Post by Nici on Jun 4, 2016 17:36:57 GMT
Welcome! I had a timeline here previously (seersken), but I guess it got lost in the 2.0 version.
I had my dreads made in December 2010 by backcombing; 7 hours and 64 dreads later, this is what I looked like:
It made my hair about 15 cm shorter!
Initially, I worried a lot about them. Did palm-rolling, some crocheting etc. I had this recurring dream where my dreads came undone, and it made me so sad! Weird stuff, did any of you have similar dreams? Unfortunately the very early close-up photos I took got lost over the course of time, so here are some general ones orderd by year.
2011
I think they shrunk throughout the first year, stayed somewhat the same the second year, then finally after 3 years they had a growth spurt.
2012
2013
I stopped worrying about them eventually. I leave them be for the most part, unless I need to dress up for an event. Then I gather the loose hairs around one dread, hold them between two fingers with an open palm, whilst using my other hand to do circular motion around the dread. I do this movement starting at the base moving downwards. That twists the loose hairs around the dread and makes it look insantly more tidy, although it comes back out after a shower. Sometimes I do some very careful crocheting, no longer the mindless stabbing I did on the baby dreads.
2014
I was very pleased with them in 2014. The length was finally more to my liking!
2015
I gradually felt that they were becoming too long; I wanted to cut them a bit shorter, but it took me a year before I finally entrusted someone to go near with a scissor. This is the longest they got:
And here are the before and after images:
The idea was to give them an even length, but in the end the ones at the back were quite a bit shorter than the ones at the front. I will leave them be for over the summer, then I might adjust their relative lengths a bit to something that doesn't look as... straight. Make it a bit uneven and more natural.
As for cleanliness, I wash them with a bar soap from Lush twice a week, and occasionally do a deep cleanse using warm water, baking soda, tea tree oil, salt and lemon juice. I remember having a bad time with itchiness and some dandruff back in 2012-2013, but I think it stopped once my scalp got used to dreads, and maybe thanks to Lush as well.
It's funny to look back at how the dreads have grown over the years, and how I've matured along with them. My reason to get them at first was purely style; now they are a part of my identity. I love how they function as an ice breaker at a party or a concert. They have also become a personal reminder to go my own way and resist the marketing bombardment we're exposed to every day. Funnily, I've grown into some of the dreadlock stereotypes - the biggest change being a gradual implement of a vegan lifestyle and a growing awareness of ethical consumerism. Their biggest gift, however, was more confidence in myself.
How have your dreads changed you?
Here's to the next five years!
I had my dreads made in December 2010 by backcombing; 7 hours and 64 dreads later, this is what I looked like:
It made my hair about 15 cm shorter!
Initially, I worried a lot about them. Did palm-rolling, some crocheting etc. I had this recurring dream where my dreads came undone, and it made me so sad! Weird stuff, did any of you have similar dreams? Unfortunately the very early close-up photos I took got lost over the course of time, so here are some general ones orderd by year.
2011
I think they shrunk throughout the first year, stayed somewhat the same the second year, then finally after 3 years they had a growth spurt.
2012
2013
I stopped worrying about them eventually. I leave them be for the most part, unless I need to dress up for an event. Then I gather the loose hairs around one dread, hold them between two fingers with an open palm, whilst using my other hand to do circular motion around the dread. I do this movement starting at the base moving downwards. That twists the loose hairs around the dread and makes it look insantly more tidy, although it comes back out after a shower. Sometimes I do some very careful crocheting, no longer the mindless stabbing I did on the baby dreads.
2014
I was very pleased with them in 2014. The length was finally more to my liking!
2015
I gradually felt that they were becoming too long; I wanted to cut them a bit shorter, but it took me a year before I finally entrusted someone to go near with a scissor. This is the longest they got:
And here are the before and after images:
The idea was to give them an even length, but in the end the ones at the back were quite a bit shorter than the ones at the front. I will leave them be for over the summer, then I might adjust their relative lengths a bit to something that doesn't look as... straight. Make it a bit uneven and more natural.
As for cleanliness, I wash them with a bar soap from Lush twice a week, and occasionally do a deep cleanse using warm water, baking soda, tea tree oil, salt and lemon juice. I remember having a bad time with itchiness and some dandruff back in 2012-2013, but I think it stopped once my scalp got used to dreads, and maybe thanks to Lush as well.
It's funny to look back at how the dreads have grown over the years, and how I've matured along with them. My reason to get them at first was purely style; now they are a part of my identity. I love how they function as an ice breaker at a party or a concert. They have also become a personal reminder to go my own way and resist the marketing bombardment we're exposed to every day. Funnily, I've grown into some of the dreadlock stereotypes - the biggest change being a gradual implement of a vegan lifestyle and a growing awareness of ethical consumerism. Their biggest gift, however, was more confidence in myself.
How have your dreads changed you?
Here's to the next five years!