meet my dreads

Can you spot 'em? There's 6 beauties on ma head! The first dread I made is named Fred the Dread, the rest don't really have names. Some friends have already asked if they can 'sponsor' one. I guess that would be cool. They could like, give me special beads or something to claim their turf. Some people make their dreads in one long grueling 20 hour day that involves lots of movies, sour candy and alcohol. By the end, their helpers/friends have either fallen asleep, abandoned the cause or worse, done a shitty back-combing job on the last twelve dreads because they just wanted to be done. To me, it sounds like a good way to lose good friends.

I've opted for the slower process for many reasons. One, because it's a journey I'm embarking on, not a quick-fix hairstyle that the salon will undo in a month or two. The pace that I take to form my dreads reflects the pace that I'm taking these days - with everything. Another reason? because I'm using an all-natural, crochet method which takes a lot of time and lovin'. No nasty waxes, peanut butter or just plain neglect. I'm keeping 'em clean, healthy and full of love. These dreadies have been forming more than 2 years in my head, what's the rush now? The last reason, which is one I don't really love, is because where I (and most people) live, dreads come with a lot of mis- and pre-conceptions. I'm in the process of getting a job that's important to me and I fear the school board wont be too happy with the full head. At this point, I can tie my hair up and it's quite nice - even for the grandmas.