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Introduction


Friends! Aleins! Rastamen!... Lend me your ears!! This page is all about dreaddies and is my medium for explaining the myths of dreadlocks, the pros and cons of having/getting dreadlocks, and tips for maintaining those phatty bom-battys which you went through major hell (and sometimes PAIN!!) to get   =o)


First off, before we begin the Tutorials, I'll tell you a little bit about my dreads.


It all began back in 1995 when Rage Against the Machine came into my musical world and I saw the video one day for "Killing in the Name" with Rage's vocalist, Zach de la Rocha, sporting some wicked dreadlocks. Relating this to a poster of Bob Marley ( the "godfather" of happy knappys) I had seen in a local music store, I wasn't really sure what they were at the time; all I knew was I wanted them. The only thing was : I thought that only certain people were born with hair like that   =o) -   Silly me at the age of 13. I asked my friends and they told me that dreads were just a manufactured hairstyle BUT... the catch was : you had to be black or have super thick hair to get them. Sensing the bad judgement and ignorance in both mine and my friends knowledge of dreadlocks, I then turned to my parents for a possibly digestible answer.


Asking my mother, she sighed at the thought and told me that they were made by caking mud into your hair and that they gave you lice, and bugs, and disease and blah blah blah   =o) -  


Asking my father he close-mindedly referred to them as "shitlocks" and told me that they looked like turds and I would be crazy if I got them, and my hair would fall out, and I'd be dirty and blah blah blah blah BLAH!!   =o) -  


The worst part was : I believed them, since I was easily persuaded and knew nothing about anything at the age of 14, believing my parents were the wise and experienced earth-leaders in who we pay homage too.   =o)-  So I forgot about getting dreads completely and buried my desire for them.


TIME WARP : Mid-November, 2000


At 17, my dormant desire for dreadlocks suddenly surfaced again out of nowhere. I guess I was just feeling rather gutsy and determined; sick of having short hair (which rules the hairstyle world). I wanted something unique and defining of my character; something that could fly around during live performances in all the bands I take part in, so I went online one day and searched for the truth behind dreadlocks and found THE MOST informative site on dreads, Knotty Boy.com!!!. It was there that I found the truth about dreadlocks and the pros and cons associated with dreadlocks. I found that dreadlocks could be made on virtually any type of hair and they weren't made with mud, and they were not full of bugs and disease and blah blah blah blah BLAH!!!   =o) -


So on the 26th of November (my b-day!!!), I went down to London (since nobody in Chatham does dreads) and got them done. It hurt soooo bad when each dread was being made that I wanted to cry... seriously... Picture someone, if you will, pulling and ripping on the roots of your hair and teasing it with a comb while twisting it right and left, right and left, right and left. My eyes were literally watering by the time the Dread Stylist was done.


But hey!--No Pain, No Gain..right?


So anyways, I was told I couldn't wash my hair for 2 weeks when I first got them, which was sort of a drag, but if you build up your hair's stamina long enough with dreads, 2 weeks for a fellow dreadhead feels like one day without washing your hair to the Average Joe who lathers their hair every day.


Anyways, for the first month, I had to maintain them with constant backcombing (every 3-4 days) and shaping my dreads which was a real pain. Now I can wait up to a week without backcombing them and they've shaped themselves into nice, round super phat Marley locks ('cept for the back ones, cuz they're flat from me sleepin on 'em). Pretty soon (hopefully by Summer or early September) the ends will be locked up and blunted!!!...BONUS!!!


So, to make a painfully long story short, I've had my dreads for about 5 months now and I have had NO regrets whatsoever, except that I didn't get them sooner...


Now! Let's begin!!


Page One--The Myths/Pros and Cons of having Dreadlocks
Page Two--So You Wanna Get Dreadlocks, Huh?
Page Three--Maintenance and Tipz