Dready Mamas 2013

[Becky Wheeler]

Yay for a new year and for wonderful, crazy dreads! today is day 1 of my neglect dreads and I think I might already need guidance. lol I can't stop picking at tangles in my hair and I fear this might make it harder for my hair to dread this way.

[rjruiz_415]

I'm here! We are just over 7 months in. Started them in random sections, and backcombed half heartedly...lol... It was HARD!!! They went from boob length, to just above my shoulders (so far.) and are so freaky looking! I really do love them though:-) Becky, for neglect, you just separate them into dready sections as they start to form, right?

[rjruiz_415]

Oh goodness, I just noticed my avi picture... they are sososoooooooooo much shorter than that now.....

[Rainey Daye]

Still don't have dreads, but I am subbing to follow along!!

[ShadowMoon]

Subbing! My dreads are a little over a year old now...happy 2013!!!

[koru]

I'm thrilled to still be with you mamas! Mine are just shy of a year & I L.O.V.E them. They really took hold about a month ago, shrunk about 3-4" and are lookin' good. I'm looking forward to some growth now because I'm not used to my hair being so short. Lol!

[delicate_sunshine]

I'm here!  My one year dreadiversary is today, actually!!  They're pretty crazy right now, but since I've pretty much just neglected them since starting them with tnr a year ago (I can't believe it's been a whole year!!) I'm not surprised.  I think they'd even out a bit if I maintained them, but I just want to watch and see what they do.  I started this journey giving myself to a 3 year commitment to them and I can't wait to see where I end up... I hope they turn as beautiful as my dreams and I decide to keep them for a long time. Right now, my front dreads have shrunk up quite a bit more than my back ones... they won't even stay in a ponytail or even a half pony tail.  If I pull them back they stand straight up and if I leave them down they are forever falling in my face - not fun when you are leaned over a baby changing a poopy diaper - I'm hoping they start getting some length soon.  So, some are short; some are long, some are fat; some are thin; some are loopy; some are smooth.  My nephew told me the other day (he's 3 and a big ole country boy) that it looked like a rat slept in my hair, lol!  I really do like them most days and I'm really beginning to get the hang of meeting new people and not being self conscience about what they think of me when they see me with them.  Anyway, long post because for once I'm not nursing a baby while I'm here so I have two free hands.  Glad to see you all back!  I'll be lurking and posting when my hands are free which is not often... Koru, glad to see you are loving yours. 

Let's all try to get some new pictures up!  I'll try to get some pictures of mine to post in the next week or so.  

[Becky Wheeler]

Happy dreadiversary!!!

[scruffy too]

I just passed my dreadiversary - December 27th (2006).

To commemorate, I'll post some pics of when they were just new little dreadies.

The first day:

6 months later:

Sure glad I stuck with it - the first year was a little rough!

Looking forward to seeing others pictures, too!!

[koru]

Happy Dreadiversary, friends! 

I adore the pics, too. Keep 'em coming! I posted some about a month ago but maybe I'll take a few more because they've honestly changed a lot in the last month. 

[CrunchyMama19]

I posted these in the 2012 thread but I'll put them up here again for the new folks. They are 18 months, started by backcombing.

[Indigo73]

I have followed ya'll over here. Come April my dreads will be 4 years old. The are past my bra band a few of the longer ones are to my waist. Over the next year I need to consider when I will start trimming them... They are getting really heavy when I wash them.

[lmnopxz]

Hey . I will officially become a dready mama in march. . Im due march 26th, and my dreads will be 2 in April. My hair was naturally neglect dreading (without my consent), horribly (one sexy dread ball), originally. So after combing my thick wad of hair out every few weeks, i seperated my hair into sections, (if you want to call itsectioning, i actually madekind of a,mess and have to regularly seperate em) and did the twist/rip method. Ive never used or needed products to help my hair do its dready thing.

[Becky Wheeler]

 In love with your little belly and your dreads! So awesome!

[CrunchyMama19]

lmnopxz your dreads are awesome! I can't believe you are due in March. I am only 8.5 weeks and I think my belly has popped out as much as yours already. I am on #3 and keep telling myself that's why....right...?

[koru]

lmnopxz, your hair looks amazing! And happy baby growing to you. I love a good belly photo! 

Indigo73, please take before & after pics if you cut your dreads. I'm increasingly jealous of those with longer dreads since mine have shrunk. Question...with established dreads, does it feel like your hair grows slower? It seems this would be the case because as they grow a little, the base tightens. My hair grows super fast and I'm used to gaining inches & inches a year so I think impatience may sink in if they lengthen slowly. Unless I'm prepared!

Also, can you all give me suggestions for scalp itch!!? I'm sure it's just the colder weather causing dry skin added to the fact that my scalp doesn't get as much massage & exfoliation as before. I wash with baking soda and nothing more. It's not super intense like the first weeks after dreading my hair but it's starting to irritate me & I'm getting so many wispy hairs because of scratching too much. Maybe I should be more intentional in massaging my scalp? I know some have mentioned EO oils which I've never tried but it's not that insatiable itching like in the early weeks. Just constant dry skin itchiness!

[scruffy too]

Originally Posted by koru 

Question...with established dreads, does it feel like your hair grows slower? It seems this would be the case because as they grow a little, the base tightens. My hair grows super fast and I'm used to gaining inches & inches a year so I think impatience may sink in if they lengthen slowly. Unless I'm prepared!

Yes, much slower.  All the dreading takes length to do.  The last couple years though, I feel like my hair grows much faster - not as fast as if it weren't dreaded, but faster than the first few years (where nothing seemed to happen at all!)  I posted in the last thread about the 6 inches I cut off in the fall and I feel that it's getting too long again - but I'm pregnant and not sure if maybe that's why I'm experiencing such rapid growth.

[MamaBookworm]

Hello! My dreads are about 6 months old. I backcombed them and haven't done much else. They are pretty thin and have long wispy tails. The ones on the bottom are locking up pretty good, but I have two crazy jumbled messes on the top of my head where they mingled together! I'm trying to work them apart, but they really are a mess. Any ideas on what to do when you forget to pull them apart and they grow together? 

It is definitely a journey and there are days when I am very close to cutting them out, but then again, I felt that way about my nondreaded hair as well. 

I've tried to work on a couple of them with a crochet hook to clean them up a bit. Watched some youtube videos and such. However, I seem to lack the patience to do a lot of maintenance. 

[koru]

Mamabookworm, I have a few dreads that congo'd at the base but are separate at the ends.....an upside down Y, if you will. Sometimes we miss a few!  Hang in there! I'm only 6 months ahead of you & the 11 month mark was pretty significant for me. They tightened up & lost a lot of their loosey loopiness. At just shy of a year, they're still annoying at times but I keep on keepin' on. Like you said, I was like this with my non-dreaded hair, too. Ha! Crocheting helped me a lot & I should do it more. Maybe tomorrow. 

[Becky Wheeler]

After one week of neglect. It looks like it's starting to section off at the bottom. My hair is still transitioning to no poo, so we'll see how it goes this time! :)