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Perhaps one of my better, more informed decisions...going Dread that is...

So its been 1 year since I stopped combing my hair, though that is also the last time I shaved or cut my hair at all. 

My hair is a little over 5 inches now and I still don't have any progress. Yes i stopped conditioning, and yes I still shampoo my hair with baking soda every 3 to 4 days. I am just wondering for anyone else with straight/wavy hair, how long was your hair before you started seeing any progress? I really want dreads, I don't mind looking scruffy and messy for a while until my hair dreads up. I am willing to go through everything that comes with the neglect method. I will not under any circumstance twist n rip, or any other unnatural method. I am just wondering when I will start seeing results, so I have something to look forward to. 

Hello beloved dready community,

I see my last blogs were pretty downright miserable. Trying to cope with the loss of my grandfather, being forced to move in with my grandmother, living with a step-sister who notoriously makes very poor decisions, and being seperated from my partner.

The bad news: I lived with my grandmother and step-sister for about 4 months before I snapped. My step-sister was allowed vast freedom, and I was indeed expected to be a caged bird, only allowed to wallow in my grandmother's misery and frustrations, and maintain the house. The step-sister is back with the alcoholic asshole.

The sad news: Shortly before I moved out of my grandmother's I noticed she had been over medicating and going into nearly comatose states. When my grandfather's birthday and the holidays started to roll around, my grandmother's mental state continued to diminish. She has been diagnosed with dimentia, which both her parents had. She is living with my father and under hospice care for now. I know she just wants to be with her husband again, and it's the hardest thing to see someone suffering to live without their life long partner.

The good news: After 2 1/2 months apart, Brent and I realized we are soul mates. We got back together in (I believe) early June 2014, and he proposed in September of last year. We will be married on October 10th of this year, having been in love (if not always together) for over 8 years. We continue to address and work on our isssues and have allowed ourselves to be truly open to what the other needs to say.

The dready news: I've had my deads in for just over 1 1/2 years now and my constant need to fuss with them seems to be hindering their progress. I purchased and installed double ended dreadlock extensions by passing one end through the root of my actual dread and pulling until they were even. It didn't take long for me to realize the damage I was doing to the roots. They began splitting from the weight of the wool dread constantly pulling down. They've been out for a few weeks now and IF I reinstall them it will only be for the wedding to get the longer haired look I want. Patience has never been my virtue. I have been washing with Pantene Aqua Light which is free of parabens, silicones, or dyes. I did an intense BS/ACV wash a few months ago to get any built up gunk out and haven't been using conditioner as much (twice a month and shampooing once a week). I am concered with some thinning near the roots though, but wonder if that it just from the "extensions" and will diminish?

I started my journey on Tuesday and it was easy enough to just not brush my hair. 
But I noticed that I have a habit of fingerbrushing my hair unconsciously throughout the day.
As a result, you wouldn't see a difference between last Monday and this morning. So, I will need a occupation for my hands.
Likely I will start knitting and crotcheting the winter scarfs earlier this year. 
Wearing a head scarf or a hair band to keep my hair out of my face might work, too.

I'm a little concerned about a funeral I have to attend next week. The folks that will be there are all pretty conservative. And while I'm not the least bit worried about what people might say in general about my journey, what gives me a headache here is that they might see it as a disrespect to the deceased.
So I'll need to find a way to make it look neat, without brushing.
Any suggestions are welcome.

Here I'm going to stop because I don't have anything else to say. 
Have a nice day 

(PS: I apologize for all grammar or spelling mistakes. English is not my native language.)

3rd time is a charm: I have embarked on a new dreadlock "journey". (Ew, i actually hate that phrase, lol.) The time has come for another soul-searching quest. Perhaps I can be more specific in future posts, but for now this is basically what's going on.

I am currently sitting here with hair like the mane of a lion. It is a wild, backcombed bush... and I can't wait to see what happens. For some reason, this time, I was able to dedicate the attention needed to correctly section the hair, which was really the only thing I wanted to get right this time around. (Whether it will stay that way is another matter.) General fluffing and fairly light backcombing were done to start the process, but I have no intention of messing with it any further, for that would defeat the purpose of having a dreadlock journey. 

Even though the last one ended somewhat abruptly, I think I accomplished what I set out to do. I had many discoveries that my dreadlocked time helped me reveal. Having that wild and beautiful mess served as my daily reminder of what my goals were. Everyday I had to ask myself, "Why am i doing this?" 

The process of having dreadlocks practically speaking helps me slow down my mind, and the way I think about time. I tend to be less frenzied and more thoughful of what I'm trying to accomplish, which is emensely helpful for me as one who tends to be very anxious and obsessed with immediacy. The slowness of the dreadlocks developing paralell whatever spiritual or soul-searching quest I'm on, and allow me to relate to those things more calmly. 

Anyway, I appreciate being able to write about my little experiences here on this site. Each time I get a little better at patience. One of these days I'll actually feel able to keep my dreadlocks permanently, and I'll have to then find another method of questing the depths of my heart.

I've spent many rescources, much time, and tears over the compulsion to look for myself in the mirror's i see in people's eyes. The mirrors that i hate, that are like a clogged artery, but spit back twice as much. The mirrors that i look for, that i feel many look for to see what they look like on a given day. I believe that love is the absence of these mirrors. Freedom, is the abcece of the idea entirely. and power is the creating of a craving unlike any mirror i've ever looked in. Mirrors? tell me.....

In about a week my dreadlocks will be 25 years old, they started growing naturally at the Vermont rainbow gathering.

 What my dreads have taught me.

Growing dreads naturally has taught me a lot of patience. It has taught me to just let things happen instead of trying to force them. It is taught me that those who will hate you just the way you look don't matter. His taught me that people's worth is deeper than just appearance as taught me that many people are very superficial and vain.

The history of my dreadlocks.

My dreadlocks began at the rainbow gathering in Vermont when I traded for some beads and stuck them in my hair, I also added a few hair wraps. This began the dread within a week, maybe week and a half.

The rest of my hair was shorter so took a little longer to dread. It may have been a couple months before the rest of started to dread.

I've never done anything to my hair except for wash it and separate the dreads that were forming too thick or combining. After 18 years, however, I stop separating completely for 4 or 5 years. Only in the last year or 2 and I began to separate occasionally only those that are already pretty thick. Because of this many dreads have formed Congo's, with as many as 6 dreads combining into one thick one. I did not however let them get very thick.

I have never palm rolled, crocheted, used wax or any dreadlocks products other than shampoo, never back combed did any root maintenance or anything else.

Since about 18 years and they started to drag on the ground. My dreadlocks are now about 8 feet long.

My dreadlocks are unique and unlike anybody else's. Growing dreadlocks naturally means they form organically. This makes every dread unique from every other dread. This makes no to dreads alike.

My dreadlocks began at the Vermont rainbow gathering which is a spiritual gathering deep in the wilderness. During that week had spent much time in a silent meditation tepee surrounded by 300 oh to 1000 pound crystals. Growing dreadlocks in this type of environment is a very spiritual experience.

I'm including a couple of older pictures, and will update with new pictures, probably around the Fourth of July weekend which is approximately when my dreads began to form 25 years ago.

This is my dreadlocks at the Wyoming gathering when they were 18 years old.

This is my dreads about last year at 24 years old.

Ok here are my dreadlocks now at 25 years, the longest is i guess about 10 feet

Awwww yeah man I finally made it my six months! I'm hella juiced about it my hair has come a long freakin way from the pictures I took in my 4th month.  It really is amazing how much change has come about in just 2 months time. The patch I had at the back of my head has totally dreaded up in fact the whole bottom half of my head looks like a dread bob on account of the mega shrinkage. I dig it though man, I really do. I still have hella loose hair and now that its shrinking so much its a little harder to tie it all back but I'm not trippin it's all part of the ride man. But dude if anyone is reading this and has any experience with dreads that have come together at the tips and the middle but not at the root is there a way to help it along? I figure if it got together at the tip and the middle then the roots shouldn't be far off but its been like that for a few months now so yeah not sure what its up to or if Im hindering it by having to put my hair up everyday for work. It is what it is though man I should probably try to find a bead big enough to go around the base and just hold it together that way for a little while. Gonna have to read up on bead maintenance now...

Today is my one year neglect dreadiverssary from practically bald