it seems today nobody says i've grown my dreads since... instead they pinpoint an exact date when they made theyre dreadlockswhich term do you use more often?when asked "how do you do that" do you say they grow like that if you let them, or do you go into a complicated set of directionsthis is not to debate which is better naturally occurring dreadlocks or dreads that were made by any popular (or ridiculous) methodsbut to examine the language we use when discussing dreads and realize how we talk about dreads influences how future generations think about them.the more we say i did my dreads i made my dreads the farther we get from the basic truth that dreads happen on their own.these days natural dreads reffers to salon dread extentions that are glued on (as long as they are real hair not plastic) just as often as it applies to real dreads that were grown with lovedreading has become a party activity, ya invite over a few freinds have a couple beers and dread it up ..is it any wonder so many choose to run to a salon to "do the doo"? when dreading becomes something you do instead of something that happens then there will always be someone willing to do it to ya for a feei don't care if ya backcomb go to a salon or whatever ya do, i just think if we say grew dreads instead of made dreads that simple word shift will shift the way people think about dreads
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
updated by @soaring-eagle: 02/14/15 04:42:48AM
dreadlocks made or dreadlocks grown
when asked how i got them i say " i back combed them into sections then left them... all i do is wash them"
I usually say I've been working on them since [insert date here]!& when people ask how did i do it, i say, you backcomb!
I always say I started my dreads on such and such a date. Most people look at me as if this is the final product, I have to explain that its gonna take time. They ask what i do to them and when i say nothing,i get more blank stares. Although some people are generally interested and ask questions, most are not and shake there heads while walking off.
mine actualy locked up fast for natural...i think anyway..was so long ago that it seemed like ..well really seems like i always had dreads looking back now..but the transition seemed fairly fasthave never worn a watch or payed qttention to time though so its hard to guess..seasons come seasons go thats the only way i measure the passage of timei remember i was at the vermont gathering when i found the 1st few though..thats the only way i figured out theyre age
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
I always say I backcombed them and I wash them. I know what ya mean when people think "thats the finished project" I always tell em "they're dreads they kinda do what they want". I do agree that they are grown because most of the pictures I've seen 3yr.s n older are tight ass dreadz. it takes a lot of paitence to get that far I can't even imagine 19 yrs kudos on that. it took me a while to get over what other people thought about them. I mean I always expected the gazes but now i don't even notice and could care less its just hair."
I love the way you look at things SE. I agree completely with the idea that words have such power to alter perspective- not only with others but also within ourselves.I consider the birth of my dreads to be- basically the day I found out my grandfather died- June 1. Because it was then that a part of me died to give birth to my freedom from "what people think of me" and the strength and lessons I am learning in life and with my dread journey.When I have been asked- I say you grow them, and explain you can try to manipulate and damage hair into dreads, but the journey is still the same- patience and waiting. The only thing that changes is that- if manipulated in the begining the journey is a bit more obvious to the untrained eyes vs neglect. My journey has been a combination. (my hair was severely damaged- to the point I was facing a drastic hair cut if I didnt chose to dread- from bleaching and dying it made my hair very unhealthy and would as a result tangle extremely easy) so ... In the begining I neglected, then I took those already quickly formed sections (which I am sure formed so fast from my hairs natural curly damage) and started to twist and rip em. I thought they looked amazing and maturing quick but realized after being asked why I dont just comb my hair and getting looks by people it was obvious that to untrained eyes - mine didnt look like dreads at they had no clue what was going on with my head. Being that I have found my path in childbirthing and healing I wanted it to be more obvious that I was growing dreads, and not simply neglecting my hygiene (like most people assumed) so I went to a loctition (which wasnt as much $$$ as it could be from what I have read that some salons charge). She fluffed these babies up - backcombed em- and sectioned them more and added (ah- here goes the screams) - Chemicals (which is no different in my opinion than those who backcomb and bleach their dreads) Now its obvious I have dreads, but my journey is the same as if they were just backcombed and T&R. They are a bit tighter, but I still have alot of loose hair, and my dread babies are still very loose and not as tight as they will be in a year or 3 years. I do not obsess with them or manipulate them any further- they have been through enough. They will still be unique as they are not all the same size or shape. So my journey isnt the traditional way- but since I started with neglect I say you "grow them". My attitude is this. A dread journey is grown, the start of it is tailored to fit the individual, and nothing is instant. Even with the tightest "looking" dreads in the begining- they simply look that way - it takes time to actually "be" that tight.And there is nothing natural about synthetic dreads. Natural dreads change your life, synthetic dreads can be taken off to resume your former life.Ok so go ahead and throw tomatoes at me for seeing a salon :p
