My bad dread journey (it's long, sorry!)

I know I haven't been on this forums long but I really wanted to tell people about my bad dreadlock journey and how wrong advice can really mess dreadlocks up.
My first set

I've wanted dreadlocks for a long time, but with prudish parents was never allowed them. After an argument I moved out and 5 months later had enough money to get them. I should add that at this time I had no access to the internet or had any friends with dreads. On the 19th October 2005 My dread locks were born.

The woman who did my dreads didn't have them herself. I remember being quite shocked when she said that they don;t use wax because it makes her hands greasy but instead they use hair bonding glue (wet latex to me and you). No matter my dreads were black anyway so no one would tell.

This was taken on the first day


The woman said that I should be using this glue at every opportunity to make my dreads don't come apart. Eventually after about 6 months of doing this at "every opportunity" my dreads turned to complete rubber


I went back to the salon to fix the mess and they couldnt. But they happily charged me £50 ($100) to fix my roots. "Enough!" I screamed I'd had enough of this cow and her crap. So I never went back and adopted the motto "Do not let anyone without dreads create them."

My then Fiancé decided to help me re do them using regular classroom elastics it looked "better" but still bad (sorry about the bad quality)


I remember the summer of 2006 was excruciatingly hot for the UK and the latex started melting in the heat. It ruined so many of my clothes and bedsheets not to mention every time I showered it stuck to my shoulders making them very sticky.

We decided in November 2006 to cut as much of the latexed dreads as possible and try to grow them out. But I had no patience. I felt so miserable with them that I decided to comb them out.

We started to take them out in Jan 2007 it was originally supposed to last the weekend so I could get a cut and colour. But the latex wouldn't shift. I do have photos of the undreading process but I can't seem to find them. It hurt so bad that I couldn't take anymore undreading so we left seven in. I went for a cut and colour and was absolutely ridiculed by the staff at the salon I felt so stupid and hurt by their remarks that I never went back and I never will do. It looked nice at the front but I didn't dare show my seven sticky dreads so I kept them in a hat. I really started to miss having dreadlocks. They were so easy to care for. I hated using brushes. It's sounds so stupid but I was literally mourning them.

 

I guess I was getting sick of washing my hair daily and I really missed my dreads being so easy to care for. I was so sick of feeling ugly So I decided to get my dreads back.

My Second Set
On the 19th Jan they were reborn.
Typically they’d been caked in wax and I remember on the bus home feeling the wax melt it was gross. I was supposed to go back every 2 months but I really wasn’t happy with the results. I thought that more fatter dreads would have suited me and they looked really lifeless


Anyway. My husband made them into congos and I think they suit me really well. I've never been happier with my locks. They're beautiful and I'm very proud of them. I’m sorry I went on a bit there but I really wanted people to see what bad advice and the wrong choices do. If I knew all I needed was patience.....

 

the first set actually look really good, its a shame about the way they were fucked up =[ but i do like the newer set,, good chunky dreadies =D

 

u seriusly shoulda sued the 1st salon..latex? seriusly?
that is by far the worse advice id ever heard

the only advice id ever gotten was 1st set..stop brishing dreads happen
so i endfed up with 2 horns and a pillow
but still i mouened theyre loss 2nd set still only had that same advice but i figured out that ripping em would prevent em from becomming 3 congos

oh then some1 suggested wax..i took a tiny pinch just touched it to my beard when st dreadin my beard and the sec it touched the beard i knew it was a huge mistake...i spent months picking it out sfter that....luckily that beard dread fell off years ago

 

Thanks smelly D. SE funnily enough she doesn't work there any more. I did research on her and there were a few people saying that the same thing had happened to them all because of her advice.

 

WOW! I thought my head got f'd up!! I am SO SO SO SO SO SO very sorry! I know what it's like to be met with criticism and ill remarks. I regret not researching dreads more before having someone help start mine. You can see my mess of a mess journey here...Dreadlocked Mess Momster

 

wow...latex?! Holy cow! What a bad trip! But the final results are happy! Your dreads are so nice and you look great!

 

Why were they so rude? bloody snobs. i hate going in hairdressers, theyre (mostly) so bitchy!

Your dreads look awsome btw!

 

Thanks for the kind words everybody. I am so happy with my dreadlocks now. I have no idea why the hairdressers were so rude perhaps it was due to the remaining dreads. Mammamojo I feel so bad for you too. But I've seen more recent pictures and you look beautiful

 

yeah as if they were on a doctor's salary or had a P.H.D or something. give me a break.

 

i agree with the comment about hair stylists. I was eating dinner with my dad or waitress was my dad's friend's daughter. She informed me she was going to beauty school. Even though I disagree with about everything beauticians add to hair, I just agreed and said that was great, good luck sorta thing. My dad, hates dreads, said jokingly I could be her first client. I was like yeah right, I don't cut my hair. The the hair stylists was like yeah you should let me cut that nasty crap out.

Good post. Too bad what they did to your hair.

 

cool.

 

wow you had more than one bad lock experience but still kept pursuing them, that is awesome.

 

latex?
i've never heard of a latex method.
and glad i didnt do it that way.
but your story is a good warning for others!

 

It sure is! That's why I posted it. In a way... I'm glad I had the dread journey I experienced. It's given me a lot more patience. I found a site the other day that said dreadlocks are the highest maintenance hairstyle of all. I lol'd. Hard.

 

hahaha they can be if u make em be thats for ppl who rull press twist crochete there are literaly ppl out therewho spend 4+ hours a day working on theyre dreads

then theres others who dont spend 1 hour a sdecade working on em
well not counting washiong ofcourse
i doubt i spent z whole 2 hours doin anything to mine if u added it all up in the last 18 years

but iu bet that sute ya saw was a list of methids to start em eaxh with wax and alwayss suggesting palm rilling root rubbing tip rubbing or crochettibg huh..
persoinaly i think mine turned out best for not having done any of that..

 

That used to be me spending 4 + hours a day on my dreads. Thing is I just couldnt be bothered. But the websites said that in order for me to get good dreads I'd have to put the work in. If only I'd have been lazy. ROFL. I can dig you out that site if you wanna have a gander and a giggle