The Dreads
July 2005:
At that point in time, I didn't know what I was in for. I didn't know that locks take time, a long time for someone with hair like mine. Come to think of it, I didn't know anything about locks. I just knew that it was time for something different. I was ready for a change after 20 years with a short natural. There was no way I'd ever straighten my hair again. And why on Earth are we black folks still doing that in this day and age? I didn't get a vote when I was a kid. The decision was made for me (as it was for every other black girl at that time). Once I was grown, I opted out of the drama that is black women and their hair.
That hair in the photo above is not locks. It's my damn wavy hair aspiring to lockhood via palm-rolling. (Judging by the length of my hair, it was probably finger rolled).
January 2007:
Now, those are locks!!! They were well worth the wait. I gave up on the loctitian months ago, choosing to palm-roll the almost-locks myself. Then, a few months after that I came to my senses and put an end to all of the maintenance. No palm-rolling. No products. No more stupid preoccupation with hair. Now, as the recent photos show, I leave my hair alone to do what it damn well pleases. And that's what it does. I don't even bother to try and tame it. Locks can be tamed, but they shouldn't be. What's the point of having them if you spend all of your time trying to make them look cute or uniform or (what you think is) neat? Once I gave my locks their freedom, they blossomed into what they are now—real locks. I still can't tie them back out of my face when I surf, but I've somehow gotten used to them being in my eyes. I can't even imagine what they'll look like in 20 years.
posted by Surfsister @ 20:12
8 comments
8 Comments:
Well they look great. I'm curious how they work with your surfing? I had locks...a long time ago. I loved them and in my own humble opinion, they were gorgeous and long-down to my butt. When I started surfing they became unmanageable. In the water when wet, my hair felt like 10 lbs of weight pulling on my head and flying in my face. It was also kind of a pain to deal with wet dreads on that regular a basis. They would take forever to dry and eventually they just always felt damp (gross). I was sad to see them go but I chopped them.
How do you keep out the cooties?
Surferbrat, my locks are still short (and still young) so they aren't heavy yet. And they're not yet long enough to get in the way when I surf. However, they do take forever to dry. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I do sunset sessions after work in the summer. I'll have to ask other surfers I see with dreads.
Anon, I've yet to see dreads with cooties. It's just hair. You still wash it and condition it. You just don't comb/brush it.
I like the ipod addition!
Patch, I put Jr. Gong on there for you (and me). I love that song. I also love that brother's dreads! Enjoy!
that first picture (july) is mesmerizing. your hair looks awesome grown out, too.dg
dgm, thanks but you should see how much gunk they put in your hair to keep it twisted like that. That is a cool picture though. I agree that my hair, at least in photos, looked amazing when it was first twisted. As my hair grew, the twists stopped looking so perfect. Now, my hair is all over the place. In about a year, the locks will be mature and will stop trying to fly away (like they do now).
Still glad ya did it. They look great, but I can't imagine such a commitment. My hair's so thick that when I tried to grow it out a bit for the sexy flowing mane thing I had to put so much product in it to get it to at least look like it was falling into my eyes that I looked total greaseball.
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