2elijah said:

Serious said:

Yeah that was me and yeah I was referring to dreads . It just surprised me that so many more men than women wear dreads overthere. I saw so few women wearing dreads and such a high number of men.

It's from that whole "Rhasta" thing from back in the 70s (?) in the Caribbean. Some are actually Rhasta's (sp), but some do it for the fashion. My brother-in-law just cut his off when he married my sister in 2009. They were down to his ass. He said it was time for a change so he cut it. A lot of Black women in NYC wear their hair in natural form, and wear dreads. Since it seems women are more into "fashion" it doesn't surprise me that many choose to go non-natural. Now in 2010, many are actually cutting their hair short, and loving and embracing the short look, whereas one time in many black communities back in the day, many black women weren't so embracing about the "short look". Today, it's all by choice, not by societal stresses, like in pre-1980, many did wear their hair straight due to some racial prejudices some experienced, i.e., when looking for employment, and many felt pressured in giving in to society's "standard of beauty" so-to-speak, and chose to wear chemically-treated hair, moreso than the natural look.

My sister experienced some of that during the 1980s when she was working at an insurance company , and braids were the fashion thing for Black women at that time. Some employees on the job would make racist statements referencing her hair, and stating it was some anti-white thing, which was so stupid.

I'm glad most people are way past that type of mentality now, and I see the younger generation wearing dreads/braids/twists, etc., at corporate jobs, but worn neatly. When I saw that finally being accepted by many within society, I knew we'd come a long way. I guess it takes time for people to learn about the cultures of various groups and not connect how they dress/wear their hair with some form of assumed millitancy.

Speaking of men with long hair, my Uncle who was born in the Caribbean, but now living here, well, his dreads are past his knees and he's in his late 70s. I have a couple of male cousins that wear their hair the same way.

[Edited 4/8/11 13:48pm]

My boyfriend is a rastaman and has dreads that don't reach his knees, but nearly his ass by now. He always tells me he doesn't understand why the women don't wear their hair in a natural kind of way and shakes his head at them.

Harlepolis said:

formallypickles said:

i wear my all natural and it is alot of work

You think so?

I think all of that chemical and artificial stuff takes more maintenance and a long breath(not to mention, a loaded purse), at least from my experience.

Same. My hair is way easier to deal with and taking care of it is alot faster, in its natural state tbh.

JOYJOY said:

Ace said:

I've heard that they're unhealthy for the hair?

Serious

You tell the TRUTH

Ace

Dont know where you got that info? with dreadlocks you wash, condition and go! I wash my hair daily and its in the best condition it has ever been in.

I guess it depends on the person and how they choose to care for their hair

My boyfriend washes his dreads and that's it . It takes me way longer to care for my hair. His dreads just take some time to dry, that's the only problem.

How long are your dreads JOYJOY?

I wish dreads would look good on me, but they would not. My hair is ruined with all the chemical treatment I did to it over the years, it kinda dreads more than my boyfriend's if I don't unwind it all the time . And naturally I have totally straight thin hair .

Serious said:

I don't know how much it might be because of the work it might be, but dreads for example are not much work.

Umm, no. Dreadlocks do require maintenance... and depending on style, thickness, length and texture, sometimes VERY high maintenance. Most locked hair takes extremely long periods to dry also.

Nappy hair is usually over curly hair, but not every curl is the same so some nappy hair is more wire-like and has straighter qualities, so some folks have to constantly keep twirling their dreds daily for hours to keep the locks from looking frizzy. Also to prevent matting of the hair or locks clumping together.

[Edited 4/8/11 14:23pm]

paintedlady said:

Serious said:

I don't know how much it might be because of the work it might be, but dreads for example are not much work.

Umm, no. Dreadlocks do require maintenance... and depending on style, thickness, length and texture, sometimes VERY high maintenance. Most locked hair takes extremely long periods to dry also.

Nappy hair is usually over curly hair, but not every curl is the same so some nappy hair is more wire-like and has straighter qualities, so some folks have to constantly keep twirling their dreds daily for hours to keep the locks from looking frizzy. Also to prevent matting of the hair or locks clumping together.

*fine= the actual thickness of each strand of hair, not density of the entire head of hair.

Density or sparseness of hair growth is based on genetics and varies widely in all races, it also throws many stylist for a loop in dealing with extremes in density either way.

different qualities of "texture" to consider are, density (dense or sparse), grade (coarse, medium, fine) , curl (waves to tight teeny curls), different textures... there can be five or even six different textures of hair in ONE head of hair.

Learning how to work your own hair is really hard when many people have such complicated textures in their heads of hair and what works for one nappy head may not work for another.

Maybe my boyfriend is just lucky with his hair texture, but he does nothing at all to maintain his dreads. But yeah like I said it takes some time until they dry, but as he is living in a tropical country that's not such a big problem.

to the OP's question...

most women in MY region rock the Michele Obama look... that would be a chemically relaxed head of hair that is then set (curled) in rollers the blown out. It takes lots of work to do but the look lasts for a good week if the wearer sleeps on satin pillow cases and wraps the hair up at night.

Most women that do not relax their hair wear it locked up (dreadlocks) or weaves, but good only women with sparsely growing heads of hair or conditions suck as alopecea wear full or partial wigs. Generally speaking of course.

I have curly hair and stylists say I have the "perfect curl".. its bullshit, it is frizzy dry hair that is WORK.

I am a trained colorist and stylist and it takes me 3.5 hours to do my hair to get fab professional results. But when I am done it feels softer than silk and looks like a dream.

My hair is frizzy and fine but it grows out dense as hell... so a FULL head of hair always looks great when freshly done.

Serious said:

JOYJOY said:

Serious

You tell the TRUTH

Ace

Dont know where you got that info? with dreadlocks you wash, condition and go! I wash my hair daily and its in the best condition it has ever been in.

I guess it depends on the person and how they choose to care for their hair

My boyfriend washes his dreads and that's it . It takes me way longer to care for my hair. His dreads just take some time to dry, that's the only problem.

How long are your dreads JOYJOY?

I wish dreads would look good on me, but they would not. My hair is ruined with all the chemical treatment I did to it over the years, it kinda dreads more than my boyfriend's if I don't unwind it all the time . And naturally I have totally straight thin hair .

Hey Serious

Once they get to bra strap length the scissors come out! I trim them every 3 months as my hair grows really fast, I was never a fan of super long hair you cant do anything with

My natural hair is also quite thin, so much so that my dreads even after all these years get mistaken for braids, but I know tons of europeans who have grown their dreads naturally if they can you can too if you want.

I may have some advice for your boyfriend about the drying time. He should stop using 'boutique shampoos' and conditioners as they have 'moisturisers' added that just weigh down dread locks and can cause them to get a bit mildewy.

Buy some bicarbonate of soda add an egg cups worth to a big bowl/bucket of warm water, he should soak his dreads in that water ( he may have to do this a few times if he hasnt done it before) as this will remove all the build up the shampoos and conditioners have left in his hair it just floats to the top!!

Next add an egg cup of gentle dish washing detergent (the stuff thats kind to your skin -I kid you not) put it in a regular empty shampoo bottle and add water to the top so it very diluted.

He can use this to shampoo his hair! I guarantee the drying time of his hair will be more than halfed! It used to take a day for my shoulder length hair to dry, it now takes no more than an hour!!

Got the technique from this site http://www.nappturality.com/

Serious said:

Maybe my boyfriend is just lucky with his hair texture, but he does nothing at all to maintain his dreads. But yeah like I said it takes some time until they dry, but as he is living in a tropical country that's not such a big problem.

If you tried to get dreadlocks... it would be VERY high maintenance for you, some people have that issue when the hair grows more sparse also.

Texture is always key to any look in regards to the time it takes to put into the finished look.

[Edited 4/8/11 15:45pm]

paintedlady said:

Serious said:

Maybe my boyfriend is just lucky with his hair texture, but he does nothing at all to maintain his dreads. But yeah like I said it takes some time until they dry, but as he is living in a tropical country that's not such a big problem.

If you tried to get dreadlocks... it would be VERY high maintenance for you, some people have that issue when the hair grows more sparse also.

Texture is always key to any look in regards to the time it takes to put into the finished look.

My problem would not only be to maintain them, but even more the look. I would just look aweful with dreads and the dreads would look aweful too, even though my boyfriend does not agree and would love it if I had dreads . I just have to accept that they are not for me .

paintedlady said:

Serious said:

I don't know how much it might be because of the work it might be, but dreads for example are not much work.

Umm, no. Dreadlocks do require maintenance... and depending on style, thickness, length and texture, sometimes VERY high maintenance. Most locked hair takes extremely long periods to dry also.

Nappy hair is usually over curly hair, but not every curl is the same so some nappy hair is more wire-like and has straighter qualities, so some folks have to constantly keep twirling their dreds daily for hours to keep the locks from looking frizzy. Also to prevent matting of the hair or locks clumping together.

[Edited 4/8/11 14:23pm]

Hey Painted,

The twisting or interlocking is part of the locking process for those of us with neat cultivated dreads and this is a daily duty (like combing or brushing for non dreads)

very young dreadlocks (0 to 3 yrs old) can look very frizzy but the frizz eventually incorporates itself within the lock after a few years.

JOYJOY said:

Serious said:

My boyfriend washes his dreads and that's it . It takes me way longer to care for my hair. His dreads just take some time to dry, that's the only problem.

How long are your dreads JOYJOY?

I wish dreads would look good on me, but they would not. My hair is ruined with all the chemical treatment I did to it over the years, it kinda dreads more than my boyfriend's if I don't unwind it all the time . And naturally I have totally straight thin hair .

Hey Serious

Once they get to bra strap length the scissors come out! I trim them every 3 months as my hair grows really fast, I was never a fan of super long hair you cant do anything with

My natural hair is also quite thin, so much so that my dreads even after all these years get mistaken for braids, but I know tons of europeans who have grown their dreads naturally if they can you can too if you want.

I may have some advice for your boyfriend about the drying time. He should stop using 'boutique shampoos' and conditioners as they have 'moisturisers' added that just weigh down dread locks and can cause them to get a bit mildewy.

Buy some bicarbonate of soda add an egg cups worth to a big bowl/bucket of warm water, he should soak his dreads in that water ( he may have to do this a few times if he hasnt done it before) as this will remove all the build up the shampoos and conditioners have left in his hair it just floats to the top!!

Next add an egg cup of gentle dish washing detergent (the stuff thats kind to your skin -I kid you not) put it in a regular empty shampoo bottle and add water to the top so it very diluted.

He can use this to shampoo his hair! I guarantee the drying time of his hair will be more than halfed! It used to take a day for my shoulder length hair to dry, it now takes no more than an hour!!

Got the technique from this site http://www.nappturality.com/

Thanks for all your advice . I am sure your hair looks beautiful!

I don't think my bf has a lot of conditioner left in his hair. He usually washes it while showering with one of these 2 in 1 products (not shampoo and conditioner, but shampoo and shower cream) or sometimes regular shampoo, but never uses any additional treatment at all. So maybe he can skip that part to get the conditioner out of it .

So there would be no bicarbonate of soda mixed in the dishwashing detergent, right? Sorry English is not my first language, I am not sure if I understood it right. He would just wash his hair with dishwashing detergent mixed with water, correct? That sounds kinda scary . Isn't it dangerous if he gets it in his eyes?

Serious said:

I don't think my bf has a lot of conditioner left in his hair. He usually washes it while showering with one of these 2 in 1 products (not shampoo and conditioner, but shampoo and shower cream) or sometimes regular shampoo, but never uses any additional treatment at all. So maybe he can skip that part to get the conditioner out of it .

So there would be no bicarbonate of soda mixed in the dishwashing detergent, right? Sorry English is not my first language, I am not sure if I understood it right. He would just wash his hair with dishwashing detergent mixed with water, correct? That sounds kinda scary . Isn't it dangerous if he gets it in his eyes?

Hey Serious

The synthetic moisterisers in the shampoo showercreme he uses stays in his hair, which is why it takes so long to dry. The Bicarb soak will completely cleanse his dreads of all the residues the shower gel and Shampoo he uses to wash his hair leaves behind.

Personally I wouldnt add any bicarb to the detergent. But it is done by some people for an occassional deep clean of thick dreads if they dont want to do a soak.

Oh yes dishwashing detergent!! I should clarify that the detergent should be the mild hand dish washing detergent and no it doesnt sting anymore than regular shampoo does when it gets in your eyes - after all it's exactly the same ingredients as shampoo, just minus all the added moisturisers and perfumes!

Diluting it is important though, as it takes FOREVER to rinse out if you use it undiluted

paintedlady said:

Serious said:

I don't know how much it might be because of the work it might be, but dreads for example are not much work.

Umm, no. Dreadlocks do require maintenance... and depending on style, thickness, length and texture, sometimes VERY high maintenance. Most locked hair takes extremely long periods to dry also.

Nappy hair is usually over curly hair, but not every curl is the same so some nappy hair is more wire-like and has straighter qualities, so some folks have to constantly keep twirling their dreds daily for hours to keep the locks from looking frizzy. Also to prevent matting of the hair or locks clumping together.

[Edited 4/8/11 14:23pm]

Yep. Dread required a bit too much maintenance for me. I only had grown them out a short length, but it took work to keep them looking good. I cut them off and never looked back.

JOYJOY said:

Serious said:

I don't think my bf has a lot of conditioner left in his hair. He usually washes it while showering with one of these 2 in 1 products (not shampoo and conditioner, but shampoo and shower cream) or sometimes regular shampoo, but never uses any additional treatment at all. So maybe he can skip that part to get the conditioner out of it .

So there would be no bicarbonate of soda mixed in the dishwashing detergent, right? Sorry English is not my first language, I am not sure if I understood it right. He would just wash his hair with dishwashing detergent mixed with water, correct? That sounds kinda scary . Isn't it dangerous if he gets it in his eyes?

Hey Serious

The synthetic moisterisers in the shampoo showercreme he uses stays in his hair, which is why it takes so long to dry. The Bicarb soak will completely cleanse his dreads of all the residues the shower gel and Shampoo he uses to wash his hair leaves behind.

Personally I wouldnt add any bicarb to the detergent. But it is done by some people for an occassional deep clean of thick dreads if they dont want to do a soak.

Oh yes dishwashing detergent!! I should clarify that the detergent should be the mild hand dish washing detergent and no it doesnt sting anymore than regular shampoo does when it gets in your eyes - after all it's exactly the same ingredients as shampoo, just minus all the added moisturisers and perfumes!

Diluting it is important though, as it takes FOREVER to rinse out if you use it undiluted

I will tell him and see if he is willing to do that. I can imagine he'd be more willing to wash it with dishwashing detergent than to try to find the bicarb and take the time to buy it and soak it. At least he cannot use dishwashing detergents for diswahing machines as these are pretty much non-existant in his country .

Shawnt27 said:

paintedlady said:

Umm, no. Dreadlocks do require maintenance... and depending on style, thickness, length and texture, sometimes VERY high maintenance. Most locked hair takes extremely long periods to dry also.

Nappy hair is usually over curly hair, but not every curl is the same so some nappy hair is more wire-like and has straighter qualities, so some folks have to constantly keep twirling their dreds daily for hours to keep the locks from looking frizzy. Also to prevent matting of the hair or locks clumping together.

[Edited 4/8/11 14:23pm]

Yep. Dread required a bit too much maintenance for me. I only had grown them out a short length, but it took work to keep them looking good. I cut them off and never looked back.

Do you have any photos of you wearing dreads on fb?

Serious said:

I will tell him and see if he is willing to do that. I can imagine he'd be more willing to wash it with dishwashing detergent than to try to find the bicarb and take the time to buy it and soak it.

At least he cannot use dishwashing detergents for diswahing machines as these are pretty much non-existant in his country

My parents are from the Carribean - I hear you on that

JOYJOY said:

Serious said:

My parents are from the Carribean - I hear you on that



Not even the hotels have them .

Where are they from?

Serious said:

Shawnt27 said:

Yep. Dread required a bit too much maintenance for me. I only had grown them out a short length, but it took work to keep them looking good. I cut them off and never looked back.

Do you have any photos of you wearing dreads on fb?

Yeah I have some pictures of when I first start growing them. The album is called "My hair: the lost years"

[Edited 4/8/11 15:35pm]

i find that the white hair care products work WAY better on my hair

strange

alot of the black hair care product's dry out my hair

and believe me i tried them all

Shawnt27 said:

Serious said:

Do you have any photos of you wearing dreads on fb?

Yeah I have some pictures of when I first start growing them. The album is called "My hair: the lost years"

[Edited 4/8/11 15:35pm]

I will check them out wherever they might be hidden .

[Edited 4/8/11 15:40pm]

Serious said:

JOYJOY said:

My parents are from the Carribean - I hear you on that



Not even the hotels have them .

Where are they from?

From Jamaica

JOYJOY said:

Serious said:

Not even the hotels have them .

Where are they from?

From Jamaica

I have never been there, but I am sure it's beautiful.

As it is played everywhere all the time I have been listening to a lot of Jamaican music at least .

Shawnt27 said:

Serious said:

Do you have any photos of you wearing dreads on fb?

Yeah I have some pictures of when I first start growing them. The album is called "My hair: the lost years"

[Edited 4/8/11 15:35pm]

I remember the frustration and stress of maintaining baby dreads...

formallypickles said:

i find that the white hair care products work WAY better on my hair

strange

alot of the black hair care product's dry out my hair

and believe me i tried them all

When I still used shampoos, I used shampoos for european hair too!! (far far fewer chemicals in their products)

JOYJOY said:

paintedlady said:

Umm, no. Dreadlocks do require maintenance... and depending on style, thickness, length and texture, sometimes VERY high maintenance. Most locked hair takes extremely long periods to dry also.

Nappy hair is usually over curly hair, but not every curl is the same so some nappy hair is more wire-like and has straighter qualities, so some folks have to constantly keep twirling their dreds daily for hours to keep the locks from looking frizzy. Also to prevent matting of the hair or locks clumping together.

[Edited 4/8/11 14:23pm]

Hey Painted,

The twisting or interlocking is part of the locking process for those of us with neat cultivated dreads and this is a daily duty (like combing or brushing for non dreads)

very young dreadlocks (0 to 3 yrs old) can look very frizzy but the frizz eventually incorporates itself within the lock after a few years.

My niece can get a smooth and perfect looking locks with only 3" of hair... she has THE perfect texture for that look.

But yeah, the longer the hair the smoother the look.

I honestly believe that hair-styles in all communities are regional because of weather mostly

West coast ladies like cropped short funky looks that work well on hot days, do more color play... east coast ladies up north don't wear weaves that much and opt for more traditional roller/wrapped styles while ladies in the south love to wear weaves and switch things up often... and braids are a favorite summer time/vacation look for many women who want easy styling options and water friendly hair.

So with "black" hair, many women wear their hair according to weather patterns. Water hardness plays a huge part in condition of any hair also.

paintedlady said:

I honestly believe that hair-styles in all communities are regional because of weather mostly

West coast ladies like cropped short funky looks that work well on hot days, do more color play... east coast ladies up north don't wear weaves that much and opt for more traditional roller/wrapped styles while ladies in the south love to wear weaves and switch things up often... and braids are a favorite summer time/vacation look for many women who want easy styling options and water friendly hair.

So with "black" hair, many women wear their hair according to weather patterns. Water hardness plays a huge part in condition of any hair also.

Totallyagree!! My natural (non dreadlocked) hair behaved, felt and looked awesome when I was in Goa,or when I visited the Carribean!! I could just sweep it back in one and it stayed in place moisturised soft and curly.

When back in Europe if I even attempted to sweep it back into one, it would just side eye me, laugh, unravel then get super dry & crispy within 20mins..

*completely jealous of your niece's 3" of smooth locks*

JOYJOY said:

paintedlady said:

I honestly believe that hair-styles in all communities are regional because of weather mostly

West coast ladies like cropped short funky looks that work well on hot days, do more color play... east coast ladies up north don't wear weaves that much and opt for more traditional roller/wrapped styles while ladies in the south love to wear weaves and switch things up often... and braids are a favorite summer time/vacation look for many women who want easy styling options and water friendly hair.

So with "black" hair, many women wear their hair according to weather patterns. Water hardness plays a huge part in condition of any hair also.

Totallyagree!! My natural (non dreadlocked) hair behaved, felt and looked awesome when I was in Goa,or when I visited the Carribean!! I could just sweep it back in one and it stayed in place moisturised soft and curly.

When back in Europe if I even attempted to sweep it back into one, it would just side eye me, laugh, unravel then get super dry & crispy within 20mins..

*completely jealous of your niece's 3" of smooth locks*

Sista's from the UK suffered from the most brittle hair... they would come to our salon for treatments. Its the old cities and super old piping, very hard water there.

Now don't be jealous of my niece.. the little heffa relaxed her hair. Her mom made her. My sis is a pain in the ass with stuff like that.

Find out what the ph level is with your water and buy products to neutralize the ph.

If the water is alkaline then buy acidic shampoos and conditioners to balance things out.

My water here is 8.0 ... I have to use slightly acidic shampoos to counter act the hard water here also.

Love my hair whatever I do with it on different days. It's not a "lot of work" or hard to do. Its absolutely lovely and always looking fly as hell......thank you very much.

And no...black women do not all wear weaves. Who the fuck are you hanging around? My hair is down my back and fabulous. If you look closely, you will notice that just as many white women wear weaves as black people because their hair is often too thin and they need volume...its just not talked about as much.

I just want to know why the hell some folk are on here trying to talk like they know something........or why the hell somebody is asking stupid questions as if people of color are from outerspace.

Its hair....its fucking hair....and just like white people, there are many different textures and different ways of taking care of it--some folks take good care of their hair, and some folks look fucking busted. Race is not a factor.

I WHIP MY HAIR BACK AND FORTH!!! and its ALL mine...believe that

StillGotIt said:

And no...black women do not all wear weaves. Who the fuck are you hanging around?

I didn't say that all black women wear weaves. I said that I keep reading that it's a minority of black women who wear their hair au naturel (i.e. weaves, wigs or relaxer). And, here in Toronto, that's been my experience.

If you look closely, you will notice that just as many white women wear weaves as black people

That hasn't been my experience (and I do look closely). But I'm not looking for a fight.

I just want to know why...the hell somebody is asking stupid questions as if people of color are from outerspace.

I'd ask the same question if it was a phenomenon amongst white women in Peoria. My intention was to say this: 'It seems like societal pressure is inspiring a lot of women to do arduous and potentially painful things to their scalps. Have you ever considered just saying "Fuck convention" and going natural?'

I think that, if you ask people here, they'll tell you that I don't regard people of color as being "from outerspace". In fact, quite the opposite.