long dreads down to the knees vs: other heads of hair- care methods

[anatomicallycorrect]

I had no idea you could take dreads out. You learn something new everyday!

 

[FeelinIt]

hey everyone..

i was walking in the street today and i saw a woman with knee length dreads- this wasnt the first time i saw this in person or even in a picture...anyways, i was thinking- in order to grow such long healthy dreads what do they do differently than women with natural/transitioning hair?

The routine looks similar to having regular non locked hair...i do know some use shea butter and it claims to "help the hair grow"...hmmm im starting to wonder if the same can be possible for other heads of hair like transitioning ladies? Since there is a good portion of hair that is natural on a transitioning head, what could be the difference? couldnt similar routines be implemented on a different head of hair maybe?

take a look at this ebay link... http://cgi.ebay.com/SenegalStyle-Djembe-AFRICAN-SHEA-BUTTER-GROWS-HAIR_W0QQitemZ5636555454QQcategoryZ31413QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

im wondering if thats what does the growth thing or less manipulation or less
harder styling aids...hmmm could we apply the same technique? does anyone
think this will work for those of us with texturized or natural heads to increase
growth (apart from obvious genetics)- would any of the same dread lock
care methods encourage healthy growth?

tell me what yall think!
meia

Were you in Houston when you saw her and was she driving a black explorer truck?

Well my mother has dreads down to her knees and quickly about to reach ankle length. Her boyfriend has waistlength dreads. Basically she just washes it and keeps it clean. She doesn't use any majic spells or horse oil or anything like that. She does wrap it a lot when going out. But basically that is about it. She doesn't do much to it.

 

[FeelinIt]

How is it possible for shedded hair to "attached" to hair, I think there is some truth to this method but some faults as well. I feel that the true length of the dred is represented because thing about this...when we braid our hair for growth and take out the fake (kanakelon) hair isn't the hair left over (natural hair) our actual length? I mean look at the C & G method. I've removed dreds for my clients who have back length dreds and I was able to save 95% of the length, BTW the dreds were 5 years old, after that it is difficult if not impossible to remove dreds older than 6 years old (depending on one's texture). It can be done, that's why I don't completely believe that dreds don't represent actual length. I believe such great length was achieved by leaving the hair alone. JMO.

I'd have to agree with you there. But I'm feeling the other ladies points as well. My mom's hair didn't grow to her kneecaps overnight. She cut off her hair in the early 90's because she went to a funeral. She has been growing her hair from that length ever since. That's over ten years of growing.

 

[FeelinIt]

my uncle duggy

i find this highly amusing, i had a very nice talk with a woman in the airport who thought that having dreads automatically made them dirty and unclean, something about people with dreads not washing their hair or some such nonsensical diatribe. for those that don't know, IMO their are two varieties of "dreadlocks":
1 fashion locs, these are the cutsie thin ones almost everyone has now because somehow it makes them "afrocentric(BS)" these take forever to start because you have to have someone do them to keep them "neat" and "presentable", these are the ones celebs have
2 rasta locs, these are the socalled "dirty locs" unclean nasty looking ones that obviously aren't washed or taken care of. hmmm, i have two uncles who are "rasta loced" who i can tell you my uncle douglas washes his hair every single freaking day morning and night and puts nothing on his hair for the rest of the day, no beeswax, holding gel, hair spray, or anything of the ilk, i can't attest to the cleanliness or rasta or fashion locs, but from my personal experience (i have frens and family with both types) just because something looks bad, don't make assumptions about the state of it
it's kinda like run-down, looks bad bad bad but tastes oh so good
then again opinions are like a-holes and everyone has one, i say smile, eat curry, don't watch nutten and do you

My mom has the rasta locks and when we were little we had them too. And everyone thought they were dirty and unclean. Instead of asking a person right out, they would all assume our hair was nasty. Kids are cruel though. Now I notice more kids wearing them and I'm hoping the little ones are a little bit more tolerant. It was soo bad, we used to get chased from school and made fun of daily. I hated school so...

 

[FeelinIt]

loc wearers, it's not a fashion statement. It is symbolic of their religion/spirituality, personal journey, and alot of other deeply personal and sentimental reasons that have nothing to do with aesthetics.

And that's why my mom has her's. She's not trying to make them nice and neat and pretty for everyone see. She wears them just for the above stated reason.

 

[Poohbear]

im wondering if thats what does the growth thing or less manipulation or less harder styling aids...hmmm could we apply the same technique? does anyone think this will work for those of us with texturized or natural heads to increase growth (apart from obvious genetics)- would any of the same dread lock care methods encourage healthy growth?

tell me what yall think!
meia

To answer your original question, I believe naturals can apply the same techniques without actually doing dreadlocks as a style. I believe it is the less manipulation of fooling with our hair that aids in hair growth and/or retaining hair length.

I have been going back and forth with what to do with my hair as far as how often to wash it. I have finally came to the conclusion to just LEAVE IT ALONE! I have decided to wash my hair once a month (I don't think this is nasty because I don't use a lot of products) and I will be wearing twist-out styles (twist-outs, twist-out puffs, or twist-out updos). I'll twist my hair some nights or just leave it alone. I may even leave my hair in two-strand twists for a week or so.

I felt that this routine is best for me because my hair is extremely tightly coiled and washing it daily takes a toil on my hair. Plus, hair is in it's weakest state when it is wet. Twisting it every so often may sound like manipulation but it really isn't for me because my hair is strong when it is dry. Plus, I will not be combing my hair at all, only on my wash day (once a month). Since doing this routine, I seldom have any breakage at all. I've also read through that old thread entitled "Not Washing Hair" and found it very intriguing how people grew their hair to long lengths without washing very often. I just found that going back to what my mom used to do with my hair to grow it to long lengths will work best for my hair now.

I also believe in this statement: "What works for some may not work for others."

And about the issue regarding dreadlocks...

Yes, they can be taken down without cutting them off. Some choose to cut them off, some choose to take them out.

No, it's not just a bunch of shedded hair that's unattached to scalp. That doesn't make sense. Of course, most of the shedded hair is intertwined with the dreads, but most of the hair is attached to the scalp. The length of the dreads is is their actual hair length.

No, they are not nasty/gross if they are kept clean and well-groomed, just like with non-dreadlock styles. Dreadlocks does not mean "don't take care of hair".

That's my 2 cents.