Scott's Dreadlock Journey - Backcomb and Crochet (22 Months)
Feb 25, 2017 7:31:41 GMT
MamaKittyLove, saralcat, and 3 more like this
Post by terrorforma on Feb 25, 2017 7:31:41 GMT
Hey all,
I posted these pics on the FB group but seeing it was pretty popular I thought I'd do a proper timeline on the forum.
So to begin, I work at a school, and every year we get a photo taken around the same time (latest in Feb 2017). Here are the last 4, the last two with dreads.
Now the story and timeline!
I had wanted to grow my hair out for ages, but seeing it was super curly (type 3c) it was high maintenance at best. I usually ended up getting it cut off and even went on a phase of shaving it shorter and shorter until I had even gone down to a razor! Here are a few of the styles I had during that time...
During this time I would grow out my hair and then getting annoyed with it, I'd usually end up getting it cut off and even went on a phase of shaving it shorter and shorter until I had even gone down to a razor! I had seen dreads a couple of times and thought they would be cool, but at the time I was living at home with my dad and he wasn't too keen on the idea, so I ended up putting the idea on the backburner.
I still kept trying to grow out my hair, and then at work one year (I work at a school), a new teacher came. He had Dreads! They were 8 years old, and were almost at his waist. I brought up his dreads with him, and how I wanted them, and he said go for it. I suddenly had the courage to go for it, and decided then to keep growing out my hair and aiming for dreads. I watched all the videos I could to find the best methods (thanks to LazyDreads!) and then waited.
A wile later, I had moved out of home and decided it was time. My hair was long enough (25cm, nearly 10"). And yes it doesn't look like it, that's how much my hair grew in on itself!
I found someone that did dreads in a way I liked (no waxes or other crap) and organised a time in May 2015 to have them done. The day came, I was super excited. The whole process took around 5 hours with a break, which was because my hair was super thick. Here is the progress on that:
I was stoked, I loved them. My head hurt from all the pulling but I had dreadlocks finally! Then I left them. Here are some progress pics!
1 Week to 5 months
These first few months were pretty slow as was expected. There was a lot of shrinkage, though they did get a bit thicker and locked up relatively quickly around the back. The front was much slower though.
1 Month - 1 Year (approx)
By the end of the first year, they had finally stopped shrinking and thickening up and started growing! (but not too much). They were also now starting to stay down a bit more because of the extra weight. Finally, they were becoming less frizzy (something I would fix somewhat in the net year.)
1 month to 21 months (approx)
At around 13 months, I decided to get the dreads maintained professionally. This involved crocheting them smooth and tightening up the roots a bit. At the same time I decided to get the tips "blunted" to just make them look neater overall. In the next 10 months, they grew really quickly! I was amazed once I looked back at the progress photos.
And finally, 22 months (approx).
I've left this one big so you can see the dreads in more details. I was so stoked with this picture, it puts across how happy I am with the dreads!
I can also (just) tie them up with themselves (though I do have a hair tie underneath to help...
The only maintenance I do is washing twice a week, and separating them to keep them neat. Early in the journey, I used a lemon juice/sea salt spray on the roots and tips to encourage knotting, however I don't do that as often now. I'm not planning another maintenance session, as I don't think its really necessary. I want to grow them for as long as I can, at least until they are not practical anymore (then I'll trim them).
Sorry about the long post, but I hope you enjoyed my journey. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll try and follow up with more updates in the future!
Thanks!
I posted these pics on the FB group but seeing it was pretty popular I thought I'd do a proper timeline on the forum.
So to begin, I work at a school, and every year we get a photo taken around the same time (latest in Feb 2017). Here are the last 4, the last two with dreads.
Now the story and timeline!
I had wanted to grow my hair out for ages, but seeing it was super curly (type 3c) it was high maintenance at best. I usually ended up getting it cut off and even went on a phase of shaving it shorter and shorter until I had even gone down to a razor! Here are a few of the styles I had during that time...
During this time I would grow out my hair and then getting annoyed with it, I'd usually end up getting it cut off and even went on a phase of shaving it shorter and shorter until I had even gone down to a razor! I had seen dreads a couple of times and thought they would be cool, but at the time I was living at home with my dad and he wasn't too keen on the idea, so I ended up putting the idea on the backburner.
I still kept trying to grow out my hair, and then at work one year (I work at a school), a new teacher came. He had Dreads! They were 8 years old, and were almost at his waist. I brought up his dreads with him, and how I wanted them, and he said go for it. I suddenly had the courage to go for it, and decided then to keep growing out my hair and aiming for dreads. I watched all the videos I could to find the best methods (thanks to LazyDreads!) and then waited.
A wile later, I had moved out of home and decided it was time. My hair was long enough (25cm, nearly 10"). And yes it doesn't look like it, that's how much my hair grew in on itself!
I found someone that did dreads in a way I liked (no waxes or other crap) and organised a time in May 2015 to have them done. The day came, I was super excited. The whole process took around 5 hours with a break, which was because my hair was super thick. Here is the progress on that:
I was stoked, I loved them. My head hurt from all the pulling but I had dreadlocks finally! Then I left them. Here are some progress pics!
1 Week to 5 months
These first few months were pretty slow as was expected. There was a lot of shrinkage, though they did get a bit thicker and locked up relatively quickly around the back. The front was much slower though.
1 Month - 1 Year (approx)
By the end of the first year, they had finally stopped shrinking and thickening up and started growing! (but not too much). They were also now starting to stay down a bit more because of the extra weight. Finally, they were becoming less frizzy (something I would fix somewhat in the net year.)
1 month to 21 months (approx)
At around 13 months, I decided to get the dreads maintained professionally. This involved crocheting them smooth and tightening up the roots a bit. At the same time I decided to get the tips "blunted" to just make them look neater overall. In the next 10 months, they grew really quickly! I was amazed once I looked back at the progress photos.
And finally, 22 months (approx).
I've left this one big so you can see the dreads in more details. I was so stoked with this picture, it puts across how happy I am with the dreads!
I can also (just) tie them up with themselves (though I do have a hair tie underneath to help...
The only maintenance I do is washing twice a week, and separating them to keep them neat. Early in the journey, I used a lemon juice/sea salt spray on the roots and tips to encourage knotting, however I don't do that as often now. I'm not planning another maintenance session, as I don't think its really necessary. I want to grow them for as long as I can, at least until they are not practical anymore (then I'll trim them).
Sorry about the long post, but I hope you enjoyed my journey. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll try and follow up with more updates in the future!
Thanks!
