Thanks very kindly for your replies. Definitely got me thinking. I used so much wax I doubt I would ever be able to get it all out. I've tried all of those suggestions time and time again and yet I can always find more wax. It makes me very sad to think about cutting them, but like the saying goes, "if you're going to do something, do it right".
I'm terribly sorry to hear about your accident. I broke my pelvis around the time I started my dreads so I kept "maintaining" them (waxing them up) while I was sitting around bored out of my mind.
Would you suggest I start over, or follow the methods listed here:
http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/topics/dread-wax-removal
How can you tell if/when all the wax is gone?
Hello everyone,
I'm not really sure where to post this, so I hope this section is alright. I've been lurking here for a long time but this is my first post so let me give a little background. I started my dreads in November 2010 when I was in a huge Bob Marley phase using the DreadheadHQ backcombing/wax method. My hair was only around 4 inches long. My babydreads were tiny and falling apart which caused a few headaches, but the wax kept them together. At the time, I didn't know any better and hadn't stumbled across this place. After a few months, I found a few dreadlocks sites claiming natural dreading processes were better and that wax was essentially evil. By this point, my dreads had started to tighten and look pretty good so I stopped using wax and washed/rinsed out as much of it as I could. I switched to using aloe every once in a while to keep things in check. I kept looking around the net and somehow found this place. I didn't create an account until recently, but have since gotten a lot of really great information and tips from all of you guys and for that I'm very appreciative!
Now, let's fast-forward to the present. My younger brother is getting married soon and I'm to be the best man at his wedding. I like my dreads, but they do look very informal and I've been thinking about cutting them and going with a more "corporate drone" look. A very significant part of me doesn't want to cut them, but I'm finding myself at a crossroads. Anyone else ever been in a situation like this? Any advice?
And since I've never posted any photos of my dreads, here are some photos for reference:
Most of the time I wear them pulled back with a (relatively) loose hairband:
