Monday, March 12, 2012

Finished Dreads


Weee my dreadlocks are finished! 46 dreads, in total. My lovely mum sectioned my hair using tiny elastics and then I was up till midnight dreading them all, gosh sore arms the morning after! I cut myself a fringe after seeing a picture of another dreadlock girl with the same style :) This photo was taken a week or so ago and they've actually changed a lot since then even, I'll make sure to take another pic!

So here are five things I've learnt during the dreadlock journey

1) It takes ages to wash my hair now! I first shampoo my fringe, pour apple cider on my scalp and then shampoo all over. I then have to make sure all the soap is rinsed out and further spend a ridiculous amount of time drying my hair
2) Dreads are high maintenance! The most high maintenance hair I've ever had which isn't saying much but I did not realise I'd be devoting so many hours to my hair (although perfect when you're bored!)
3) Dreads aren't annoying to sleep on like I thought they would be
4) Dreads can sometimes get caught in necklace clasps
5) When dreads are full of water they're heavy and I have really fine hair so I never thought I'd be saying that!

So my goal from here is to keep crocheting my dreads getting them to lock up! I'm excited and even though I whinge about the work that has gone into them, I like them more than I ever thought I would :) I finally feel like I have thickish hair which is really fun!

Below is a youtube clip that shows you how to use a crochet hook to keep your dreads tidy



UPDATE: So it's a few years later and I realised I never updated you guys on my journey.  


My homemade dreads were awesome! When I started dreading my hair they were quite soft and I still kept a lot of my original length but as the months went on they locked up considerable, got a lot more coarse in texture and my original hair length reduced by about 50% - something to remember!  They also locked up naturally (which was something I wasn't quite expecting) even though I did crochet them to keep them neat-ish.  As my hair grew I used the finger locking/latch technique which you can see in the first park of the video below...


I did read on the internet this technique can be damaging for your hair but I figured the whole process was fairly damaging and I personally had no problem with damage or breakage. I also kept up with crocheting to keep them nice and neat - again I have to say this was the most intensive hair I've ever had and yet there is a misconception (well at least I had) that dreads are low maintenance - oh my goodness!

So did I keep them? I had my dreads for about 8 months.  I personally would of kept them in for longer but I cut them off because my Grandma wasn't the biggest fan.  She was incredibly sick and it was a gesture for her :) That story has a sad ending, so I'll just say that it was a premature cutting but eventually I would of cut them off because I like to change things up (and they were a lot of work!)



My biggest fear of dreads was having to shave my hair but the hairdresser said she'd be able to save a bit of hair and just unraveled some of the dread that was left. The first few days I felt like a boy and wore super girly hairclips to compensate but then I really didn't mind having super short hair  (I like short hair anyway!).

Would I do it again? Maybe :P I'm blonde at the moment (which is another super high maintenance style so perhaps my next look will be one with zero upkeep!)

Final Thoughts: They do take a lot of work and there is a reason peeps charge a lot to do them for others but if you have the time and patience you can totes have dreads yourself! I wanted cute little dreads so I made sure to section my hair really small which was perfect and I really did love having them :)


                   Recap of my Journey: Journey Begins / Two Weeks In / Three Weeks in

8 comments:

  1. Your dreads are awesome matey! I was so impressed on saturday, they definitely suit you! :)
    *wolf whistle* :)

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  2. aww thanks heather!
    I'm just glad I've finally got around to it :)

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  3. Hi Fee,
    So you want to lock up the ends? Best way I found - and you can get great tight rounded ends - is to use a felting needle. The have one way slits in the needle that catch the hair and pull it in as you push it into the dread, and then leave the hair strands inside as you pull it out. I use a bigger one for the ends and a finer gauge for the roots and other tidying.
    Oh, and watch out for sequins on shirts from now on...

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  4. Oh thanks Lydia, that's awesome will have to go down to spotlight and see if I can pick up one :) I'm not sure about my ends anymore, I kind of like them loose now! but yes definitely needs to fix up my roots and loose hairs!

    Gosh I never knew I'd be spending so much time on my hair, tell me the maintenance get's less as the time goes on?!?!!

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  5. Um, yes I suppose it does. But it still needs work if they're to look rad and not ratty. I don't spend time only doing the dreads. I just got adept at reading a book with something to weight the pages open
    (toes?), or do it while watching a movie. If you can't find them on spotlight, you can get them on ebay nice and cheap - I got a multipack of 10 with 3 different sizes which works nicely. Oh, and try knottyboy soap bars... so nice and teatree-tingly! Yay for new dreads!

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  6. I have already got into the movie and fix dread routine :) It takes me about a whole movie too! eep! I shouldn't whinge too much, I actually find the process fun in some weird crafty-esque way and it's nice to not have the dreads all ratty! I'm most scared of just have one big mat on the back of my head *gulp*

    Thanks for the ebay tip, I shall go and explore now...knottyboy soap bars, ohhh, sounds delicious!

    Thanks for your help much appreciated :)

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  7. Since no one else seems to be warning you, crocheting is actually very very bad for dreads. Over time it breaks strands of your hair and makes the dreads weaker and although it makes them appear tidier for the time being it prevents the hair from unraveling and moving around a bit and the normal dreading process from happening. You will end up with weak, wiry, thin/ stiff looking dreads over time instead of allowing them to thicken and dread healthily if you do this too much.

    Your hair will go through crazy stages, but it will dread itself over time as long as it's kept clean and separated and you let it without trying to 'fix' it too much. Dreads actually take very very little maintenance, but lots of time and patience.

    Good luck on your dread journey and I hope you look more into my advice. There's alot of companies and short term dread wearers out there that will try to sell you on everything under the sun to make your hair dread, when all it takes is you leaving it alone long enough and having alittle faith in your hair and what nature does to it. ;)

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  8. Thanks so much for taking the time to write your comment, very much appreciated. I guess I sould give a little update since its been four months since this journal entry. I find myself leaving them alone a lot more, all I do now is about every three weeks spend a few hours separating them at their roots so they don't join together. I still do crochet some loose ends in as well but I find my maintenance is more about keeping my scalp from becoming one big mess. I've never had a hair style in the past that required anything more than a shampoo and perhaps a brush in the morning. Spending a few hours each few weeks on my hair still seems ridiculous :p

    I'm all for the natural process, I haven't used any wax, just shampoo that is residue free. I hope I'm not working them too much and I will take your words on board and try and execute a more laid back approach :) at the end of the day I just want clean dreads and not one big mat of hair!

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