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