No Longer Holding off the Inevitable

I stopped brushing my hair on March 19. I'm sick of it. I dislike brushing my hair and detangling and having it blow around and just generally worrying about it. I've always had very long, thick, healthy hair, but I still always felt that beauty-wise, it wasn't enough. I felt like amediumsized fish in a big pond of other brushed beautiful hair people.

It's important to me to keep mylength, and what could be better than never having to cut it, and never losing shed hairs! With two-foot long hair, cleaning out the hairbrush was a frequent and gross chore. I've already gone no-poo for about 6 months. I only wash my hair every three, usually four days. I was using Organix shampoo and conditioner, but a week ago I switched to True all natural bare-bones palm and coconut oil bar soap.

I'm just looking for input on what to expect with my venture of naturally dreading very long, thick, straight hair. Might it dread faster? Might it be more difficult to keep locks behaving somewhat? I definitely don't wanthomogeneity, but I'd like them to be vaguely similarly sized. I admit, I'm also a bit afraid of the looping; it looks quite intimidating. Does anyone have pictures or is able to describe the progression of a loop to a mature lock? Thanks in advance.

My profile picture is my hair 24 hours after washing and braiding it, then sleeping on the braid. It already want to lock up!

Wish me love and light on my journey of learning patience and self-love <3

updated by @opal-olyn: 02/14/15 04:06:46PM

long thick wild hair will dread faster probly shrink more and wikll need extra attention to seperating since it dreads faster

loopings fun not scary

loops will pull in mostly as they mature so even the wildest loops usualy go away

you'll be excited to find the 1st loops then be fax=scinated by watching them change over time

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thank you! I feel a lot better about looping now.

I also wonder how I should go about separating. Will it just be something that will come naturally and feel right? What kind of techniques should I practice?

if 2 dreads next to eachother ar connecting pull them away from eachorther to disconnect

in the guides (drop down menu on the left below top ad) is a ripping popping seperating guide

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

What you can expect is...a lot of fun. Everyone's hair behaves differently, but it's a great process, you'll love it!

Looping is awesome, I always look at my loops (the ones I can see, the rest are too short). I think they just kind of...contract and then get pulled into the dread? I mean, one of the ones I can see, they've formed a very closely-connected zigzag pattern, so...yeah, fun.

Separating is easy, you just pull the dreads in opposite directions to disconnect them where they're joining. I even get too lazy to do that and end up doing it after like a week, so it's really just whenever you feel like it, but you will get a feel for often you'll need to do it as you get used to your hair dreading.

i started with long hair and because my journey has been slow my hair just kept growing before it really started to lock up. some of my hair has shrunk from waist length to above my shoulders. i hope your ready for the shrinking. i love that my hair is finally shrinking. i couldn't wait for it to happen but i know a lot of the ladies on the board are not too happy when it does.

don't separate to often in the beginning. i was a bit ocd about separating and i think that i probably set myself back in the knotting department.

looping is AWESOME and it just shows you that its dreading:)

Thank you all for your contributions. I am even more excited and loving it now!

So it's been five days and I'm trying not to count or rush or anything, but I expected to have more knots or beginnings of locking by now, but it's really just kind of messy and not too tangly, just somewhat clumpy, but still relatively straight. I'm wondering why this could be and if there is anything I could do to help it along without meddling. Blow-drying? Headbanging? Jogging with it loose?

I leave it down and free or in a wool tam all the time except at work or when exercising, which is when I loosely and haphazardly put it up in a loose bun. Could this be keeping my hair too constrained? Should I wear a tam or wide headband at work? I work in a small office of women who are all older than me and all have offspring except me and I've only been there for 5 or 6 weeks and don't want to frighten them too much right off

if yiu explain the procress to thejm most likeky they will be factinated by it

but your only 5 days in

the sectioning stage is typicaly a week or 2 your progressing fine

sea salt can help

but really your doing fine

any visible p[rogres in days is great priogress

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Cool! Good to know. But does that mean that it's best to let it all hang out? I suspect they won't be too open to understanding for a while since they ask questions and then don't listen to my explanations regarding my other "hippie" traits and habits and values.

it is and does it matter/

brings to mind a funny story

1 of my exes really amazing woman she is a parole officer or something like that works in the courthouse but is a totakl hippie pagan wican naked earth mother goddss sorta ekflike crearture she live s in a town where the houses are like 29 fet apart and mows the lawn naked (as well as does wican cerimonies in her yard naked whenever the neighbours do stuff like start fights in the srtreets ) (mot neighbours are cool with her exceot the 1 side who are all hoode]=lems) anyway when she goes to work in the courthouse shes always barefoit no pantires skirt (doesnt owbn panties or a bra) and on more then 1 ocasion has accu[idently gone to the store or to work naked (the store she realized when sghe got there and didnt got] in till she went home to change but she walked into work naked once i[or twice without thinking about it) odviosly mot og=f her coworkers are pretty conservative ..but they just love her to death for her frepirited nes

dont hide who you are let your personality shine

im not saying go to work naked haga just be proud of who t=you asre

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1