if I'm making a lifestyle choice for my hair, then it definitely does.In my search I found Jonny Clean (if that's what he's called, I'm not 100% sure) which lead me here. The kind man that runs this site lead me away from the messages he was putting out about dreads, products, maintenance,and beginning. I'm glad I watched some of Jonny's videos and saw his site. Although I wouldn't be following what he practices, I did learn a great deal from reading his site and watching his vlog. It's always good to see many sides of a story/experience/decision.I will continue to research and try to gather as much information I can about dreads before I dedicate my hair. I am extremely excited. I would start tomorrow if I had the time, energy, and know-how.I will wait AT LEAST 2 to 3 months before I begin. I want to have new natural growth in my hair. Right now I have literally been putting relaxer in my hair since I was about 16 years, 8 years of non stop product. My body and my hair deserve a break. At the very end of May I did keratin straightening in my hair and so on top of it being relaxed there is more product in it. Although the keratin is more natural than the relaxer, it's still product in my hair.I don't even fully remember what my hair is life naturally. It's like women who color their hair constantly and don't remember or know what their natural hair color is. Same thing. Straightening, blow drying, relaxing, and just generally hair wear and tear have taken their toll on what was once beautiful and natural.I don't think I'll have too much difficulty with my hair being thick enough to catch, although I am very nervous about the method that I will use to start my dreads. I've read many things and neglect isn't something I'm comfortable with. I know when it grows out it will get a little nappy and difficult, but I cannot see myself neglecting my head.Twist and Rip is probably. What everyone declares as "natural" is the best way, but I want uniform, straight, well kept dreads. That is the style that suits me. I'm pretty sure they'd be considered boring to a community of people who love their dreads, but part of who I am, uniform and deep down maybe even a little boring. I'm super happy with who I am at this point in my life. I read somewhere that if you make your dreads all the same size and shape etc that the one that isn't similar to the others will be your favorite. That sounds great to me, one different one, no problem. I need to look clean, professional, and well kept. That's me. I'm not manic, crazy, or even unique.My personality says it all. I need my outward appearance to be crisp and nice. I don't want to be prejudged or sending out the wrong message considering I will have kids, parents, a husband, and a career to consider. I do not want to stack any deck against myself for a hair choice. I'm a plain jane. I have never wanted to stand out or be different generally. I know I am not the same as everyone else and love my individuality, but at the same time, I do not want to stop traffic, case double takes or unnecessary amounts of questions about 'look'.I love my hair and am truthfully worried I'm going to miss running my hands through it, straightening it, etc, but how often do I actually do that? The option to do it is there, but I never take it. I don't really straighten my hair anymore and I don't do very much with it to start out with. Dreads wouldn't be limiting my options, but just changing them.That's all for now. Forum time!

Everyday in my life I have to come to terms with what is real..what I have "real-eyes" to the truth of what is really important without losing my humanity or sanity. There are so many illusions of what is real..and what has been created for the masses to get so caught up in that before you know it you have lost so much. Like being employed, money, wealth, equity. And what I have come to discover time and time again is that depending on variables that could be out of one's control, that we live in a society that focuses on you are what you are worth and not who you are but, even within that there are contradictions. So many contradictions..like you will heard abortion is murder yet, our society struggles with quality education in innercity schools, or will judicate a child as an adult and sentence him or her to a life sentence..of course there is the contradiction of race which is always an issue even through we live in times that just because there is person of color in the white house, there are to many factions that are screaming hate and death more than ever in this illusion of solidarity. We are bombarded with fear..always. Be afraid of those who don't look like you,who don't believe like you, that "us against them mindset".Crime is going down yet, on the nightly news crime is the main focus..we have more cop/sci/law and order/cold case shows than ever and images of people of color getting busted on prime time tv than ever..do you feel safe yet? We have more people losing their homes to scams of home ownership in the guise of a better life, the American Dream. We have white farms who get paid to not grow food yet in the same scene there are black farms who can't grow food and the gov't don't plan to assist them. It not just farms but their land that they are losing and yet there is growing hungar in the world.We buy bottled water and yet we are blessed to be able to go to the sink turn on the spicket to drinking water that many people could only dream about..we have plenty and we waste so much and yet we have a poverty rate and situations in the richest country in the world that would compare to any third world.. yeah right here in the states.Well..what are we going to do? When the wisdom of the elders are auctioned off for the mere illusion of youth..to be thinner, younger, beautiful forever! Well..we who dare call ourselves "in-lighten" we who run off to Rainbow gatherings and chanting ancient incantations and vibin' on psychedelic trances and hemp smoke we who claim to be so centered and so grounded that we have discovered how to reach zen or can download karma for dummies on our laptops or iPhone, we are going to be held accountable. Because the main lesson we totally forgot to practice without question, with every being of every cell in our bodies in every impulse of energy is LOVE..Love can heal but sometimes the healing is a painfully process because Love makes one examine self if applied properly..Love is not blind for it see beauty and the harshness of truth in its attempt to restore wholeness and balance. Love is vigilant it searches for solution because life is worth the time to problem solve. Love is empathic. It can feel the pain or joy of another because its the core of the connection of life. Love is the warrior who fights for the underdog in the sheer sense of justice and "just us". Love appreciates. Love respects. Love nourishes and nutures. Love reaches from the roots of the past to flourish the branches of the present to bare fruit of the future..Love cares it just does.Well... now what, well my friend that is up to you..

Well, not yet - but she will get there soon. My daughter is 7 years old (last saturday). She wants to dread like mom - so here is her 1 week progress.

GOTTA LOVE IT!