trust me joseph.i have very sensitive skin and very bad dandruff. i do the bs/acv was every 3/4 days depending on how i'm feeling with teatree peppermint and lavender added to both parts of the wash. don't get me wrong, i still have a tiny little bit of dandruff, but a teaspray with a few other essential oils in it to leave soak on your scalp does realllllly help alot inbetween washes. that's my personal routine.
everytime someone with completely commercially maintained hair tries to 'educate' me on dreads i tell them to feel my hair, and then smell it. the first reaction is wow! they're really soft! and then when they smell it, the girls are like......... is that peppermint?.. and teatree...andlavender??? WOW that smells amazing! and from there their minds are so much more open. it's just startling to think that they know so little so as to assume that just because it's natural, it's dirty or actually had someone call them "grody" before. hahahah
i was told by many people to use wax and get them done or they would look horrible and smell shitty. to think how TERRIBLE it would've been if i listened to my friends who thought they were king shit about dreads. ugh. it's been 6 months of me loving my hair however it chose to be and i must say it's a very rewarding and enlightening experience/journey. completely natural and patience was the route i chose the first time and i am soooooglad.
idk about you guys, but everytime i glance in a mirror i get a distinct feeling. Most often it's a feeling of accomplishment for doing less than people who typically feel discouraged,or have the need to conform. and then other times when i just feel around my head and am greeted by these full natural soft and happy dreads it's like i'm being exposed to a feeling that people who haven't began their journey yet would NEVER understand. it's almost like having a companion along for the ride with you. your dreads are always there to back you up, state your point, reinforce yourcommitmentto the things you believe in, and most of all give you the mostindestructiblesense of self that i personally have ever stumbled upon. when i began allowing my hair to dread i just wanted to do it. i had grown my hair long as fuck, i had enjoyed it, i had cut it. all the options. until the final one that had always been placed sort of in a grey area between looked down upon and taboo. and honestly, that's the most rewarding grey area i've ever happily fit into. i have never been the patient type. but somewhere along my embarking upon this experience, i have developed an almost unnatural degree of acceptance and flexibility with things that i would normally essentially obsess over due to my anxiety and ocd. sorry to rant, but i just felt like i had to attempt to put into words how my personal journey has helped me even in just these few short months. not to mention how glad i am to have had access to such an immensely helpful source of information and advice as the dreadlockssite. without the support and reassurance from all of you guys and just being able to peruse through different discussions ranging from literally any topic i could think of to why my scalp itches and how i can fix it. just thanks. =]
i definitely feel you on that. my mommy LOVES my curly blonde mane. But after seeing how nicely and naturally my hair took to locking she had to admit that it was "adorable" even though she couldn't wait until i had my normal hair back.hahaha. it also helps if you show them this site believe it or not. It wasn't necessary , but she had a lot of questions and concerns about the hygiene aspect of the endeavor since i have really sensitive skin and this forum was thorough and reassuring enough to put a mother's worries to rest. =]
i think we're about on the same page with the curly dreads. hahaha. i'm really happy about mine retaining the majority of my hair's natural curliness. i feel like it makes them waaaayyyy different from anyone else's i've seen so far. =]
i completely agree! i hadn't heard anything about the sixth sense theory involving dreads and the nervous system, but i can honestly say having heard of someone else having similar experiences is startling. i have been feeling many 'vibes' is the most loose term i can place them under. and i wouldn't go so far as to say prophetic, but very interestingly formatted dreams that line up with real life experiences after said dreams in a strange/thought invoking way..
i have a really curly afro type thing when my hair isn't locked, and it always had a perfect part down the middle after it got to a certain length. since i've let my hair do it's own thing the part has stayed and at first i didn't really like it, but then i figured i can't complain if that is the way that is most natural for my hair, youuknow?
a large amount of my friends originally were pushing for that also, saying it's the only way to make sure they turn out good and that they didn't think it would be nearly as awesome if i just left my hair to it's own means.... which just goes to show how little they even understand about the entire act of locks.=]
Amy4life said:
Thank you for writing this SE!
It's reconfirmed how much I want to stick to the natural method, as someone who has just started their dreadlock journey. I've only stopped brushing my hair for 2 days, and already it's been suggested I should just get them "professionally done" instead, as I'm impatient to get results. But I just love the idea of letting go and allowing my hair to do what it does naturally, however long it takes.
the way you described them as the branches of a tree growing however they please almost made me feel like they were reaching for light. from the beginning of my journey i have had to battle with my anxiety and ocd pretty badly. even before i read this amazing description that's sort of how i felt. but thanks se, it was reassuring.
