Thursday 18 October 2012

Me and my dreadlocks




I'm Chris, I live in Sheffield in the UK. I'm currently 22 and I've had Dreadlocks for over 7 years. Over this time I've seen, heard and experienced most things that can and will happen to people who choose this particular hair 'style' and I hope to pass and post some of this knowledge on here.

My Dreadlocks were started in May 2007. They were originally started using the backcomb method. Unfortunately at the time of me taking my dreads, there was no Lazy Dread blog! So I wasn't aware of the dangers of wax... now I know first hand. The dreadlocks that were initially formed via the wax and backcomb were hard, stiff and retained water (so were difficult to dry). Dirt also sticks to the wax and it's really hard to clean. So... I probably had around 8 inch dreadlocks to begin with and as soon as they started to gain length I cut off all the original dread length. So the dreadlocks I have left on my head are 100% wax free and 100% formed by natural processes as I have not re-backcombed. That is why I recommend choosing your starting process, be it backcomb, neglect or twist and rip etc and the leave them alone. They won't need touching up and they definitely don't need wax!

I've had various length dreads now from the same set (I've only had one continuous set of dreads over the years). I cut all the original growth and now I tend to cut them right back before summer. I like to vacation in summer and they're much easier to wash and dry when they're shorter. Also much easier to swim!

Here is a video documenting my hair from 0 months to 5 years and 7 months!


Here I am with my 69 month update:

 

70 month update:


71 month update:


72 months / 6 years update:


73 months



74 months


75 months

76 months


77 months



78 months



79 months / Christmas Special



80 Months


81 Months


82 Months


83 Months 



7 Years



85 Months 



86 Months


87 Months


88 Months


89 Months


90 Months


91 Months


92 Months


93 Months


94 Months


95 Months


39 comments:

  1. You've written a really good informative blog!! Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I find your blog thru youtube link, it very nice and give me lots of info about dreads.
    keep the good work done

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent! glad to help. If you have any questions - please feel free to ask.

      Delete
  3. Thanks Christian, for your very informative blog on dreadlocks, the natural way! I'm from Holland and just started to 'leave my hair alone' (= stopped combing/brushing) five days ago. I think I'm in for a very interesting journey with my now waist-long hair. Never too old to learn and experience something new (I'm in my early fifties, so you know ;-)).
    I'll be following your blog and YouTubes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent! I'm glad you like what I do. Your hair should come a long very quickly since you have so much length! I just came home from Holland last night and had a great time :)

      Delete
    2. Glad to hear you are . . . well, over twenty... Marja. So Am I! I wondered if I was crazy to want dreads in my thirties. (At least that's what my friends are thinking.) BTW my pic is from last year, after I cut all my hair off. Sigh... It's growing back now.

      Delete
  4. Are you from NZ, young'un? Nice blog, informative (and thats coming from a black woman.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah no, I'm afraid I'm from England, far inferior weather here!

      Delete
  5. Great work dude, some useful stuff in here, even for me, and I started mine in summer 2005 in the UK and have maintained them ever since. Like you I have used or tried most methods out there, starting with a full braid then backcombing each one by one, to completely re-doing them and also leaving them almost completely alone for over a year. Have used wax, on and off in varying amounts, have used elastic bands, hair bands, congoing and now rely on my trusty crochet needle for touching up when I want to look neat and tidy.

    Now eight years old, and living in Africa in the heat every day, I've cut them much shorter just today, initially regretted it, but your words on having them shorter for summer cheered me up a bit, having cut them from around 30 inches to just 7 or 8.

    Keep up the good work mate

    Craig

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice blog dude, I'm from Leicester, uk. Had my dreads for a month now and haven't used any wax, just palm rolling and crochet tightened once since having them done. They seem pretty tight already. Do you suggest palm rolling once a day just to remove fkat spots where you've slept or will that slow down locking?

    Ash

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's debatable whether palm rolling actually does a whole lot, but if you feel it helps, by all means.

      Delete
  7. hi im wanting to get dreads my hair is long for it but my hair is kinda thin so whould i still be able to get dreads?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, but your hair thickness is going to mean that you won't be able to have as many or have as thick dreads as someone with thicker hair.

      Delete
  8. ok thanks for telling me i can still have dreads im gonna strart tham tommorow :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. hi again um my dreads in the back of my head is doing good but the dreads ontop and on the sides arnt even close to looking like the back so do u have any tips on how toget the to look like the back or is it fine? (like the top and sides have the knotts but thay havnt formed like the back)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The back will lock fastest... because those are the hairs that get rubbed around while you sleep. The rest will catch up.

      Delete
  10. Great blog, how many dreads do you have? I have 32 and they look to be the same thickness as yours and I've always thought I had thick hair, but you look to have a lot more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! I have around 38 roots currently, but I have more tips (lots of dreadlocks are in various states of combining). I started out with 72!

      Delete
  11. hi im sorry about asking this but i didnt find a video about it or anything that helped but i love being on xbox live and a friend asked me to party chat with him so we chould try to win but i said maybe later so i chould find this out. it is can u use a headset while gaming without messing up the dreads (if thay are young dreads)?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Heya, Chris! Just wanted to say thanks for the videos. I have ridiculously thick, tightly curled hair (naturally) and have been considering starting dreads for a while now. Your videos have been really informative.

    You might answer this in one of them and I just haven't gotten to it yet..

    Do you have any recommendations for people who are tenderheaded? The fact that I am is the reason I want to start them, but I wasn't sure if the initial pain of backcombing would be the last of it. My hair has been trying to form dreadlocks every day for my entire life it seems and I constantly have to pull the curls apart to stop it which is just... daily agony.

    Thanks again! I look forward to watching some more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My girlfriend is pretty tenderheaded, she had a real rough time when she had dreadlocks put in, but I believe she was fine after that... and no longer had to go through the pain of brushing her hair!

      Delete
  13. Is suave naturals shampoo and jamaican mango and lime locking wax creme good for my hair becuz ive been growing my hair for 5 years and my back is like 6 inches my sides 9 inches and top like 12 inches

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm afraid I have no experience with Suave shampoo, but I can say that I would not recommend using waxes or creams.

      Delete
  14. Is olive oil a good shampoo?.. If not wat shampoo do you recommend?

    ReplyDelete
  15. I can write a story but will refrain...my locx are about 4mths young....havin a wee one at home made it hard to maintain everyday.....my hair at scalp started to matte up into congos.....I braided in synthetic hair now a mth later loose hair is locing into synthetic....I dont want to cut my locx off cause I will be bald so is it safe to leave synthetic hair in for up to a yr or more till im ready to cut it out? Help me pls no other sites have an answer....im lost

    ReplyDelete
  16. "It smells like ice cream" hahaha I love you man! Favorite youtuber, I watch your vids so often!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dude, thank you for all the info man, you've been a real big help. I just started my dreads two months ago and I freakin love em man, frizzy, sticking up, growing together, loose hairs, I love it all and I feel like I have you to thank for that because in the first month I couldn't stop touching it and messing with it. So thanks man for schooling me on all that stuff and for basically telling me to chill and just let my hair do what it do.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ok quick question man, when I started my dreads I had pretty skinny hair. But it's two months in now and my locks are locking real good and they actually make my hair look and feel thicker. My question is, is that feeling of fatness in my hair going to go away as my dreads nature? Right now I have twenty one really nice sized ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not really possible for me to say exactly how they will change up - sometimes loose and fluffy dreads will shrink down and loose thickness - but most of the time dreadlocks will shrink up and at least retain their thickness, if not become slightly thicker

      Delete
  19. Hi,

    I'm getting ready to start my dread journey and just wanted to ask a question. If that's okay?

    I've been researching for weeks and watched a lot of your (extremely informative) videos but I don't think I've watched them all so I'm sorry if you've already answered this.

    I have a very low heat tolerance, I'm one of those people who faint in Spain... In may!

    Do you think I will struggle with heat? Do dreads make you warmer?

    I'm 25, have wanted dreads for 10 years and finally in a good place to do it! Thanks for all of your advice.

    Peace
    Lilly
    \m/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whether you'll struggle is hard for me to say - but they can be quite warm/insulating. It is partly dependant on how they're worn and how long they are etc, but you can expect them to keep your head warmer than it otherwise would be.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for getting back to me :) they are 9 days old today, although slightly crazy I think they are doing well!

      They sit about 3 inches below my shoulder. My hair was long, thick and black before so I'm hoping it won't cause too much of a difference but I guess time will tell :)

      Thanks again \m/

      Delete
  20. Hi!

    Similar experience here, I started my first set of dreads in 2001-- backcomb and wax. I kept them for 10 years, though I only used wax a bit in the beginning. There was a noticeable difference where the wax parts were and then the spongier non-wax hair. Never did I think to trim it off like you though! Long story short, I cut them all off after 10.5 year and now 4 years later I've restarted. SO MANY MORE RESOURCES ONLINE THIS TIME! Love your blog and videos :-)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks for sharing!! I've been really self conscious about my hair, but I had to let that go.

    I appreciate seeing that my hair is doing what it is supposed to.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi,

    I'm Diane Cohen, associate producer at ATTN:. We are an issues-driven media company based in Los Angeles.

    I am working on a video about recycling in America Vs. Norway.

    I noticed the video you shared and I was wondering if you would allow us to include it in our video? We will, of course, give attribution to you.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Q0gf3_FBA


    I am on deadline and would love to get your permission at your earliest convenience!

    Many thanks.

    Sincerely,
    Diane
    dcohen@attn.com

    ReplyDelete