Living with my Locs!

Life with my dreadlocks has been an adventurous journey.  There are different aspects of my journey that I am really loving.  First and foremost is of course the length that they now are.  Going from short 10cm dreads three years ago to 30cm dreads is just amazing.  Seeing them in the mirror daily, just makes my soul smile.

I love that I can style them and decorate them in any way I feel is good on any particular day.  I can add beads, leather, yarn and feathers, in any colour and it looks like I have stepped out of a dread studio!  Better yet, it doesn't cost me a cent because I do it all myself.

Getting dreads three years ago was a dream that I finally fulfilled.  Thinking it was the easiest style I would ever have, however was a load of bull twang.  I have spent more time working and caring for my dreads that I ever did when I had straight hair!  Personally I don't like bushy unkept dreadlocks, I prefer to have kept dreadlocks, which means that I maintain them once a month, I deep soak them once a month and I never ever leave my house looking like dirty dread head.

How do I maintain my dreads?  First and foremost, I ensure I have enough time in one day to complete the entire process.  I can't do the half a head one day and the other half the next.  I put aside 5 hours minimum.  Now that my dreads are mature it really only takes me 2 hours.

I tie my dreads into a pineapple on the top of my head and I pull the bottom layer of dreads out around my neckline.  I then focus on one dread at a time, gather the loose hair in my thumb and my 'mommy finger'.  I roll the hair into a ball (like a good old fashioned kiddies snot ball) yugggg!  I then use my 0.5mm crochet hook, put it through my dread at the top close to the dread ball and I pull it into the dread.  I do that all the way down the dread and then I palm roll it.  This I do with each and every dread.  It takes a while to get the hang of it but I am now a pro!

After returning from a backpacking adventure across the Caribbean and and South America, my dreads had grown a good 15cm.  My Mamma was fascinated.  She spent a few hours crocheting my dreads for me.  After a good couple of hours of maintenance and teaching, my Mamma is now a pro too!  It is so amazing to hear how she shares information about my dreads and her information is spot on!

Palm rolling is an important part of my daily/weekly routine.  Palm rolling gives my dreads a smooth feel and look.

Once I have done my entire head of dreads (50 in total), my dreads have a bouncy feel and they look fantastic!  Time to strut my stuff!

Each and every dread has its own character, some are a little thicker than others, but each one has it's own loop or fuzziness.  I know each dread intimately.

The other part of dread living that I thoroughly enjoy is the reaction and interest from people on the streets.  The first question I am asked is, do you wash your hair?  of course I wash my hair!  goodness, my usual response is... well do you wash your hair!?!  I then take the time to explain my routine and I allow them to touch my dreads (not often due to the sanitary habits that lack in most humans) and I allow them to smell my dreads too.

The shock and horror that most display once touching and smelling my dreads, is worth a million bucks!  'Oh your dreads actually smell nice'.  Of course they smell nice!  Why wouldn't they smell nice.  I use essential oils (lavender and rosemary) in my deep soak regime.  Essential oils assist with scalp treatment, they soften my dreads and they make them smell good all the time!

What I love about my dreads?  that they turn heads.  They turn the heads of people who are usually critical of the way other look.  I love that my dreads invite people into my life and my personal space.  I am always happy to educate and chat to complete strangers about my beauties!  Even more so now after treating my dreadlocks to a colour adventure.

Living with my locs and rocking my locs daily, that's what I do.  Remember that dreadlocks is not a hairstyle but a lifestyle!

Until next time!

Blessings

Blu
info@rockinglocs.com

Plunged into colour....!

After five years of natural hair and dreadlocks, I decided to take another giant leap of faith, actually, a plunge into the world of colour!  

Here's my natural dreadlocks:

A very talented designer and colour expert, AJ Durrow, who is new to the Rocking-Locs crew, popped over to funk up my dreadlocks.  For a couple of reasons, to document the process, the time it takes and the amount of colour that will be used.  This colour experiment assists us with costings and first hand experience when it comes to colouring dreadlocks.  This is something not many people in Jozi have.

It's 10h30, AJ arrives right on time.  First step is to lift my dreads of part of my natural colour.  It takes an hour and thirty minutes to get every single strand of hair covered.  Another thirty minutes to wait until it's time to rinse the peroxide off.  Waiting patiently, eventually it is time and thirty minutes later, the water is running clear.  I stand up and look in the mirror and BOOOOOM, I frighten the life out of myself for just a few seconds and then I crack myself laughing.  I'm thinking... thank the universe Barry isn't home to see this shade of ugly.

Back to the chair and AJ starts mixing colours.  The most dynamic colours I have seen coming out of a bottle.  Three shades of orange and three shades of pink.  It's time to apply the colour.  Without having any clue as to what is happening, I just know that it's going to look fabulous!  Another two hours and the colour is on.  At that very moment Barry walks in.  His reaction to my colour work is worth a million bucks!!  Then I knew it was a work of art!

Another hour of waiting time and my dreadlocks were ready for a warm water rinse.  Thirty more minutes of head up-side-down, water running, and it's time to towel (squeeze) dry.  I finally find the strength in my back and I flip my dreadlocks back and I am in total awe of the site that I see.  A head of colour, not just any colour, but colour so dynamic and eye catching, I just smiled!

A couple of hours it took to get my dreadlocks to a colour spectacular that not many will achieve.  I love my brilliant pink and orange dreads.  I am happy to announce that no one other person/dreadhead in South Africa has dreads like me.  Mission accomplished!

I woke up this morning feeling like a very funky hippie mamma, and I like it... a lot!

AJ Durow is the owner of Farside.  She is a dynamic and artistic woman, based in Jozi and recently signed up to offer the Rocking-Locs clients colour work.  For anyone and everyone, straight of dreaded hair, women and men.  So if you are based in Jozi and want to experiment with colour, then AJ is the lady you should be chatting too.

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Blessings.

Blu

My Dreadlocks Always Come First!

Throughout my lifetime of short or long hair, I never ever had an issue with my hair getting in the way of day to day happenings.  However since having my dreadlocks, I see that they have a mind of their own and at the most in opportune times too.

Snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea, trying my very best to get over my fear of water, not bath tub water, I'm talking about vast water, deep water, crystal clear water.  My hubby takes my hand and leads me into shallow water, around 2 meters deep, he lets go and points in the direction of the sea grass below.  Three sea snakes laying motionless across the sea grass.  A little apprehensive to snorkel over them, I eventually pluck up the courage to move closer to Barry.  I turn my head looking to the left and then as I move my head to look back ahead... one of my dreadlocks swings around and lands right across my mask!  All I saw was a dark long 'thing' and in my minds eye it was alive and sucking to my mask.  A screech and kicking of fins, I finally realised that it was just a dreadlock.  No crazy sea creature trying to suck my mask off!  

Coffee while maintaining a clients hair, I turn my head and 'ploop' a dreadlock dips itself into my cup of java.  Every single time without fail! 

Sleeping at night poses its own challenges.  If I am not lying on a lonesome sleepy dreadlock then Barry is.  It's quite a shock to my sleepy system when I move but can't because I am pinned down to my pillow by the brute strength of my man.

When leaving home, I always always make sure my dreadlocks are under control and looking beautiful.  After a short stint to the shops I get back, peak in the mirror and there will be one adventurous dreadlock pointing straight up to the sky.  Now know as my 'mamma antenna'.  Not a soul in my home will tell me that the adventurous dreadlock is out of it rightful place.

Hiking is always loads of fun.  Dreadlocks are tied up and ready for an adventure.  I will hike for kilometres and right at the end of the hike I will walk past a tree and 'whooop'! one of my dreadlocks will be stuck on a thorn or small branch.  As hiking with a mirror is NOT cool, I always have to ask someone in our hiking party to 'unhook' me!

My journey with dreadlocks is never ever uneventful.  My dreads keep me company, they make me (and those around me) chuckle, they enjoy adventure and know just how to scare the hell out of me when I least expect it!  My Dreadlocks always come first ;-).

Living and loving this journey!

Love and light always.

Blu

To dread or not to dread. That is the question.

Up until the age of 35, all I had known was corporate.  Corporate everything, from shoes, to face paint, to hair styles.  Man did that cost me a whole lot of money for a very long time.  Always having to look 'stylish', I kept my desire for dreadlocks well hidden.  

Until I gave birth to my son in 2009.  I only then realized, once I started work again after my maternity leave, that high heels, face paint and straightened hair was just not my cuppa tea!  So I gave it all the middle finger a few months later, including my corporate job.  From that moment, I was free to do what I pleased with my hair.. my decision was to dread.

I started growing my hair, gave up the hair straightener and expensive products that only cause damage.  After three full years of growing and leaving my hair, I finally found (through a special lady friend) a rastaman, who was willing to assist me with starting my very own dreadlock journey.  And what a crazy journey it has been.

It's the morning of the 4th December 2012 and the rastaman is coming today!  So excited and nervous, not sure if I had made the right decision but it's too late to cancel now!  Knock on the door and there he was, the friendliest face, smiling wide, with his very own head of dreadlocks!  I knew then I had made the right decision.

Rastaman started with the basics, separating my hair into what I thought was some form of a pattern (which it turns out, it was just random separating, more about that in one of my upcoming blogs), small plaits and then each one was sewn individually with needle and thread.  That short description of events sounds as if the entire two days was easy and hassle free.

Nope!  Two days of sitting on my arse, pulling, tugging and twisting each and every hair on my head.  The pain in some spots was dibilitating.  Chinese eyes for two days!  Tears trickling out the corners of my eyes.  By the end of day number one, the rastaman was not yet finished, so I had a half a head of dreadlocks.  Day number two, early bells, chinese eyes were still there and the tugging, pulling and twisting started all over again.  

By the time day number two had finally come to an end, I had a headache that scared the life out of me.  But non the less, I had my dreadlocks.

My hair was originally 20cm long when straight.  When my dreads were installed, my dreads were only 10cm long.  I didn't look stylish at all!  Deep down I wasn't a happy rasta mamma but it was done and my journey had begun. No turning back now.

I very quickly roped my hubby in to working with my locs simply because I couldn't see what I was doing.  He patiently palm rolled and attended to each and every one!  Slowly but surely they grew a little every day.  As they grew, so I fell more and more in love with them.  Today, almost 3 years later, my dreadlocks are now 30cm long and looking lovely.  

In my upcoming posts I will share with you personal highs and lows of my journey.  

Until next time.

Love & dreadlocks!

Blu

  

www.rockinglocks.com