Greetings from a dread-a-holic in Finland

Hello you all!

I have been reading this forum for ages, and I signed up last August but I haven't yet published any introduction of myself so here goes.

Yes so, I come from Finland, the land of ice and snow, reindeers, Santa Claus and.. well, a LOT else. We do have four seasons, in fact and thus we have warm summers as well.

I'm now 26 years old, I have been wanting dreads at least forrrr... three or four years. I thought of getting them when I was younger as well, in my teens, but didn't. I have had dreads about two times before, always done with the twist'n'rip method but I have always combed them out ( yeah, I wonder how my hair would look now, if I hadn't combed out the dreads made in 2010.. wow, they would be about 1,5 years old). Perhaps the time just hasn't been right for me.

The biggest threat to my dreads will be me. Yes. I get these intense moments when I just decide that "no, I don't want dreads, take'em off!!" and then I grab the olive oil and soak my hair in it. This has always happened. I hope it won't happen now. I quit combing my hair last week- about five days ago -and I have washed my hair with non-residue soap aaannd.. results are visible. My hair reaaally likes to tangle together. I haven't separated that much, because I understood that the hair should be left alone for a while, but I'm a bit uncertain when exactly to intervene...

I also get these crazy ideas from time to time, about which I have posted, when I think that I can't have dreadlocks because classical singers or dancers don't have dreads. Because dreads just don't fit in the picture. But then again, I'm notonly a singer, I am also much more! I should stop putting these labels upon me. Sometimes I think I can't have dreads because I'm too old.. huh? Yeah, "you shouldn't get dreads, because it's ridiculous to get dreads in this age, you should have started them way earlier". These are the voices which I hear in my mind from time to time. But I wan't to fight back!

So, this is a little peek into my mind and thoughts... what's going on. I really hope I can now start my slow dread journey with the help of these forums and all of you (and my boyfriend, who loves dreads but isvery suspicious when it comes to natural method but I just have to convince him that this is the only way for me to get dreads. I think it's because of the slow transition - my hair will look pretty normal when I put it up in a loose bun, and that's somehow very important for me. I usually panic if I all of the sudden have a head only full of dreads). Ok now I seriously need to stop. :D

Keep dreading!

updated by @purkurr: 01/13/15 09:19:46PM

I am 44 years old....physically old enough to be your mother...and i have dreads. There is no such thing as being too old in my opinion. There is no set rule that says "classical singers can not have dreads". Ballet might be a bit different. The hair is usually tightly pulled back in a very tight bun. It is worn like that for several reasons. but as long as you kept it at a manageable length you could still pull it back into a bun. You probably would not be able to pile 6 foot of hair on your head and dance on stage. You were just not ready for dreads in the past..perhaps you are not ready for them now. I can see that you love them. When the time is right you will start them and keep them. Hopefully the time is now

go for it. dont cop out and comb them out (btw when i heard that you could COMB out your dreads i about passed out from confusion) but yea Im 26 and I started mine this year. I know about those freak out moments! I have had several. I think its because dreads are such a statement and a permanent in your face one at that. You have wanted them for so long, there is no better time than now and the one main thing im learning from mine is patience and self love. sometimes shit looks funny but you just gota roll with it. or put a scarf on

look through the early pictures like theres thousands of pages but in the 1st year the site existed we have 2 classical harpistys you cannot get any more classical then the harp

we also have a dozen grandmothers with dreads ..just starting off too

your never too old or too ..elegant for dreads

dreads were worn by queebns high society..

getthe misinformation out of your head dreads are right for you if you wish to dread its that simple

many years back i was in philly at a festival and i saw this old couple that looked like they came straight from a norman rockwell painting an iowa farm couple the only thing missing the pitchfork

then the woman turned around

and boom

what did i see over her shopulders wass a sling

neatly folded into the sling was a huge beavertail dread must have been longer then mine

if she can do it you can too

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thank you all for your kind support.

I'm sure I can do this. I have told myself that if I want, I can them comb my dreads out when I turn 30 - though I really think that by that time I won't. :P

I love this post, Purkurr! I can totally relate to the thoughts you describe going through your mind, especially about being obsessed w dreads but worrying about being too old or how they "fit in" to the other stuff I'm doing. I'm also a singer. It's really cool to meet others like me on here. 'So glad we connected!

Thank you, Jackie C.!

I'ts nice to know that I'm not totally alone with these thoughts. Luckily, these thoughts are getting less and less room in my mind. Well, last week I did have a difficult moment, but this week has been quite alright, haven't had too much time to think about my hair.

Jackie C. said:

I love this post, Purkurr! I can totally relate to the thoughts you describe going through your mind, especially about being obsessed w dreads but worrying about being too old or how they "fit in" to the other stuff I'm doing. I'm also a singer. It's really cool to meet others like me on here. 'So glad we connected!

Other crazy Finns, great! Where are you located?

I'm in Helsinki - what about you, Elli?

Elli said:

Other crazy Finns, great! Where are you located?

Tampere ^^