Dreadlocks are love. -- Day
A Community for Dreadlock Enthusiasts

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[24 Nov 2002|01:46pm]
Hey guys! I just put my dreadies in...They are two days old and I named my first two Ezra and Brandon...But anywho...I used the Dreadhead HQ Kit, the Accelerater and the wax...I don't like how the wax leaves white in my hair because my hair's black so It's like ahh!! But I blow dryed the wax in and that seems to be working, if anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it...

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READ ME [24 Nov 2002|02:29pm]
[ mood | annoyed ]

In the past several years, there has been a growing trend amongst African Americans in the United States. An increasing number of blacks have begun wearing their hair in braids and dreadlocks. More and more prominent celebrities are electing to wear their hair in braided and dreadlocked fashion as well. Public figures like Allen Iverson, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Whoopi Goldberg, the Williams sisters, and Lenny Kravitz have taken to the braided and dreadlocked styles. As with many aspects of African American culture, this minor trend has managed to stir up major controversy. As more and more blacks are wearing these styles to work, a large number of employers are banning the style, calling them unprofessional and against company dress code. In fact, several Dallas police officers have been put on suspension and even fired for wearing the popular hairstyle. Dread wearers have found this staunch opposition puzzling since usually all that most companies� Codes of Conduct have to say about hair is, �it must be clean, neat, and close to the head.�

Nowhere in the dress code does it say �straight.�

IT'S GETTING REALLY BAD: They Fired a Dallas Police Officer recently Because she had dreads and refuse to cut it. They all so suspend one and he did cut his for 10 days without pay. GEEEEE.... and many People think its just a hairstyle. If it is whats the problem? ANY IDEAS.

Music legend and Rastafarian Bob Marley realized the importance of claiming one�s true heritage, and expressed it in many of his song lyrics. One of his most popular pieces is one specifically dealing with dreadlocks, called �Natty Dread� (�natty� meaning �knotty�). In it he pleads, �children get your culture/ and don't stay there and gesture/ or the battle will get hotter/ and you won't get no supper/�roots Natty!� A great deal of his songs, as well as those of other Reggae artists, repeatedly mirror these themes. Owning one�s true culture is important to one�s self worth.

DOSE YOUR DREADS MEAN THAT MUCH TO YOU: Speaking for myself, not yet but I am getting there, the more I read the more I learn, the more important it is for me to have them.

�ALL DREADLOCKS ARE DIRTY: This is probably the biggest myth about dreadlocks. One popular urban legend concerning this myth is that when Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981, the doctors found a few dozen new species of lice in his hair. This simply is not true. Far from being dirty savages, Africans have had methods of cleaning and caring for braids and dreadlocks for centuries. With today�s modern science, even more ways exist to clean dreads with commercial soaps and solutions specifically designed for this style of hair. Scores of these dread care products are available online.

ARE YOUR DREADS DIRTY? Well I think that's left up the person don't you, the things people think. Well it seems they don't know many people with dreads do they.

ANYONE THAT WEARS DREADLOCKS SMOKES MARIJUANA: This is a myth I was absolutely unaware of until recently. It seems that some people associate dreads with weed smokers, probably because of the hairstyle�s connection to Rastafarians and their exaggerated connection to marijuana smoking. The truth is that wearing dreads has absolutely nothing to do with having an affinity for marijuana smoking. In fact, actual ARstafarians do not smoke marijuana recreationally. Rasta only advocate smoking �ganja� as �wisdomweed�, an aid to meditation and an �incense pleasing to the Lord.� This aspect has been insanely sensationalized by the media, keeping Rasta and those who look similar to them stereotyped as drug selling and abusing criminals.

IS THAT TRUE: I have dreads and I have yet to pick on the pipe, the bong, or the split. I am from Jamaica, but I am not a Rasta, and I don't know many... SO who ever believes that just because you have Dreads you should smoke weed, you are very deluded.

Please don't get me wrong this is not just for African Americans it is for everyone. Seeing that I am one, I can only speak for me, I could not tell you about any other culture. if there is something you want me to read dealing with other cultures please forward to me I would love to read it. I am putting this up so who does not know will. a lot of people have Jade ideas, I just trying to clear the smoke away so they can see clear.

The article above is located at this web site if you would like to read the whole thing.


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Dread Update [24 Nov 2002|03:08pm]
[ mood | happy ]

My dreads on a recent holiday!

Warning: its a kissy shot of my boyfriend and I.

I've had my dreads for six months now and have good roots. I am so excited to see new growth happily becoming dreaded at the scalp. Isn't it an amazing process?

I've read stories of some people who have had problems with their dreads due to an unhappy experience when they first got them. My advice: forget being a 'hippy purist' and get them done at a salon that specializes in dreading and braiding. Yes, it will cost you some money (mine were $100 Canadian), but if you're serious about dreads, then you will probably have them for over two years. That's a long time! You might as well get them done right. The place I went finished in two hours and perfectly divided my scalp into neat patches, back-combed, twisted and waxed my dreadies into existence. Since then, I wash them once a month and wax them at the same time using "Knotty Boy".

They're great.

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my dreads (what else) [24 Nov 2002|09:47pm]
[ mood | curious ]

ok, i've been reading your posts for several weeks (even months??) and now i've finally got some good pics of my dreads...

more pics...Collapse )

they're about 10 months old; made with the 'hippy purist' backcombing method. ;)
i usually wash them about once a week with shower gel or hard soap. no dreadwax or special dread shampoo. i'm sure bob marley didn't use stuff like that, too. ;)

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