Hi everyone! I've been waiting my entire life to get dreads! Now I'm finally out of school but will be going overseas in 6 months. Last year a woman from my country was caught smuggling drugs in her dreadlocks at airport customs and I'm worried that they may try to cut my dreads etc. I haven't dreaded yet so firstly is there anyway they could check the dreads like with a pin, or something like that, to see that I don't have any drugs in my dreads? Would this damage the dreads? I really want dreads but would it be better to just wait the few months until I've left??
updated by @kika-moonh: 02/14/15 08:50:23AM
Dreadlocks and airport customs??
they cant cut them or poke a pin in them what they can do i s have a dog sniff them
and no why wait
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
Ahhh good! Thought I was just being slightly paranoid! And why wait!? Exactly my opinion! Hope to get the little dreadies going this week!
I just got back from Ireland on Tuesday. On the way there, I had to land in Manchester, and go through their customs. They didn't even blink at my hair. On the way back, I had to go through Customs again in London (during the Olympics). They didn't say anything the, either. Then I had to go through them again in the US (in New York). Again, they barely gave me a second look.
People don't just randomly get pulled out of line unless they look way out of place, or a Muslim. They actually have people watching your face on camera, and can see if someones expression shows anything out of the ordinary. There's a general look on people's faces when they are stuck in line at airports. if you look different, a red flag shows up. But otherwise, you're just another commuter.
And like Eagle said, All they are allowed to do is have a dog sniff you. If the dog doesn't react, you're free to go
lol. I guess I was lucky. I figured they'd be more hard core with the Olympics and all, but they just pushed us through and didn't even scan our bags
Lol I guess it all depends on the person! I do have a tendency to look stoned all the time...I'm 16 so I'll be going with my parents so it'll probably be fine! I think if I dress nicely and look clean and tidy I shouldn't have a problem!
If you're with your parents, you probably don't have anything to worry about. And being 16 is a plus. They just wont expect much from you anyway. They're TSA. I respect what they do, but they can be pretty rude.
I'm 26 and my locks are nappy and some stick out all over the place. I have a beard, and when I don't shave for a while (I'll go 3 months at a time without trimming it) I tend to look more middle Eastern than I actually am). But I still haven't been pulled aside
Yea age definitely is a plus! There are a lot of muslim(like full robe and turban)people in SA so hopefully I'll just get overlooked for them. Luckily right now I'm still rockin the whole bum fluff thing and aslong as I dress normally I shouldn't scream stinky hippie! I suppose it all really depends on the person and the customs people:)
I'm not sure how SA's customs are. A friend of mine from there (He moved to the US when he was 16) never had anything really bad to say about it
