I had dreads in high school - I *loved* them! I did them myself (bleached my hair first to 'rough it up' a little, I usually have shampoo-commercial hair and can't even tease it when it's in good nick) and they lasted months. I did comb them out when I grew tired of them but it was HARD. It literally took days of sitting there with a fine-toothed tail comb and bottles and bottles of conditioner to help smooth it out while I combed each dread from the bottom up... and it took a few weeks for my hair to recover from the ordeal. Most people end up just cutting them out as it's a lot of effort and the damage is irreparable in most cases.
I'm in the process of cutting out the damaged hair from bleaching, I know it breaks one's heart to go the chop due to damage but it really is the best way! I've just had another cut today and I'm rocking a really shaggy bob/crop with a big fringe - it looks super cute (if I do say so myself!) and if I maintain it for a few months, I will get rid of the dead hair and can start growing it out again, but with that shampoo-commercial hair I used to have!
Dreads are awesome and I think they look amazing, mine never smelled (and I hardly ever wash my hair, even without dreads it's like, once a fortnight when I can be bothered) and they really were quite easy to maintain. But as I and others have said, it's pretty much prolonging the inevitable - the dreaded chop!
Good luck with the decision... at least it's only hair, right? Grows back and all that... bah who am I kidding, I *love* my hair and hate to see it snipped off! xx
Once upon a time Dh had dreadlocks. I did them for him and they were easy to do. they are pretty easy to maintain, but yup they do take a few months to get them looking great. For his hair which was thick and long, and he wanted smallish sized ones, it took a complete viewing of 'saving private ryan' before they were finished. car wise, he kept them washed and tidy. they never smelt too bad, he worked in a kitchen so they had a bit of a kitchen smell to them that never came out... But you didnt notice that until you smelt his hair up close!
In the end, at DH's request, I cut them out. But I only cut them half way them combed them out using heaps of cheap conditioner. At least that way it was shaved off. It looked good in the end and only took a bottle of wine to completely get rid of them.
Many moons ago my DH had gorgeous dreadlocks. He had them for a few years. Then he changed jobs and started working with young children. He got nits. And, sadly, the quickest and easiest way to deal with it was to chop off the dreads.
Good luck with your decision-making.
isn't there a chemical hairdressers use for dreads?? I'm pretty sure it fuses the hair together... anyway you can't brush those ones out XD
My hubby used to have "natural" onces. I brushed those damn things out about 4 times... 4-5 hours each time. So... make sure you're sure cos they're a PITA to get out!
I agree with glam tho, I recently got all my hair chopped into a concave bob. it is much much more healthier now, and manageable.
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