187 replies to this topic

[minili]

I have a new project on the go and thought I'd share it with you... I'm growing dreadlocks! Natural ones!! Now before anybody panics this does not mean I'm not washing my hair! To grow dreads all you have to do is stop brushing... And I stopped brushing on Tuesday 2nd September

My hair was backcombed to form some initial knots but most of these normally come undone and the hair knots in it's own way so don't be too confused if it looks like I'm going backwards Natural dreads take a long time to form so this will be a longterm project

I suspect most people know what I look like but for those who don't here was me before I started:



The day after most of it was backcombed:



Curly ends and starting to group, 2 weeks in:



Bought a tam to keep my hair in and encourage knottage :



And finally me now, after 4 weeks:



Messyyyyy Woop!!

Stay tuned kids, I won't update too often because it doesn't change that quickly but I want to keep a timeline

Lise x

[minili]

An irreversible experiment ... No, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time but always assumed I couldn't because of my job. However the urge got too much and when I asked they said it was okay

Sorry the pics are getting progressively bigger lol, didn't realise they'd be that large I'll see if I can shrink some without breaking the links...

[minili]

Yep wash as normal, only changes are...
Use a natural shampoo, not one that leaves residue (ie shampoos that "leave your hair silky/shiny/etc")
No conditioner
Wash less often - because you are not playing with your hair the scalp produces less oils so hair takes longer to get greasy

[Roo]

Looking good lisa!!

I'd be far too tempted to brush my hair.. after a day i can't bare the knots!!

Keep it going.. looking good so far

[panelbeaterpeter]

Awesome! Looking cool already

[guywithvan]

And finally me now, after 4 weeks:



Messyyyyy Woop!!

Stay tuned kids, I won't update too often because it doesn't change that quickly but I want to keep a timeline

Lise x

i wont say to much but i quite like the "just got out of bed" sxy look

[Shifty]

And finally me now, after 4 weeks:



Messyyyyy Woop!!

Stay tuned kids, I won't update too often because it doesn't change that quickly but I want to keep a timeline

Lise x

i wont say to much but i quite like the "just got out of bed" sxy look

I was thinking more along the lines of "Spare some change guv!!!"

[minili]

i wont say to much but i quite like the "just got out of bed" sxy look

Well that's how I always look pretty much haha

I was thinking more along the lines of "Spare some change guv!!!"

How rude!

[mini93]

rude? shifty? sure ur on about Mr shifty?

looking good lisa...damn i want short dreads

[Shifty]

I'm sure Lisa knew I was only joking!!!???

[minili]

Yeah of course! ....... *sniff*

[Shifty]

Look, just to make things up with you, how about I buy a dog with a knotted string for a lead??

Would that make things up?

[Juju]

Hey Lilililili.

I had dreads too, many moons ago. I would like to have them again, but I got scared of going bald. A couple of them fell out & my Mum still has one in her bedside drawer as a memento. It's flamingo pink.

For us straight-haired honky chicks, they form a lot quicker if you stop washing your hair. And bundle them with wax. Although this does have the added disadvantage that when they do get wet, you smell like a dog.

If you keep washing your hair, then don't do it that often. As the locks get denser & more matted, they take far longer to dry & you don't want to start using a hairdryer on them, believe me! Mine took over 48 hours to dry naturally. My hair was just over shoulder-length at that time.

I didn't wash mine for a year.....but I still managed to brush them out when I wanted "normal" hair again. It took 2 bottles of conditioner to start with to loosen everything up, followed by a damn good wash, followed by more conditioner & oil. I lost a lot of hair & got arm ache during the process, but it worked.

(Be prepared for a lot of hateful comments from narrow minded people, and be prepared for people to start treating you differently. It's quite astounding.)

Edited by Juju, 09 October 2008 - 01:12 PM.

[minili]

Cheers Juj, do you have any pics of when you had dreads?

I'm afraid I have to disagree on the not washing bit - that just smells Dry, clean hair knots up alot quicker than greasy hair as the oil makes it slippery. Wax is near impossible to remove properly and can end up rotting inside the dreads

I am washing less often because I'm not playing with my hair so it's not getting oily so quickly, however I used to wash every day so my scalp needs to get used to the change I can only leave it 2 or 3 days so far but this will get longer over time

My hair is naturally quite wavy (as you can see in the last pic) so I'm seeing alot of it twisting and knotting of it's own accord already, I may try and take some pics of actual dreads forming at some point, though I'm only 6 weeks in so the change is minimal.

I'm hoping I'll be able to comb out whenever I decide to get rid of them, bound to lose a fair amount of hair but to be honest I can't imagine it'll look any worse than shaving it, ha! Anyway I'm hoping that won't be for a long time so not to worry about now (though apparently a girl with short or even shaved hair can look HOT according to lemming... ?)

In other news, Lemming is dreading up too (for the second time - he's had them before) and I noticed his first knot today! His hair is still relatively short so will take a bit longer, but woop! Perhaps I shall attempt to get a double knotty progress pic of both of us

Lis x

[john1.2pearl]

i wont say to much but i quite like the "just got out of bed" sxy look

And ill echo that Looks fantastic i think your onto a winner

Edited by john1.2pearl, 12 October 2008 - 08:51 PM.