Are those dreadlocks or did a rat take residence in your hair?

Don't be scared.

Don't panic.

It's normal.

I started dreading a few months ago. While I liked the front of my dreads okay, the back looked HORRIBLE. I couldn't handle it and combed my dreads out. Yep, I just gave up. I thought I must have done something wrong.

But, I was still REALLY wanting dreads, so I decided to try again. This time, I decided I'd do whatever it took to make them look right, so I read up on how to use the hook and how to use wax.

And after reading up on those things, I realized that the best thing I could do for my dreads was to NEVER use a hook or wax. But that left me where I started.

The way my dreads looked the first time couldn't be right. There HAD to be something I was doing wrong. But, I read up on them and found out that I was pretty normal. Dreads don't look like "dreads" from day one (at least, not if you're doing them the best way). They look pretty ratty, nappy and, to be brutally honest, a little gross. Well, at least probably to others. I'm beginning to see the beauty in them.

I think the problem I had was that every time I looked at pictures of dreads, they were all well locked. The dread "owners" had probably had them for years, while I'd only had mine for a few days.

It seems no one wants to post pics of dreads in their "yucky" stage. So, that's where I come in. I'm going to do what few people seem to do and what MANY newbies really need. Here's a pic of "normal" when it comes to young dreads!

First of all, you may be asking why my hair is green. Well, it WAS purple and I tried dying it brown to cover up the purple, but it turned out green and I didn't notice it until I'd dreaded, so now I'm stuck with the green for a bit.

But you can see that they DON'T look like regular dreads. Again, from the front they aren't bad, but this is pretty ratty. So, don't go crazy when your dreads don't look "right" from the start. You're normal. Your hair is normal. And it WILL do what NORMAL hair wants to do (form locks) if you'll let it.

So, for me, I'm happy with them. I'm learning to love the process instead of just looking forward to the goal.

updated by @snick: 01/13/15 09:33:33PM

Thank you and I know what you mean. I have quite a few pics on here of the past 2 weeks (omg 2 weeks in!) and my mom actually said to me today "when are they going to turn into dreads, and quit looking like dirty hair" to which I replied that my hair is cleaner than hers, and I don't know, but it i think it looks cute in that messy kind of way. I'm really digging the strangeness, and am thinking of doing a post about the stange things my hair is doing that is kinda fun.

awesome post but honnestly they dont look bad at all

theres only 1 answer to that when will they look like dreads question....when they do

ofcourse theres an alternate question ..what do u think dreads are suposed to look like

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I think they look just fine.

how did you start them?

I used twist and rip to start them. From the front, I think they "look like dreads", but from the back, I think they look like a hot mess, though I still love them.

The fun part is figuring out new ways to wear them!