To dread or not to dread...

That is my question.

I have thin wavy hair that is past my cheeks (butt cheeks that is) and I LOVE my long hair but I hate to brush it and its feeling kinda scraggly. I should cut it and make it easier to brush and take care of OR (and I just recently had this idea) DREADLOCKS! You see every morning for about 3 weeks I have spent all morning looking for my hair brush, that's been hidden by my 2 year old, because my hair starts to look like dreadlocks. I have almost convinced my self to just do it but...

pros:

- less effort and time

- dreads are awesome

- Im already a "hippy"

- I wouldnt feel like I had to cut my hair to feel beautiful

cons:

- I love to braid my hair

- I need to get a job sometime

- my hairs thin and unruly and might just look like shit!

- I dont like attention

- Im not sure my husband would like it (pfft but he cant stop loving me for hit I loved his hair mid back and he joined the marines and shaved it all off :P)

- My husband is a Marine and I know they will judge :/ ( but I dont really care about that one either)

And then If I do dread my hair I want them to be little dreads but I want them to be natural and I dont know how to do both. Im afraid if I just let it go it wont look anywhere near how I want it to and that would really suck!

comment please! I dont know what to do... besides just stop brushing for a while and see how it goes.

updated by @amanda12: 01/13/15 09:28:15PM

let yoiur 2 year old and your hair decide for u

it will dread up in a hurry

it will shrink alot too

as far as the attentionm..the shyest go=irl i ever met has beautiful amazu=ing dreads shes so shy thio when he posts pictures (shes well known for the clothing she makes) she cuts off her head on every 12 (but u can still see her long beautifukl red dreads)

also u wont have a prob getting a job

and you wont be yhe only dreadhead hippie wife living on a military base we have several others here

if you want thin natural dreads just seperate often to prevent congos

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

The idea that you will have a hard time getting a job is a myth. If you are qualified for the position, you'll get the job. There are only a few jobs that you can't get and those deal withsafetyissue. ie. Firemen and some pilots have to wear masks that will not fit over long hair anyway.

If you want locks, grow them. We can't make that decision for you. But it seems like your hair wants to. And like Eagle said, separate them more often to get the size sections you want.

Lets work on those cons (in order):

- you can still braid dreadlocks. Go check out the hairstyles forum for some styling ideas. I had a friend who had dreads down to her waist and she would always braid them, especially in the summer.

- I start work next Monday.... dreadlocks do not make you an unmarketable employee.

- From what I've seen, unruly hair seems to lock up faster (just an observation) and looks really cute. There will definitely be messy stages along the way but dreads take time to develop.

- ANY attention? Or just unwanted attention? To be perfectly honest, I have experienced a few dirty looks but, no more or less than when I had dyed my hair green or was pregnant. What's really great is all of the positive reinforcement I have received! A lot of people have complimented me on my messy mop of baby dreads and the most unlikely looking people admit to always wanting them.
Don't let the negative hype rule your decisions otherwise you can't claim those decisions as your own.

- This is a good opportunity to do some serious soul searching and exploring what you truly want and why. If you truly want dreadlocks, why? Then you can sit down with your husband and tell him you are going to grow dreadlocks and the reasons why. Then explain away the misconceptions he may have (because a lot of people tend to dislike dreads because they either know so little about them or only know the lies.

- See my remarks for unwanted attention above.

Well now, is your pro's list bigger yet? :P

While you are debating this decision you should definitely read the dreaducation pages and check out peoples timelines so that you have an idea of what to look forward to if you do decide to start dreading. Sometimes looking at a timeline that is over a year can be very inspiring because you see them go through the messy stages and then the current more developed result.

M ariana Moonbeam posted this a while back. It was intended to help convince parents to let their kids grow locks, but you might find it inspirational and be able to use it for your husband.

http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/topics/trying-to-convince-your-parents-to-let-you-get-dreads-here-s-the

Download the link at the beginning of the post.

And listen to Val about the attention thing. She's a good person and very wise. Positive attention is much more likely than negative. More and more people who'd you'd never expect to even give you a second glance will come up to you and compliment you on them, even when they are babies. Some will disapprove, but this is the perfect opportunity to learn what is really important to the people around you. You will begin to learn, even more, about what people you want to keep in your life

wow you guys are friendly! Sorry its taking me so long to respond, Im new and I had no idea I even had comments! I've changed my mind... I dont give a damn what anyone thinks! I know that all of the people who matter wont care. Its just hair.

ps Im not qualified for any job :/ I have been pregnant or with a newborn from October after high school till now. I have no experience doing anything at all!

Also my town is almost equally rich very conservative old people or teenage stoned homeless drop outs(my friends :/) Im already lumped in with the kids who live next to the library under the trees so I dont think I'll get any more judgement than usual.