First off I should explain a bit about why I chose to have my dreads formed. I have struggled with almost an obsessive/compulsive nature about my appearance for years, to the point where it impacts how I go about my day. I had a routine in the morning that would take exactly an hour and forty five minutes on a good day. Now, this was not simply out of vanity. I would literally feel that something was off if I did something out of order, or if something looked different than how I usually put myself together. I usually accept change pretty well, however when it came to my appearance (more so how I felt I should look, rather than how I felt others would see me) I was very hard pressed to do things differently without feeling extraordinarily off.

That being said, I chose dreads to try and break me from these habits. Not only that, but also to try and help save my hair (which I am also convinced is in the process of thinning) from all of the harsh chemicals caused by over the counter boxed dyes, and cheap shampoo. Oh, and I forgot to mention part of my routine involved washing my hair every single day in order to maintain the same shape..every..single..day. I slowly weaned myself down to just conditioning every day and washing every three days, however this is still not really the best situation for thinning hair.

I chose to have them formed at loctician locally that specializes in natural hair and "locs" specifically. It came recommended by a friend of a friend, whom I had met, and had seen what the end results looked like. For me, I had to have them formed at a salon. If I hadn't made a drastic change all at once I probably would have taken them out long before I was able to see them even in adolescence. I had done plenty of research on all of the methods, dos/donts, and anything I could find to see what would work for me in the long term. I really wish I could have had the fortitude to go through with neglect, but that just wasn't an option.

So now here we are, and I just had my dreads formed not but 24 hours ago with the backcomb method with a light amount of crochet (and absolutely no wax or products). It is definitely tough to see myself entirely different from my day to day (especially with all the new dread fuzz, and the fact that of course they're far from perfect). However, I am still looking to the future and the hopes that one day they will look as glorious as I imagine.

Now for the questions. I know with the crochet method there is a lot of maintenance involved in upkeep. Is that to say that one cannot start off with one method, and then continue with multiple methods? I would like to at some point work with different methods to achieve different styles to add a little more character to my dreads. I would appreciate any tips and information, as I'm sure it will be needed in the months to come before they become more mature.

Any who, that's that, and I am now a part of something bigger than myself.