Don't Gotta Be Drunk to Say It

Sip 7: Lack of Education About Dreadlocks

I have dreadlocks. I have dreadlocks and I'm proud of them. 

The dreadlock community has a lot of misconceptions, within and without. 

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm a Super Senior. At my high school, a Super Senior is a fifth year student, someone who stays an extra year to get their Associates Degree for college. I'm telling you that because I went natural (in the Black community "going natural" means to stop putting harmful chemicals chemicals in your hair and wearing the hair as it was given to you or in it's natural state) during 6th grade and got dreadlocks during the 7th grade. By Freshman year in high school, my locks were about an inch past my shoulders. However, I took them out (yes you can take them out, I'm gonna get to that in a few), because they were different sizes due to a lazy stylist. My hair was free for about a month before I got my new dreadlocks and they are the ones I have now.

I have first handedly witnessed the lack of knowledge many people posses about locks. So in this Hair I will try to inform you about dreadlocks, what they are and how they are made and maintained.

This may be surprising to you, but a lot of ignorance comes from the Black community. Even in the Black community, natural hair is an enigma to people as a whole. Deadlocks seem to be even more mysterious. I remember in middle school a black classmate asked me, "Don't you have to use some spray to clean your hair?"

I said, "What?" 

"You have to use a spray to clean your hair right?" 

I was so amazed that the question was even asked. Yet, this seems to be the most popular belief in my opinion. The belief being, many people for some reason think that dreadlocks cannot be washed.

Now, I think this is believed for several reasons:

1.) Probably because dreadlocks can be formed because you in fact don't wash your hair. The build up of gunk, dust, and skin flakes from your scalp will mold and begin to hold your hair together in clumps. This begins the process of dreading. 

2.) Because of reason one, perhaps some people think that washing your hair will undo the dreadlocks, therefore you can't wash it. 

Both of those things have sound logic and apply to people. With #1, yes, they can form from not taking care of your hair, but there are other ways to make a dreadlock. 

        - The Crochet Hook: Crochet hooks can be used to make nice, straight looking dreadlocks as well as really help tighten new-growth (new hair that your scalp has produced that has not yet been subjected or affected by the process your "older hair" has been subjected to or affected by). It's especially helpful for thicker hair types. I have this type of dreadlocks.

        - Braids: One of the basic ways to make a dreadlock is to make loose braids and leave them alone for forever lmao. They will knot up and slowly (very slowly, which is why this is a least favorable route) create dreadlocks.

        - Twists: Same as braids, and better looking and faster to do, twists are a conventional way to make dreadlocks. You make loose twist and let them knot up, much like the braids. I also have this type. My dreadlocks have been twisted together to make slightly bigger locks since my stylist decided they were too small for my new-growth.

        When these processes successfully create a solid clump of hair over time, that section of hair has been "locked" and has finally become a dreadlock (yay!).

        (there are probably more ways but I don't know them).

Now, with #2, washing your hair for the most part will not remove a dreadlock. This would probably be a more common problem for people with straighter hair grades. Until their hair has become knotted enough, washing their hair will undo the lock they are attempting to make.

Actually, you are very much supposed to wash your dreadlocks!! It is important to wash dreadlocks for the same reasons it is important to wash undreaded hair! You don't want and shouldn't have dirty hair! Maintenance is so important. I cannot stress this enough. It's important to wash your hair to reduce gunk build up and it's important to retwist the roots. Retwisting the root of each individual dreadlock keeps them tame. Roots or new-growth isn't just new hair that sprouts, making a current dreadlock longer, it can also be hair that isn't even attached to a dreadlock. Those new-growth patches need to be rounded up and attached to an existing dreadlock to prevent dreadlocks from growing together and forming new, bigger locks. Also, dreadlocks must be pulled apart from each other constantly because loose hairs on lock strands will hook onto other dreadlocks and can become one. 

Another thing that I have been asked is, "How long is your hair really?" Actually, I really like this question because it's one of the more intelligent questions I've recieved about dreadlocks. It takes a lot of thought for this question to be produced because it means the person actually thought about the possibility of the actual lock not being attached to the scalp as a whole.

Which it is, but can be not.

To answer this question I'll go back to when I took my dreadlocks out Freshman year. I noticed that when I took my dreadlocks out, most of my hair was no longer actually attached to my scalp. Out of most of my dreadlocks, only two or three inches of hair was still apart of my head. With regualr hair you can clearly see the strands coming from the scalp. That isn't the case with dreadlocks since locks are sections of hair knotted together. 

I said "can be not" because if one were to look at a dreadlock closely, they could see individual hairs that end with the white spot usually attributed to the end of the hair that has been pulled out it's follicle. That being said, I think that at some point hair becomes detatched from the scalp while knotting up into a dread. 

Going back to Freshman year, yes, it is possible to "take out" dreadlocks. Since they're technically knotted clumps of hair, all you really have to do is comb them out. I used a pen that had ran out of ink. A plastic rat-tail comb will work perfectly. All you do is pick out the ends, continuing up the dreadlock. You may put the excess hair into the trash. Unless you want to keep it, which I don't recommend because it will be dirty. (Getting gunk in dreadlocks is inevitable since they are knots, but you still must or should wash them to greatly reduce the grime). Most people just cut their dreadlocks off though since picking at it isn't worth it if you're just gonna have three inch hair anyway. 

        - Dreadlocks Can Be Reused: Yes. If you cut them off, it's best to cut them off from the new-growth. If you want to keep your dreadlocks and put them back in later, that is also possible since they are just knots. Dreadlocks can be reattached to new-growth using the crochet method I mentioned earlier. I know people who cut off their dreadlocks for the summer (dreads are heavy and thick, not pleasureable in the heat) and reattach them for winter. 

Dreadlocks are very versatile. They can be straight or curled and can be sculpted into various designs. My mother curls her dreadlocks all the time using pipcleaners (it's really cool, I suggest you look it up!). I prefer to keep mine straight. If I do want to curl them I just wet them and braid them together then use a blow dryer to set them. The next morning I just undo the braids and I have curls. 

This hairstyle is a way to express who you are. Rastas believe in dreadlocks because God put you on this Earth and wants human kind to stay in their natural state, which of course means to leave your hair untreated (this can sometimes go into extreme measures wherein they just don't even take care of their locks and let them do whatever). There are other cultures that believe that God uses dreadlocks as ropes and peoples people to heaven by their hair, under the basis that it is easier for Him to grip than silky straight hair lol. It'd be bad for you to slip from His grip. 

But anyway, I think I'll end this Hair right here. All I wanted to do with this chapter is inform anyone who doesn't know about dreadlocks about what it is. For some people it's a style, for others a way of life. I didn't touch on any of the negative experiences I've had because of ignorant people since I believe there wouldn't be ignorance if there was knowlege. So here I am, providing knowlege.

Bye!