Oh dear, dreadlocks? Options

[DarkInferno]

.... But has anyone here ever managed to un-dread their hair?

*raises hand*

My dreads were down to my shoulders when I took them out. It involved cutting them to my chin and then spending HOURS UPON HOURS loosening them until I could start unknotting them. The idea was that as the ends of the dreads were far more tightly woven then the upper part, cutting them made unknotting the rest easier.

It took me the best part of two days, I had a tumble weed of dead hair about the size of a football and it took lots of TLC, hot oil and conditioner to get my hair back into health.

It *can* be done.

Ditto, almost, I got about half way through taking them out before I just said hell to it and shaved my head.

[Daria]

I'd only put a few random ones in Otherwise my parents might strangle me.... So it wouldnt be too bad taking them out. I hope

In the car, on our way back from the beach one summer, I put two dreads into my hair. I loved them, and wanted to get the rest of my head done, but my mum is very against things like this (she cried when I talked to her about getting my nose pierced- and sulked for a week after my brother got a small tattoo)- so after a week of thinking about it, she finaly said "no. You can get them when you're 18".
I would still love to have dreads, but I'm not sure if they would be appropriate for me. Which annoys me beyond believe as it would only be other people's perceptions of me which would stop me from getting them done.

Good luck with putting them in
And don't forget to name your first one!

[elphaba2]

Update: I have newly washed (and considerably thinner dreads). They're still not perfect, but after five months I hardly expect them to be. I also wrapped one stubborn one in pretty rainbow batik that's actually made it slightly tighter.

Thanks for the site link Daria! My mother had a similar reaction, but when I got them we were in a large house full of people and it was easy to hide from her Not that I advocate groundings for no reason, but you should try to put dreads back in if you want them. Most people look quite swell with them so...zhyeah.

[Daria]

Glad it could help.
Mum wouldn't ground me- she'd just be "dissappointed" which is possibly worse.
Did you name your first one?

[elphaba2]

Yes, it's called "Silly Twit that Doesn't Dread Properly"

(Not really. It's real name is much longer, and involves more swear words.)

Also: the dread stuff arrived today! It smells amazing, and my dreads feel significantly more like dreadlocks ought to. Hurrah for helpful Canadians!

[Moosh]

I'm probably going to dread my hair after Xmas, 'cos it'll be long enough by then. Any dos or really, really don'ts?

Do I need to get the dread shampoo and stuff or can I do without? I am in skintland atm and if I need it then I will have to pospone my dreading.

[elphaba2]

-Get someone to help you dread. I did mine myself on a long car ride and some of the back ones are a little...funky.
-Put rubberbands around the tips before getting them wet in the first month or so
-When washing, don't use anything that promises to untangle or condition hair: those shampoos coat hair and make it slippery--thus, more difficult to dreadlock.

If you don't use products, it will take a while, and be a difficult, smelly and somewhat misshapen experience. But you'll have "authentic" dreads, so you can impress metalheads. Take your pick.

[elphaba2]

*bump*

They're gone. Little brother got ringworm, mums saw dandruff on my head and panicked. And then she stopped panicking and grabbed some scissors. I imagined what she might do to my head, and managed to snatch them and locked myself in the bathroom. From there, I just started hacking until it looked roughly symmetrical.

It's a shame. They were so young--if they were fetuses I wouldn't have been allowed to kill them. However, new hair is short and spiky and kind of Winona Ryder-y, for which I am pleased.

Things could be worse.

[Astarael]

That's sad for your poor dreads. The few genuine dreadlocks I've seen have been interesting, but I'd absolutely refuse to give myself dreads. I hate having even a few tangles, so dreads would probably drive me insane.

[Daria]

*bump*

They're gone. Little brother got ringworm, mums saw dandruff on my head and panicked. And then she stopped panicking and grabbed some scissors. I imagined what she might do to my head, and managed to snatch them and locked myself in the bathroom. From there, I just started hacking until it looked roughly symmetrical.

It's a shame. They were so young--if they were fetuses I wouldn't have been allowed to kill them. However, new hair is short and spiky and kind of Winona Ryder-y, for which I am pleased.

Things could be worse.

I feel your pain.

But YAY! for new hair
I would still love to get dreads, but I'm not sure I'd like them for too long. I get bored easily, unfortunately.