I have had my dreads for about 3 years.. I work new hairs into the roots, I wax and bind them so that they are of basically equal size.. and look good.. nothing grosser than 8 or 10 dreads that have matted together, and you walk around with one giant Mat on the side of your head.. that's disgusting.
Why did I choose to dread? because I hate my hair.. it's true.. my friend Amy once told me that women have to come to terms with two things.. one? their body. 2? their hair.. I've never liked my hair.. I came to terms with my body when it was at it's fattest.. I've popped out two spawn and my body is what it is.. but this hair.. it curled where I wanted it to be straight... it was straight where I wanted it to curl.. I kept it short because I loathed growing it out.. and when I did grow it out.. it looked greasy and nasty every day. When I wore it short, I got three kinds of hair cuts.. the "Man" the 'Dyke' or the "Old Lady", rarely the cute and sporty cut that I desired
I actually hated dreads on caucasians.. hated them.. until I met a white lady with amazing dreads.. they looked awesome on her.. Then I had a client ( black) with awesome greying dreads.. I loved them.. we discussed them.. I went on line and learned about them.. and I waited.. and continued hating my hair.. one day, shortly after my second marriage and my 40th birthday.. I did it.. I love them.. I also figured that if I was going to love my hair.. I needed to show it the attention that it deserved.. and all that dread work did the trick.. it behaves like I want it to now..chaotic! so on that note...
ok education time people..for those with and those without dreadlocks..
First, for those without Dreads..
1)Most of us WASH our hair.. I wash my hair about twice a week.. and this is, in all honesty, about as often as I washed my hair beFORE I went the nappy route..( if I washed my hair every day it would dry up and break off.. and I don't even want to THINK about how sad my scalp would be...)
2)yes.. there are some stinky ass dread heads.. I loathe them.. and most people who work hard on maintaing their dreads hate them too. Just like there are fundamentalist religious fanatics.. there are fundamentalist Dread Fanatics...
They insist on 'natural' dreads.. ok.. real hair rather than synthetic- I can dig it.. noooo they mean letting it mat naturally.. by means of not washing it.. wearing a wool cap.. putting in natural shit like.. omg you name it.. peanut butter, toothpaste, Dr. Boggs sex wax etc.. they end up with all kinds of shit in their hair, that was once floating around in their environment.. it's disgusting.
3) no people.. we don't have bugs in our hair.. at least no more than YOU do.. the occasional case of lice does happen.. but we're farrrrr more likely to find shirt fuzz, sweater fuzz.. feathers from our pillows etc.. and for us, a case of lice can be far more devastating, because it often requires shaving off our dreads, that we created with much love and effort over the course of many years ( when I first started mine, it required WEEKLY dread maintenance, now maybe a couple of times per year).. you CAN kill lice without shaving your head.. but its noxious and icky..
4) No our hair isn't 'hard'.. it's matted.. and sometimes there is wax in it.. but it's just hair..
5) No, just because we choose this style of hair.. does not mean we don't shave our legs or our pits.. If I could have a full body wax dip every month I would so do it ( that is of course if I could stand the pain! LOL)
6) and this is one of my favorites.. NO.. just because I have dreads, does NOT mean that I am a Rastafarian! LOl at first I thought this was funny.. by the SECOND time.. I just looked at this poor ignoramus ( I happened to be in Las Vegas, not that this implicates a lack of education of other Las Vegas folks btw) with my best "are you reTARDED?" look and replied "no... no I'm not a Rastafarian'.. other questions continued like " are you from Jamaica?".. at this point I was like " Do I LOOK like I'm from Jamaica?".. then he actually asked me.. " why do you have dreads then?'.. to which I responded "because I like them..why do you do YOUR hair that way?" I finally could take no more and excused myself, and not really politely..
People! people all over the world sport the dreads.. Africa, India, Islanders of different nations.. and yes.. caucasians as well.. all over the world... and even some Asians, *who have the hardest hair to dread, sport the nappies..
Now.. for the Dread Heads of the Ignorant variety..
1) Wash your fucking head!! you stink!! you MUST wash your scalp.. that natural oil does NOT help your hair to dread.. it's a natural lubricant that makes your dreads FALL APART!!!
2) Yes .. you WILL find it hard to get a 'straight' job.. we scare the hell out of people and they think we stink.. I am a 44 year old, woman with a long long resume of great gigs.. but I can't get a fucking job.. am I willing to cut my hair? nope.. why? because I love it.. I've worked hard to get it.. I will, instead, work on educating people about a hairstyle that has been around for millennia.
3)don't put weird shit in your hair.. seriously.. food products? they are to be eaten.. so if you put them in your hair.. the rats will find you.. I promise..
4) don't be afraid of dread wax people.. it is inert.. use it.. it will help your dreads tighten up.. but don't forget to COVER YOUR FUCKING HEAD until you've washed it a few times... I see people on pages that I read, who dis the wax.. they will cut off a dread and cut it open and say "SEEE SEEEEEEE!!!! look at all that wax and crap inside the dreadlock! don't use wax".. all I can say is WHAT A FUCKING DUMBASS YOU ARE!! all that SHIT in your dread? that's because you Waxed, then got all kinds of shit in your hair because you didn't wear a hat...and then you DIDN'T WASH IT!!! you STUPID FUCKERS GODDDDamn.. you all are fucking idiots! wash your fucking hair!!! whew.. as I was saying.. dread wax is just paraffin.. it's inert.. but it IS sticky.. it will wash out in 2-3 washings.. they you should wax them up again until they look the way you want them to.. at this point in my dreadlife I wax only a few times per year.. because they are nicely locked and loook goood..
5) Now I can't tell y'all how to lead your life.. but when you walk around with nasty looking dreads.. people think all of us are like you.. nasty. I can't tell you the number of skanky dread people that stop me in the grocery store or on the street, at a concert, in a bar, and hell, even in the fucking MALL, who are 'trying' to dread their hair and ask me how I got mine to look like this.. I tell them one thing.. "people seem to think that dreads are the result of neglect.. that is incorrect.. dreads require a great great deal of maintenance." If you look at any culture that normally wear dreads.. Various African cultures for example.. dreading each other's hair.. daily... is the norm.. some pack with local muds and waxes , some with nothing but rolling. They work on them.. you need to WORK on them. I could give a shit if your clothes are ratty or if you shave your pits.. but when you get too close to the rest of us.. well, we don't enjoy your stench.. so again WASH your hair..
6) a 'tightening' suggestion.. if your dreadies are new and you're trying to tighten them up.. try head and shoulders ( the original kind, with NO conditioner).. especially if you have caucasian hair.. for many of us.. ( I don't know if it's the pyrithione zinc or what) it really tightens up the dread babies! and if you're near the ocean? get that dread head wet! the Salt water will also tighten up the babies!
So what have we discovered here today?
Not all dread heads stink..
Please don't put food in your hair
Those of you that DO STINK? WASH YOUR FUCKING HAIR
We've also learned that Jana loathes people who don't wash their fucking hair..
We don't want the non dreaded to fear us.. for we tend to be peaceful, if not stoned or just plain retarded..
So go forth and love your nappy headed friends.. but remind them to wash their fucking hair..
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