Some things you should know before you dread your hair.
Early stages:
When you start dreads your in for a few things that may or may not be surprising.
First your going to need approximately three inches of hair. This is because dreads are made of knots of knots… with some knots on top… seriously more hair is better in starting locks, it simply means more places to knot up. The second aspect of your hair which decides a lot is thickness and curliness. These traits are mean little to backcombing, but with thicker or curly hair other methods can be considered. The process depends on hair type but the universal easy way is to have someone backcomb your hair. Backcombing will need the comb, rubber bands, and dread wax. Where as the other methods need only the rubber bands and dread wax. The baby dreads should be taken care of with an understanding that cleaner dreads lock up better all around. But, that wet dreads are more likely to ‘unravel’ such that washing them is going to have to be held off for at very least two weeks. One should also understand that there are things for which dreads are too great of a stigma to overcome. This is most often seen in job opportunities, though I think it is safe to say this trend is ever diminishing.
Middle stages:
These middle stages simply refer to when your hair is mature. The dreads have become sponges… any time they get wet… dry them, that is the single most important thing to know about locks. People often will wonder if your dirty or some such things simply because you have locks, don’t fit the stereotype simply because you don’t know how to dry your hair. Personally I use a micro-fiber cloth to wrap my head up and this dries the hair very quickly, otherwise a simple hair dryer can do the job. But, never put them up wet.
Final stage:
Eventually the thought of cutting your hair will arise in your mind… for this I can only speak from experience that some days are worse than others. But remember these are the times not to act rashly as dreads are a product of time, not to be done or undone on a whim. I find the worst of all things to be desire for other hair styles. I miss having a shaved head. Don’t get me wrong one of my favorite things is having long hair blowing in the wind. But, that does not change that I dislike sleeping with long hair. So these things must be considered, thought perhaps more for men than women as most women have long since known their take on long hair.
See my other articles on the initial process and maintenence.
