Forum Activity for @tashtash

Natural dreadlocks, from day 0

Member Journals and Timelines

@lopenator - I managed to get a larger spiral piece of swarf lodged in my nostril before, gets everywhere 😂

Natural dreadlocks, from day 0

Member Journals and Timelines

Hi @soaring-eagle, I would I honestly have no problem with the messiness of it, it’s the work I’ve been doing the last few weeks, lots of drilling and I don’t want to be getting metal swarf stuck in my hair 😩 or getting it stuck in the drill! And I’ve been on a few sites where I have to have it up and under a hard hat, so I let it down as soon as I get in my car 😂

Natural dreadlocks, from day 0

Member Journals and Timelines

Hi everyone! Haven’t posted on this thread for a while but I’ve been a bit ill 🤒 I’ve updated my photo album with about 20days worth of pictures and I have a bit of progress 😊 I have one single section that is actually visibly knotty and feels amazing! It’s at my crown and though I have knitting going on elsewhere, it’s the only one that looks somewhat like a dread to me 😂 unfortunately I’ve had to wear my hair up a lot recently and I know it’s slowing progress so I’m going to try and crochet a headband or something, or maybe another hat because I can’t seem to find the first one I made 🤷🏻‍♀️ Hope everyone is good 😊

What do your family think of your dreads?

Life Issues Facing Dreads

I’m sorry you’ve had negative responses, it’s a lot easier to ignore a strangers opinion than that of your family. My family don’t really care to be honest, my Mam seemed a little unsure at first but once I answered her questions she was more accepting. I imagine it might be a little different if I still lived at home because she’d see the day to day messiness and might have more to say about it. As far as advice, I can only really echo what’s already been said, you can’t let anyone’s negative opinion get to you, just remember that it’s you that wants to do this and it’s your hair. The short term bad feelings won’t come close to outweighing the longer term good feelings that you get from doing things your own way, no matter what that is. And they’re your family, they’ll come to accept it in time because they love you, it’s just a new thing at the moment, something else will come along and they’ll forget all about how they feel about your hair 😊

No idea what to do

General Questions

If you mean it kinda bumps up like if you flipped your hair over a different way that it’s not used to lying then I have a few of those at the crown of my head. Remember that now your hair is dreading, all those knots are going to make some strands of hair shorter as they’re all looping about, that’s going to make a dread look a little crazy and bumpy til the other hairs catch up. It’s normal and it’s a good sign! If you used a starter method, remember to not do it again because you’ll just be undoing progress, unknotting, loosening and tightening is all part of that process, so if you backcomb or twist and rip or whatever again, you’re just making a temporary fix and it’ll loosen again because that’s what it needs to do. Just give it a little time, it’ll sort it’s self out 😊

Started out with 50 TnR dreads...most of them have fallen out

Dreading Methods

@brosefstalin -I’m at 5 1/2 ish months with free form dreads (no t&r experience) your hair will find its way. I have many many sections some tiny, some what I would consider a normal size, lots of loose hair still! Some of my bigger sections have started to more noticeably knot up and I’m getting the beginnings of lumps and bumps (so exciting!) and quite a lot of my tiny tiny sections have spiralled around each other and have started to knot up a little too 😊 that’s my dreading experience, like I said I have no experience with t&r, but I can tell you that your hair will surprise you, you just have to give it time. Try to embrace the mess, it’s a huge part of the journey and is very necessary in the process, it will all be worth it. Just keep on top of separating and keep them nice and clean, they’ll do the rest all on their own.

13 Years ~ Livity and Overstanding

Member Journals and Timelines

Amazing hair! Definitely inspired 😊 thanks for sharing this.

What would happen if I combed my hair?

Dread Maintenance

I think that mistakes are a part of your experience with dreads and free form tbh. I don’t think that combing out and restarting with new knowledge will get you anywhere faster than just continuing with what progress you’ve already made, so if it’s just that you feel it’s all taking too long I don’t think it’s the best idea. I was still using a regular shampoo and just not conditioning at first, and I tried sleeping on a microfibre towel wrapped around my pillow thinking it might cause some friction but it kinda brushed the back of my head instead 🤦🏻‍♀️ So that was two mistakes I guess! It all depends on your reasons for wanting to start over, but if there’s any part of you that thinks you might regret it, just give it some time. If you do decide to comb, just go gently with lots of conditioner or something from the tip up, you shouldn’t pull too much out of your head, but and shed hair will be combed out. How long have you been free forming for now?

Natural dreadlocks, from day 0

Member Journals and Timelines

@femalepheromones - also proof that it’s not a phase! It doesn’t help that 90% of my footwear is chunky black boots 😂 and trying to find a certain black top in a drawer full of black tops!

Natural dreadlocks, from day 0

Member Journals and Timelines

@poopiepants - I suppose it is a good filter isn’t it? I remember when I started dressing goth (it’s not a phase, I just look great in black! 😂) I had a good friend of mine tell her boyfriend that they could ‘just walk in front of me and pretend they’re not with me’ when we were all going out as a group, because he didn’t want to be seen with a weirdo. We didn’t stay friends long after that! Well, that and her trying to get the demons prayed out of me! I suppose I’ve got a few filters already. I’m still working on the perfectionism thing, but I did go back to my dance class last for the first time in a few months, something that I’d been holding myself back from. It’s progress, the hardest part really is just letting go in many aspects. It’s a surrender, a sort of helplessness, but that’s just a different kind of brave. I hope your hair carries on being a great source of inspiration to you 😊