new thread
Well, board, I've been debating it since April; and I think I'm gonna get dreads. One of my friends said he was going to grow his hair out a little longer (from about shoulder length) and then we were gonna get dreads. I haven't talked to him since June, so I don't know if he's still up for it, but I am. Then in September another of my friends was talking about me getting dreads (possibly more joking than serious) but it got me thinking about them again. I'm about 99% sure I want em (after all, I can't be 100% sure) and after browsing dreadheadhq every day for the past few weeks I've decided that I want to get dreads sometime in the next couple of months.
I've got pretty much everything figured out as far as what has to be done, now I need to work on the execution of my plan. I want to get some money and get a supa dupa dread kit from there. Then I need to get some friends that'll actually spend hours helping me do dreads. I figure the 60-70 bucks for the kit is better than whatever someone at a hair salon will charge (also, I still don't trust anyone who works on hair for a living to touch my hair). And you have to take into account that 4-12 months of good dedication to them so I keep good looking dreads. And I'm looking at a serious price, but it's something I'm as sure as I can be that I want.
The dude on dreadheadhq said that making dreads that are about 6 inches long can take 5-10 minutes a dread once you get the backcombing down, so it'll be pretty time consuming.
To make it more of a discussion, anyone else thought of ever getting dreads; what do you think about me getting dreads; or anything else that loosely involves the topic of dreads.
Also, I haven't exactly said anything to anyone in my family about this (being 16 and all). Any suggestions on that one. I don't think they'd have any problem with it, seeing as my dad has had long hair, pierced ears, still has a tattoo and anything else I'm not aware of. And my mom has dyed black hair with a little bit of red in it, has a good bit of piercings in each ear, and also has a tattoo. But dreads are still kinda considered a big step from that.
So, have at it mlhh.
Dread Head HQ
Hey, I fully support you if you do. I personally think dreds are pretty cool.
I wouldn't get them myself because I heard you have to cut your hair to get them out if you decide you they're not for you. (I sorta like brushing my hair too.)
Paul
Thanks man. Yeah, the cutting thing was my biggest drawback to them too. But after staring at dreads for weeks, plus using the "8-month rule" I'm fairly sure I want them. Even if I didn't, I'd have to really hate them to cut my hair to get them out. They actually do have a "brush" on the site. Its a metal 'fro pick with rounded ends so that you can still stimulate you scalp and feel like you are brushing your hair (plus, you can wear it).
Peace,
~Jarvis~
Dreads can be removed without cutting your hair. It's time consuming, but with a little love and a lot of oil or conditioner, you can comb those suckers out. I know a woman who spent 2 days removing her daughter's dreads in this way. Your hair will be damaged, but still long, and not in such bad shape that it can't be nicely restored.
I say go for it. If you don't, you'll always wonder, "What if...?"
We used to have a member called "That Ball Guy",if I remembered that name correctly,that was really into dreads but he hasn't been around in a long time and ultimately was removed from the directory.He's the only member that I can recall that did dreads.If you have thought it through then hey,go for it.It's still longhair just a different texture and look.I mentioned to Paul in another thread that I've seen a few young black dudes who live around by me who sport the most beautifully done dreads.I think it looks fabulous on them.Anyway I give you credit taking the plunge should you really do it.You only go around once in life and life is so ever short.I'll be looking forward to you cool dread updates:)Cheers
Mark
Thanks, Mark
I saw that thread too (one of the best I've seen in the board in my 5-6 months here). That whole "you're not black, you can't pull off dreads" comment is the first fired anytime I bring up dreads. But I have my shit covered when it comes to the questions (dreadheadhq goes really in depth about EVERYTHING) :)
Peace,
~Jarvis~
Kevin "That Ball Guy" Smith is still around.
Search the older archives for: "That ''Ball'' Guy"
He's on YouTube as "ThatBallGuy".
- Oren
That Ball Guy video
-----------------------------------------
Thanks Oren as I figured someone here would come up with that info.I'm glad to hear you still know of his whereabouts.Does he still have the dreads?Last I remembered due to his "Ball" technique he was contemplating getting some kind of cut because his hair was sort of a problem doing that.
Mark
The last time Kevin posted (either last year or the year before), he had removed his dreads by detangling each and every one carefully. He was so meticulous at disassembling the dreads that his hair still looked great afterwards although he claimed that he did have some small damage. The posts had pictures and could probably be easily found in the archive.
MB
Looking into the Google magic ball I found this on part of his livejournal :
"After the shave. . .left the topknot/dreadlocks, got the rest cleared so I could do headrolls" from one of the pics.
Cheers,
John.B
Oren;
I am really glad you posted that link.....he was (is) one of our more interesting members...
Don't miss the Didgeridoo video
Well you wouldn't be the only one here considering dreads; they've been on my mind for a while now as well. When my dad was younger he had terminal length hair for a long time, and is in support of whatever I choose to do. Also, my brother attempted dreads at one point; he didn't like them at first, and was lucky enough to escape with his hair intact. But I think they looked great on him, and so I'm hopeful they would be good on me as well.
Which method are you thinking of using to create your dreads? I've looked at many ways and can't really make up my mind.
Hope you're happy with whatever decision you make on em. I'm gonna do backcombing. Or, well, have people do backcombing for me. It's the only one that the site goes over and seems to work pretty well. The very left of the top menu is everything about getting and how to get dreads. They have videos and everything too, and the guys pretty damn funny.
To dread or not to dread...
~Jarvis~
I can tell you about my nephew who was 16 at the time and growing his hair out. (yes I was so proud) He worked at Mc Donalds at the time on a Toll Road service plaza and the boss said ok no problem.
So he got dreads and still no problem at work as he was a good worker and they liked him until the manager was moved to a new store and the new manager told him "they go or you go". To his credit he quit. After 6 more months he decided he was tired of dreads and well I don't want to say the word and I'm sure you can fill in the blanks. This was about 6 or 7 years ago and I can say he's not a longhair today.
I'm not trying to dissuade you I think dreads are cool and I'm sure you've contemplated the job thing and your family's reaction, seems like you planned everything very well. I would hate to loose another longhair down the road especially a dedicated one like yourself. If you kept growing it as it currently is without trims by age 21 your hair would be down to your ass or longer.
Whatever you end up doing as long as your enjoying it and you like it.
Good luck and keep us updated.
Kevin
Hey Kevin.
Yeah, I've contemplated the job and family thing (even though I still haven't said anything to my family). One of my friends kinda has dreads (its a shaggy length cut with natural dreads that are maybe half a centimeter thick) and he has a job. There's also a girl with mid-back red(see orange, not dyed) dreads, just tied back. Aside from that, they have dread shampoo and things like that on the site, my hair won't be dirty, just dreaded :) And, if they're checking schoolwork/grades/gpa I've got consistent As and Bs and a GPA of like 3.7.
For as closed minded a place as this is, it's making progress quickly in being more accepting of different people. Style and opinions were about 10 years behind the rest of the coast for decades here, but the internet is catching us up on that. It's also probably due to the abundance of shaggy cuts and goth kids around here.
There's no way you'd loose me as a longhair. If somewhere down the line I didn't want them I'd go for the bucket of conditioner and comb before I even thought of scissors.
I'll be sure to keep the board posted for the future.
~~Jarvis~~
No matter how good your grades, white guys with dreads will struggle with employment, over here it has a vagrant stigma attached, and if I went the dread route then I would be out of work.
~ Dave
I have to say that goes to show what discrimination there will always be in this world Dave.As I posted higher up in Jarvis's thread I saw a black dude today with bunned dreads and he worked for UPS!So a big company like UPS allows the the black dude to have his dreads but I wonder if a white guys would get the same treatment.Maybe so with UPS but I can't recall seeing a white UPS driver with longhair dreaded or not.Sounds like a miscarriage of justice to me:(
Mark
Yeah, stupid double standards and relying on outdated information and stereotypes. Although anyone I tell this thinks I'm insane, but I actually wouldn't mind being the dude that sits on a street corner and jams on guitar tryin to get some change. My dad's dad was homeless on and off for years (REALLY long story) and he says it was hard, but he doesn't regret that. And I've got the same stubbornness and preference for a hard, manual labor filled, do it yourself life that that whole part of my family has.
I'm not saying I would want it to come to that, just that I think I would be more able to handle that than most people.
Hey now - In March, I cut out about 18' of dreadlocks from my head (leaving about 5-6' of hair). I have not cut again since then and am a couple of months from making a tail again.
Anyway, I have pretty curly hair that tangles very easily. I work in a professional environment and, with hair nearly waist length, I always chose to "bun" my hair. I was sometimes lazy and left a bun in for days on end and, voila, my hair started locking...I thought it actually looked pretty damned cool and, since they formed AT my bun, the top of my head was still dread-free and I could conceal them with the bun.
Because they were natural dreads and I didnt do much care to my hair, I actually had some "grow together"-that is, dreads started locking into one another and became a major nuisance.
Long story short (too late?), take care of them early on and they will be cool as hell. My buddy has dreads past his butt and they look bad ass.
I say go for it as it sounds you are "dreadicated" to the fullest ; )
Yeah, I've thought it out and I know what to do to take care of them early on. And anything I really care about, I obsess over till I get it right, which I can imagine would happen with the dreads.
"dreadicated to the fullest"
~Jarvis~
PS - Welcome to the board
I don't like the look of dreads, at all. I'd never get them.
But if you thought about getting them for such a long time and that's what you really want go ahead! Good luck, you have my support anyway. :)
-Andrea
Thanks for the support Andrea. I am dedicated to getting the dreads, as soon as I get the stuff to put them in and take care of them...
and people willing to spend a good bit of time helping me with my hair. (again, I do not trust people who work with hair for a living, plus that'd be way more expensive)
The only thing that was holding me back was the fear of getting them and then not wanting them and ending up with less hair (you know what happens better than anyone else here). But over the past month I have consistently wanted dreads so I have planned to get them.
Hey Jarvis, you gotta do what you gotta do. Good luck and keep us posted, will be interesting to see the change.
I'll be sure to keep the board posted. Still working on getting around to asking people to help me with the dreads (I've got a few in mind).
I'm interested in the change too
Even writing the first post I was still on the fence about it, but now I'm 100% committed. I will get them at some point.
Also:
I told my mom I want dreads. It went from a minute and a half of
"Why not?"
"No."
"why not?"
"No."
Until she realized that that isn't an actual reason and came up with "Dreads are for black people."
"And long hair is only for girls."
"Voting is only for white people..."
She still is trying to use the dreads are for black people but moved on to include "Dreads aren't clean, you can't wash your hair"
"yes you can, its called residue free shampoo."
"Are you thinking about peircings and ear plugs and tattoos."
"Maybe, why."
*more back and fourth, no reason to not like them, Why do you care what someone else does to their body*
And now it's at "I'm not saying no, but I'm not saying yes." Either way I'm gonna get em, just depends on whether she likes the fact or not. I know she wouldn't make me cut em out (If either one of my parents try to make me cut my hair, I'm staying at the others house until they get their head out of their ass.) And if they both want me to cut it, I've got grandparents who I have stayed with before for various reasons. And if worse comes to worse with my family, it hasn't been too uncommon for teens around here to move out at 14,15,16 and live with friends. I hope it wouldn't come to cutting off my family over my hair, but I'm too stubborn and headstrong to bow down to their (or anyones) opinion about my body.
I'll be sure to keep you guys posted
~Jarvis~
You have exactly the independent spirit that long hair is about. Good luck with their formation. (well I can't say "growing them out, you're already a longhair!)
Remember to stick with logic and reason with your parents and try to avoid shock and awe. You'll get a lot farther that way.
Keep us posted,
Bruce
Thanks Bruce. I'm being sure to use logic not shockvalue. Like I said, the only reasons she came up with of why I shouldn't get dreads I have proven wrong. They aren't just for black guys, thats just being close minded; and they aren't dirty, they just need different shampoo.
I will,
Jarvis
That's the right attitude! I support you even more, man. I'm like that when it comes to things I want to do to my own body as well. Keep it up and good luck with getting dreads.
-Andrea
Yeah, I hate the whole stereotyping based on tattoos, hair, and piercings. I always get into arguments with my more conservative friends (most of my friends) when they start complaining about goth kids, or metalheads like myself, or gays etc. because they care and I don't. I wait to judge what I think of someone until after I know them, which not too many people do now a days.
Thanks for more support,
~Jarvis~
Actually that is bad advice, yes hair is important, but a family is family, thats more important than hair, get real.
~ Dave
I know, that's true, but i think that when a family doesn't allow you to do what you want to do with your own body expecially if it's nothing tragic such as a piercing, a tattoo or a hairdo, then the family's not worth to be respected.
-Andrea
I think that if you just keep trying then she will see that there's really nothing wrong with having dreadlocks and that they are indeed very clean things.
Keep up the fight!
I think she will too. I sent her an email with links to dreadheadhq, their shampoo, videos, FAQ, and pics of the owner of the site who is a WHITE guy with dreads that are about how I want mine.
Yeah, they can be for anyone really. I've got a few people in my neighbourhood, all white guys, who have really nice dreads and I know they take good care of them. And the DDHQ is definitely a great resource for maintenance products.
I've always liked dreads but I like my normal hair so I never got them.
Dreads look really good if you keep them up.
I say go for it.
Liking my normal hair was a big part of waiting this long, but now I'm sure that I want dreads.
I fully understand that I will have about a month of serious upkeep, another with a little less, and then several more with a little less than that; and I am comfortable with the amount of work it will take.
Thanks for the support,
~Jarvis~
Chris Barnes from Six Feet Under? He's got some serious dreads!
*looking him up*
Yeah, He's got some good dreads. For mine, I want 'em to be a little thinner (Johnny Clean, owner of dreadheadhq, size), and not as scraggly.
Hey Jarvis, yeah they do look cool, but just bear in mind that someday you'll get fed up, want a change and then you will have to go back to short hair. They 'can' be taken out but your hair that you have so superbly looked after (and it shows) will be a MESS, and you will want to cut it off and start again.
Good luck.
~ Dave
You don't know that I'd get fed up one day. I may, and that's one thought still in my mind, but I want them. I will, however, take them out w/ the conditioner they sell on the site if I don't like them before I think about cutting my hair. And even if it does look kinda bad, I'll try to make it healthier before I go for any cut.
I hope you don't get fed up, I thought about them for ages like you, and when I weighed everything up it just wasn't worth it (work, dead end road, public perception, practicality etc).
Cheers Dave
I get what you mean. I've thought of all that too but:
1) I've seen people around here with dreads that work. Also I'm pretty good at getting a point across and can usually change peoples minds because I don't go into a discussion unless I actually know what I'm talking about. Plus they have a 'letter to employers' on the site if I need some help. Also, I'd be fine with tying them back or hiding them from view if it lets me keep a job.
2) There aren't many people whose opinions of my appearance matter to me, especially not strangers.
3) Practicality is something I've thought about alot. I know that there Is going to be 6 - 12 months of hard work to go into it, and I'm willing to do that.
4) If by 'dead end road' you mean its not easy to come back from dreads, I'm aware of that as I explained in the other post.
Peace,
~Jarvis~
Cool! then you have weighed everything up, enjoy them, they WILL look cool no doubt about that.
Cheers Dave
when I was at my first stop for work a UPS guy showed up to make a delivery and I noticed that he had dreads that were sort of tied up in a bun.He was a black guy but they looked really cool and I assumed UPS had no problem having a driver with dreads.Actually if I recall correctly I remember a UPS commercial where the guy had longish hair.You must know that one where he draws pics on the whiteboard.If its good enough for UPS then its good enough for America:)
Mark
Of course I know that commercial :P I pick up on any long hair I happen to see on TV or in real life. Good to hear about seeing guys with dreads and jobs; and as I said, I know of two dreadheads around here with jobs.
Peace,
Jarvis
Hi Jarvis,
My nephew, Charley, had dreads for approximately 6 years. His hair is naturally very curly - looked like a loose "Afro" when he was first growing it out when in his early teens. He then went to some professional hair-dreader (if that is even the correct term for it - LOL), several times, in fact. It's a rather expensive, as well as quite time-consuming process to get it started well. His parents encouraged him that if he really wanted it, that it would be best to go to someone who knew what they were doing, rather than fumble around on his own or with friend's help. I'll try to find a pic of him after it was all grown out.
He cut it a couple of years ago, liking it short nowadays; but apparently starting the dreads were a bit difficult, due to the fact that his hair was only just "curly", not "kinky"... You having very straight hair, it might be even more difficult to get it going. I have no experience with attempting dreads on myself, of course; but I do remember hearing about the ordeal that Charley went through, so I encourage you to speak to a hair professional, first, before attempting it on your own. You have such a fantastic head of hair as it is in its natural staste, I'd hate to see you ruin it.
Good luck!
- Ken in San Francisco
Here's a pic of my nephew, Charley, taken a couple of years ago when he still had his dreadlocks. My sister-in-law (Charley's mom) is "hiding" behind him. The location is the beach near Maverick's (famous surfing spot), in Half Moon Bay, CA.
- Ken
He does have some awesome dreads. I know its a little harder with straight hair, but if you browse the site I posted before, the owner of the site had straight hair as did a good bit of people in the pictures section.
Having worked on the renaissance festival circuit I have made the acquaintance of several dozen dreadies, and I'd like to point out that dreads work in ANY hair. (I having curly hair have had 3 sets of dreadlocks in the past few years)
Hair is knots. Knots form from tangles. If your hair will tangle, it will form dreads. Some people backcomb (please don't waste money in a salon for someone to do what your hair does naturally), but many of them go neglect (washing hair is only maintenance), as dreads are self-forming.
The difference between curly hair and straight hair is the length of the "awkward stage" (dreads have their own awkward stage beyond that of growing the hair out long).