Since I haven't seen any threads mentioning silk, I figured I would put in my thoughts and experiences with it. My hair reacts WONDERFULLY to silk wraps and scarves. I was told to wear a bandana under my motorcycle helmet, so I went out and bought a cotton bandana. Problem is/was that when I pulled my helmet off, the cotton would slide off and would "tear up" my dreadlocks on the sides of my head. Now, with that in mind, I remembered having heard somewhere that silk was conducive to dreading, much like wool is, due to it's fibrous nature. I also assumed that silk would slide under the helmet better than cotton as I put [helmet] on and take [helmet] off. Sure enough, I love it. For those of you needing headgear (bandanas, doo-rags, hats, etc.) I recommend trying silk products. For me, it makes my dreads "sticky" and works wonders in ways that wool does not. Please bear in mind that your experiences may differ based on hair types. Also remember I am not advocating any sort of fabric rubbing or anything like that, just leave your hair alone, and it will dread. I got a huge black silk scarf at Cost Plus (World Market) for less than $20.00 US including tax. Beware though, silk cannot get wet, is delicate, and not nearly as resilient of a material as many other cloths.
I don't sweat very easily. Even when lifting weights or practicing kung-fu. And, for the record, silk CAN get wet, but it's supposed to be dry clean only.
I've never had too much luck with silk. Unless it was raw or textured, I find it way too slippery to stay in place on my head and my knots just don't hold tight. Though nothing looks as sweet as a nicely screened silk scraf. You're lucky about the sweat thing. I learned my lesson about sweat stains on one of my favorite tie-dyed silk scraves. Odd side question I was randomly pondering: Do vegans wear silk?
I think they would wear silk as their not killing the silkworms, they're just gathering it as the worms spin it. I've heard wonderful things about silk too If anyone has a silk rastafari hat going lemme know
Vegans do not use any products that come from animals; including honey, silk, and wool. My dreads love silk too! I wrap them up in a silk scarf at night.
I've read that vegans won't wear empty sea shells found on the shore. Something about stealing some hermit's potential house and riuing the flow of things. Sounds bat-shit crazy.
the philosophies of vegans vary for this type of thing but most think it is unethical to use all animal products, the silkworms are on silkworm farms and not out in the wild- i'm not sure if silkworms are sentient (capable of feeling emotions) but to me it seems like being in a silkworm farm would provide conscious suffering for them. to me it seems like if i purchased silk i would directly be contributing to exploitation of animals for my own material desires. some people might think that's a stupid way too think but everyone has different opinions. i personaly don't think anything needs to be killed so i can have something to wear. here's something from a website about vegan-ok clothinghttp://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles/MickeyZ_Veganwear.htm) "Silk is not vegan," says Joanne Stepaniak. "It is a viscous protein substance secreted from the glands of silkworms which hardens into silk on contact with air." To grasp the cruelty of silk-the fiber silkworms weave to make cocoons-one must first recognize that worms are sensate. They demonstrate a clear physical response to pain: the production of endorphins. Next comes a rough understanding of how silk is produced. Thanks to centuries of cultivation, the most common species of the moth larvae known as the silkworm only exists on the mulberry trees owned by commercial silk producers. Silk is obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm. "In order to retain a single, unbroken filament, the silkworm is killed before it can emerge from the cocoon and break the thread," Stepaniak explains. "Slaughtering silkworms for their silk is done by boiling, baking, or steaming the live worm directly in its cocoon. When the worm is in this chrysalis stage it is not dead; it is transforming." Through selective breeding, the moths that emerge from the cocoon have lost their ability to fly. "Certain chrysalis are kept aside to allow the moths to emerge and mate," continues Stepaniak. "After the female lays her eggs, she is crushed and inspected for diseases. If she appears diseased, her eggs are immediately destroyed. After mating, the males are dumped into a basket and discarded as refuse." When used in clothing, silk is sometimes called pure chiffon, pure georgette, organza, pure crepe, or pure satin ________________________ here's a photo of some silkworm cocoons being boiled for preperation of the silk process: http://www.brucebyers.com/clients/cambodia06/silk/pages/_20Q3788.htm
no no no lol they do kill the silkworms they dont gather it while they spin it, they spin it to make a cocoon and even if they could gather it as they spun it, the poor silkworm wouldnt have a cocoon and it would die without the cocoon.
Thanks for clearing that up Nymphsue. I did not know that they extracted silk like that. I thought they lived happy little lives spinning silk in butterfly style houses
Well, if you read the whole thread, you will note that some people apparently do not get the same reaction (catalyst) that I find. I suspect that silk is beneficial the same way wool is due to it's fibrous nature. These fibers 'snag' hairs, and assist in the natural knotting/unknotting process that your dreads go through every day/week/month. That's my guess...
