Hey Guy's

Well hello there...

My name is Tracey AKA DarkMatter, I am married to rustdust who is another dreadlock site member. After much consideration (been thinking about it for nearly a year) I have decided to take the dreadlock journey, although I have been concerned about my employment in the gaming industry (casino).

I really want to start forming natural dreads and my husband suggested that if I grow my dreads naturally it may not be such a shock to my employer, what do you guys think? I know there shouldn't be discrimination against hair styles but there is a good chance that I am going to get some negative reactions about it.

My hair is currently about mid back length and I think it will dread quite well, but I am in my early 40's and am starting to show grey roots which I tend to colour (not in a salon, I do it myself)...do you think this will be a problem or is it ok to colour your roots as your dreads progress?

rustdust has shown me the wealth of information on this site and I am looking forward to taking this new journey in my life.

updated by @darkmatter: 01/13/15 10:00:24PM

You can use natural dyes to color. Heard of henna. ... just make sure what you use to dye is natural as possible and always check ingredients

Welcome Tracey!!! I completely understand your concern about the casino job. I was a cocktail waitress in a casino for 19 years. I had always wanted dreads but was told by management that it was frowned upon. There was a man working in the restaurant who had very long dreads and was never given any flack. I hate to say it but I found out from a friend who was 1 of my managers that it came down to race. I am white and he was black. It's disgusting how some people see things! I'm in my 7th month and my hair has shrunk tremendously, I can barely pull it back anymore. (It was past my bra to start) I wish you the best of luck and hope your managers are nothing like mine were. I noticed that sometimes it's easier to just do than ask for permission. Like with my tattoos, I knew they wouldn't necessarily like them but once they were there there was nothing they could do. lol

welcome!

your 40 you earned your greys! why color them?

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Well, I too just started. Debated what to do about my job. When it looks wild, I tie it up in a twist and a nice decorated clip. You will be surprised how lovely fluffy hair looks! Also I do color my hair with henna, it is a dark red. My goal is to after it dreads, I will let it go gray. SE is right, we earned the silver so you might let it go natural after it dreads. Remember, henna is permanet so think before you use it as a color choice. Henna is great for your hair and I love it So you can check out HENNA HUT for information on henna and it's uses. Your hair is beautiful when it is wild so enjoy it while it is there!

Thanks so much for your support and advice guy's it's much appreciated. I will look into Henna and hopefully there will be someone close by that sells it here.

I am going to start a time line and post some pics up so you can see how my hair looks now, Im in my second day of not brushing my hair and I must say it is quite liberating, I have also had 1 wash with dread shampoo instead of conventional shampoo.

My immediate concern is that my hair is quickly knotting up on the lower half at the back and Im worried that this is going to matt into one large dread or section so to speak. Do I need to be separating this now or do I just leave it and wait as it has only been 2 days? The top half of my hair is basically in a normal state.

Here is a side on picture that was taken today and you can see the tangled area in question. In fact I'm worried that I'm going to have to break hairs as it has tangled that quickly.

14 Dec 2013 1.JPG

We walk the same path on different roads!