Forum Activity for @april-n

over a month in..ive entered the frizzy stage.. i think

Dread Maintenance

Hi Everyone,

So, im over a month in of total neglect. For some reason it seems longer to me. I dont post much here.Im trying to spend less time on the computer and more time living. Although I must say.. any question I have I come here and search and usually find what Im looking for.. or some great tidbit that I needed to read. If it werent for this site Im not even sure I would have stated this journey.

At first my hair wasnt doing much. All of a sudden.. BAM.. lots of little baby dreads. So far most are on the underside of my hair. this past week Ive noticed a few ( 3 to be exact) are forming on the top layer of my hair. I have a lot of shrinkage.

Somethings Ive been struggling with( not daily.. but things that enter my mind at random times) shrinkage: my hair is going to get a lot shorter.. I knew it would happen.. but knowing it will happen and seeing it happen are 2 different things. My hair is knotting up very fast at this stage. The thing that has caused me the most stress is: keeping the knots separated. I feel like if I mess things up at this stage and dont keep them separated then my dreads are doomed. Also my hair has gotten frizzy looking. Ive decided that I need to find some sort of head covering.. not for everyday use but for when Im feeling a little insecure. Ive been playing around with beads and sleeves and must say i love them and they make me feel good. Another potential issue is: I have to wear a baseball style hat for work. My hair is starting to get almost too thick to fit through the hat hole. I purchased bigger pony holders as the regular ones were tooo tight. For now I can still manage the hat, just not sure how much longer ill be able to pull it off. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My family is dealing with my hair far better then I thought they would. My teen had prom recently and we had to go to the boys house for pictures. She was worried about what his parents would think of my hair. I dont know what they thought of my hair.. it never came up. My 8 year old asked me if I was embarrassed about my hair. I said no, im not embarrassed about anything, why should I be? She said no Mommy your beautiful. The hubster isnt speaking to me.. thats another whole can of worms that im not ready to open.

Ive always had oily hair and skin and was a daily hair washer. Since using the baking soda, Ive noticed my hair is not oily at all, I can go 2 days easily with out washing with out a oily mess. I dont use the acv rinse every time I was wash with the bs. am i suppose to? I dont like the way it makes my hair feel and it seems to get oily faster. also since using the bs, my oily skin looks great and has cleared up. i purchased the locking up shampoo and the sea salt spray. I think Im going to lay off them for a few weeks and see what happens. Im also going to buy some Dr. Bonners.

Thanks for letting me ramble. Any advice or words of wisdom about shrinkage,cool summer head wear, work hat issues, frizzies and keep these knots separated?

Thanks Guys and Girls. Love to All,

April

updated by @april-n: 01/13/15 09:53:02PM

Who Am I?

Introduce Yourself

WOW! Thank you all for the amazing welcome. I have to tell you.. Yesterday when I saw Hubby, he walked up to me with the biggest smile, gave me a huge hug and asked me how my hair was doing! This isnt something I decided to do over night.. Hubby has been hearing me talk about dreads for a long time( 1995 i believe) At one point(years ago) he told me to do it.. my response was Im not ready. Barrelllady, I am 39 and finally feel like I can be me. I know it wont be easy. Last night I had to take my daughter to girl scouts.. messy hair and all. It was fine, I was fine. As for my hair.. it's really not doing anything.. and I'm fine with that! Again thank you ALL for the welcome.

much love

april

Who Am I?

Introduce Yourself

Hi Everyone,

So glad I found you. I apologize in advance if this gets long and winding. A little about myself. I'm a mom, wife, daughter, niece, friend, co worker. I have wanted dreadlocks since the mid 90's. I guess that was the first time I was around people who had them.. i thought they were beautiful. I guess life took over after that. Through the years the thought would come and go. Whenever I would bring up the subject with my love ones there was always a negative reaction on their part. A few years back I mentioned dreads to my kids and they actually started crying! At one point I researched dreads and thought I couldn't afford them!

Life has taken many twists and turns, as life tends to do. At the start of this year I decided to stop blaming others for MY unhappiness and really take a look at myself. I can tell you that I am a much happier person than i was a mere 3 months ago. Once again the thought of Dreadlocks creeped back into my head. In the past I was always so worried about what other people would think. Not anymore.. Not sure where that worry went.. but glad its gone. Found this web site.. I made the decision yesterday. Today is day 1. Did I mention how impatient I am? I'm hoping through this process to maybe gain some patience.. and to also find out who i am and better understand myself.

Today I am feeling emotional. I really cant say why.. I mean I cant pin point it to my hair. I woke up with some worries.. hopped on here, read a bit and felt better... but emotional.. which isnt necessarily a bad thing.

I picked my teen daughter up this evening and she asked me what was "Up" with my hair. It already looks different. I told her I decided to stop brushing it. After a few more questions I told her I have started the dreadlock process. She made the announcement tonight at dinner. There was some talk about dreads being dirty, questions about how long it would take. Hubby seems to think that we wont be able to go anywhere "nice". so all in all a good day. excited to start this journey.. i know it won't be easy.. but will be worth it!

Love to all,

April

updated by @april-n: 01/13/15 09:51:18PM