Forum Activity for @baba-fats

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General Questions

It's not that they never saw anyone go natural, they just never put 2 and 2 together about all those people they saw with nappy hair were also growing locks. It take growing locks to recognize the intermediate steps you see other people going through.

Anyway, Parents have a tendency to think that what you do reflects on them. It doesn't, it reflects on you. Remind her that what you do only effects what people see in you, not her.

My mom is the same. She has hated my locks because they are uneven and nappy. Even after 5 years, she wants me to cut them and go to a salon to have them done "pretty".

Keep letting your hair lock. She can't forcibly cut it. She can make comments and be snippy about them, but if you just talk to her about your reasons, and not cut them off, she might not ever give in, but she might just stop arguing. My mom thought it was a phase. So for years afterwards she wouldn't let me leave the house without comment. But now it's few and far between when she says anything about them. She's pretty much gotten used to my having locks. She's still worried about my finding a job, but she is leaving that up to me.

As for guys with locks wanting girls with hair... That's absurd. I've got locks. My girlfriend doesn't, but that's for her job. Whenever she's got long breaks, I grab a few sections and tnr them for her.

But I digress... Guy's with locks tend to be more earthy and hippieish. They want girls who are pretty earthy and hippieish too. If they have locks, great. If not, then who cares. People generally are attracted to others with similar life views. It doesn't matter what they look like.

Screw him.

Hi! I'm Heather

Introduce Yourself

I think that's a great idea. I did the same thing with my parents when I wanted to get my ears pierced. We waited till I was 13. I think they regretted it, though, because I ended up gauging them and getting tons of more piercings and tats

Hi! I'm Heather

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how old are your kids? That's a concern I always have. I'm pretty sure my kids will eventually want them. They'll have know their dad with them all their lives. Personally I don't believe kids are old enough to make that decision until their 10 or older. It's a mental maturity level that they have to reach before they will be able to handle caring for them and washingregularlyon their on. Plus being mature enough to not get crap in their hair that you have to wash out or cut out. At a certain age you can play outside without getting filthy all the time. I'm not against kids with locks, but only above a certain age and maturity level. If they want locks, talk to them about it. Talk to them about it the same way you'd talk to them about getting their first tattoo. It's a decision they need to think about for a long time and learn about before they jump into it. Sure with hair you can cut it or comb it out if they don't like it, unlike ink. But it's still a decision than warrants thought and consideration before you leap into it.

Hello

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That's the perfect recipe. If you n't have a gallon jug, 1 Tbls BS to each cup of water is fine too. Don't use rubber bands. If you can't get them out, they tend to rot inside your locks. It's nasty. Who wants anything rotting in their hair? If you are annoyed with congo's and can't seem to rip them apart fast enough, which shouldn't be a problem for you, use beads to separate them. Beads to promote knotting, and they keep your lock contained to itself.
You don't have to use the BS wash, though if you don't want to. Dr. Bronners, or anything from Dreadlockshampoo.com are great. When you are starting out, use a liquid soap, though. bars are rougher on your scalp. With the BS wash, you don't have to scrub your scalp, just pout it ou and wait 10-20 minutes, then rinse. With any other soap, you have to scrub a little bit. Don't worry about your hair. Just focus on your scalp. As you rinse, the soap will wash through your hair cleaning it.

Thanks Chris, for getting the link to that page

Introductory Essay :P

Introduce Yourself

I wish I had the time to go into what I really want to. I'll try to later.

But for now, Welcome to the community. It's great to hear you reasons for locking. I especially like how you're using them to help fight your anxiety. It will probably work. We've all had some ignorant people comment on our hair in negative ways. For me it was my parents and grandparents. For you, it might just be some random person in line at the grocery store. Good luck. A piece of advice: No matter what other people say, just remember that they don't matter in the large scheme of things. They would comment about anything just to start an argument. It's got nothing to do with your hair.

As for your boss, legally he is not allowed to fire you or do anything negative because you have locks. He may ask you to tie to up or back if it's a safety or food safety issue. In that case, jut comply, it's not worth an argument for something simple.

That being said, you might want step up you game at work. He may not like your locks. In that case, he might look for other things to get you on in order to fire you. It'll be your job to prove it was because of your hair. If you prove yourself to be the best employee, he'll have a hard time justifying his actions. I know it's a double standard, but it not unlike being a woman, or a minority at work. They have to work twice as hard for the same recognition as white men. It's messed up, but it's true.

Good luck.

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That's about all you can do. I have yet to be able to find beads big enough for mine any more. There are a couple of links up top to stores that take custom orders. If you give them a diameter, I'm sure they could make you one. I haven't tried it yet. The problem with beads that big is that they tend to weigh a whole lot more. clay ones might be a little lighter than glass, but I'm a stickler for glass or other natural products. I haven't used any clay beads

hi

Introduce Yourself

I'm one of those people who's got 12-14 locks. Ok, they do dry super slow. I squeeze all the water out for a good 5 minutes in the shower after I wash. I then use a towel and squeeze even more out (in the 5 seconds it takes to step out of the shower, more water seeps to the surface). I then blow dry for 5 minutes. They'll still be damp for 6 or so hours. I have to hit them with a blow drier 3-4 times if it's too cold to let them air dry outside.

2. I have definitely noticed a slowing down of hair growth since I congo'd them to be this big. Before the could grow 3 inches a year (That's really fats for me). When they were thinner, they'd grow 6 inches a year. Now that I combined them, they slowed down to about 2-3 inches again.

Enough about me. You will usually lose about 1/3 to 1/2 of your original length. That one that folded over is perfectly natural. It will probably eventually round itself out. They do that as you sleep on them and compress them every which way. I'd just let that one go. The others will probably follow soon in their own way.

The most important thing for fat locks is protecting them from congos. Every few days just pull them apart. Mine are not as big as my wrists yet, but the sections are probably large enough to be once they grow out a little more.

If you've got any questions on how to take care of fatties like those, message me. I'll be glad to help

new and not sure what to do.

Dreading Methods

There will always be about 2 inches of loose unknotted hair at the tips. It's totally normal. In fact, it really helps them dry faster. Leave them. Even if you tried to tnr them, they'd just come out anyway. If the lock wants to blunt the tips, it will on it;s own. I've got about 6 blunted locks, and the rest wispy. They did it own their own.

As for the roots being loose, leave them too. As they mature and grow longer that hair will mat itself nd get tangled. Don't worry. I use to worry about it and root flip and all of that to get them tighter, but as I read here, it's notnecessary. They will mat themselves over time. There will always be 1-2 inches on unknotted hair at the roots too.

Look at pictures of dreadlocks. Those peoples hair was not always that long. Locks grow like any other type of hair. but you don't see a lock and then 10 inches of unknotted hair. There's no secret to getting new hair growth to knot up. It just will.

updated by @baba-fats: 07/10/15 01:47:34AM

new and not sure what to do.

Dreading Methods

If you do it right, no, they wont stick out. Yo don't need to pull them so tight down to your scalp that it hurts. In fact, if it's still a little loose around the root, it's ok, even better. They lock faster and easier if they have room to move. That way they will stay laying flat. One might decide to stick out a little, but that's natural. You wont end up looking like Sideshow Bob. Don't worry about that.

And no, once you do the TnR method once, you don't have to do anything except wash. If you feel like you want them to look a little more maintained for any reason, there's a new locking gel from dreadlockshampoo.com. It's not a wax or anything like that. Ask SE about it. He's giving it a shot on his beard locks. And he's the biggest advocate for natural/neglect. If he's willing to use it, it's got to be fine.

new and not sure what to do.

Dreading Methods

You can definitely start that short. I did.

I'd say start with the Twist and Rip method. They will look the most presentable for a while till you wash them, and they become a tangled mess again. But it's OK, you can put beads on the to help keep the sections separated. You can always wear them tied back or with a nice bandanna to keep them out of the way. If your boss tries to give you grief about food safety, which they probably will, offer to wear a plain black tam, or something that will keep them out of the food. I know people here will say that you should never have to hide them, but be honest, would you be as willing to eat if your waitress (even with straight hair) just let it fly loosely around your food?

The beads will also help keep those loose hairs attached to your locks