Hello all!

I just joined this site last week and figured it was time to introduce myself.

My Dreadlock Journey:
My name is Valrie and I started off my journey while I was bored and pregnant. I knew very little information about dreadlocks, in general, and had just been introduced to the idea of dreadlock extensions. I thought, "Wow, dreadlock extensions are temporary and will somewhat give me a sense of whether or not I will want to make a commitment to may hair by way of real dreadlocks." So I taught myself how to hand make synthetic and human dreadlock extensions/falls and wore those for a while. I then enrolled in a beauty school and decided to ditch the extensions for the real thing. Through my limited network of dread-friends I was told to backcomb and use wax... wow, what a mistake. I got hives and my locks didn't take flight but, fell out. I tried again using locking gel instead of wax. This worked out okay and eventually I decided to cut off all of my hair and work towards it's health.
3 years ago I chopped my hair pixie-short and made the decision not to dye it. This was a very hard decision because I really love playing the chameleon. I came across this site and read about the evils of wax and the twist and rip method. This inspired me to join and to dread my hair once more (at this post, my baby dreads are just 1 week old) and I am loving it and looking forward to living out this evolution.

A Little Bit About Me:
I am a single mom and a student (just got my AA in Business and going to start working towards my BS.) I have recently had some overwhelming bad luck and health issues and am trying to work towards a healthier lifestyle, which, for those who have also tried, can be pretty hard. I love arts and crafts of all mediums and always will try new techniques. I love reading as well and, have tried to find a balance between reading for pleasure and reading for school (textbooks are not exactly the most exciting material.)
I am renting 2 rooms from my mom while I work on my education, which can be positively exasperating, but the price is right for a student mother in Northern California so I deal with it and keep my eyes on the prize.
My son is awesome and currently 7 1/2 years old. He's into art as well and has a vivid imagination that I try to help cultivate. He calls my dreadlocks "princess hair" and is happy that I have decided to start dreading again. I also have 3 cats in my family (2 are 4 years old and 1 is 10 months) and we love them dearly.

I look forward to meeting you all and hope that we can all learn from each other.

updated by @valrie: 01/13/15 09:24:04PM

well welcome and i bet the waxy mess didnt last long they usualy dont

i hope you re-educated or dreaducated this circle of dready freinds on the evils of wax use

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I went ahead and sent a link to the dreaducation for those of my friends who are interested. So many people are so set on their ways that it's hard to initiate change, even if it's for the better.

As far as the waxy mess went, I think what really got me to try and run away from it was the hives. Nothing screams uncomfortable like a sticky, itchy rash on your neck. :P

ive seen wax users covered in zits from it

and 1 guy on facebook had maggots eat his scalp !

theres so many disgusting things about wax

its really surprising anyone thinks its a good idea concidering how almost 90% say eww and rthrow it away after 1 or 2 uses

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

hi im fairly new to this site as well as am i to dreading. i was almost convinced that waxwaz was a good idea the only reserch i did before i backcombed my dreads mostly led me to sites that sell those products and most of them said backcombing was the way to go. i decided to use aloe to calm down the fuzzies instead and im glad i did as it is natural and washes out easily. since i have worn my hair this way i toofeel a connection to my hair and want to keep it as healthy as possible and so i regret backcombing as it probly did some damage.

dread extentions are a cool idea i know not much about them but i would like to see what my hair would look like if it was longer. you seem like a cool chick

Thanks Arielle.

Yeah, the extensions were a lot of fun. I will try and post some pics later today when I come back home.
The internet is absolutely flooded with information about waxing dreads. It's almost hard not to think that it's the right way to go, especially when that is what they tell beauty school students.

Maybe this site should start a campaign to spread the word of au naturale by posting stickers and stuff everywhere with a link back to here. Could be fun.