***Ignore the time stamps on the pictures, I messed up!***
Hello!
My dread journey began May 18th, 2015. I used the backcomb and crochet method because my dreads need to be relatively neat for professional reasons. I’m taking A LOT of pictures because I want to keep track of my progress. I’ve wanted dreads for many, many years but it never felt like the right time. I kept changing my mind but my husband finally said “just do it, don’t live your life regretting that you didn’t”. So I did it! And I love them! Without further ado, here is my journey thus far:
BEFORE DREADS:
This is a picture from a year ago. I dyed my hair black. My real hair colour is actually light brown. I don’t plan on dying my hair anymore.
2 WEEKS BEFORE DREADS
My hair is a little longer than shoulder length. I used the vitamin C and head and shoulders shampoo method to try and get some of the black to fade. To my surprise, it only worked on the top part of my head.
SECTIONING
I decided to use the brick pattern because it seemed the easiest. Thankfully my husband spent many hours sectioning the hair for me and stood by as I poked myself with a tiny crochet needle over and over.
1 year later: If I could change one thing, it would be the sectioning. We should have taken more time to make the sections even. Oh well!
FINISHED
Here are a few views. It was 4am and I just wanted to sleep… but that didn’t happen. Mistake number 1 – I left rubber bands on my roots. I barely got any sleep because my scalp was so sore. I woke up early the next morning and cut them out. Instant relief.
I’ve decided to leave the ends wispy.
3 DAYS
I decided to wash my hair because it was unbearably itchy. I didn’t do anything to prepare my hair for dreads so I think my scalp was going through shock. They are starting to lay down a bit.
2 WEEKS
The frizz is already beginning. They feel wonderful and I am absolutely in love with them. I love waking up in the morning and not having to brush/wash my hair.
1 MONTH
Holy frizz! I am shocked to see the amount of frizz seeing as I have very straight hair. Oh well, it’s all part of the game. Palm rolling doesn’t seem to be helping.
Frizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
2 MONTHS
Mistake number 2 – I decided to do some crochet maintenance on my roots and dreads. In retrospect, I should have just let them be. You live and you learn. Testing out our new lens – NIKON 35mm
Please excuse the dandruff >.< My scalp is still getting used to being washed once a week.
2 AND A HALF MONTHS
Time flies when you’re watching dreadlocks mature! Just kidding, it’s the slowest thing ever. But patience is rewarding. As of this month, I am now dandruff free! Falling in love with them more and more every day. However, I think I’m going to comb out the giant dread in the center of my crown. It’s starting to hurt when I sleep on my back.
Also, decorations! 🙂
3 HALF MONTHS
I took these pictures a few days ago. I have a few zigzags but no loops yet. I decided to comb out my big dread and make three smaller dreads out of it. It’s much more comfortable now and they dry faster.
4 MONTH UPDATE!
School has begun, so I’m a little more bothered by the messy hair. Here they are!
I am a little worried about the weak spots in my dreads. I hope they fix themselves soon.
You can really see the different colors!
5 AND A HALF MONTH UPDATE!
I woke up this morning and suddenly realized that my hair is actually starting to feel like dreads! They’ve gotten much thicker and I am so happy with them! I went through a period where I was a little annoyed with them because nothing seemed to be changing. But now I’m absolutely convinced that I will have dreads for many, many years. Here are some recent pictures. They were taken on Halloween (hence the white and yellow string). I was dressed as Snapchat.
7 months!!
Not much has changed in the last month. I’ve recently won a dreadlock contest (first time I ever win a contest!) and will be receiving some human hair extensions and dread beads. Hopefully I get them in before month 8!! They never sent my prize 😦 Needless to say, I won’t be buying extensions from that company…
Here are a few pictures after a wash.
I made this hat 🙂
Before and after my ACV rinse. I was using Knotty Boy’s dreadlock shampoo bar but I never liked the smell or the way it made my hair feel. I just ordered Trader Joe’s tea tree shampoo (had to order it through Amazon because there are no Trader Joe’s in Canada) so I’ll post an update on that soon!
8 months
Welcome to Canada – where it’s still really cold. Took advantage of the sunny day and took some pictures outside. They are getting pretty messy.
It’s only taken 8 months to come up with a decent updo…
9 months
Nothing much has changed since then anyways. My husband says that I’ve gained a little bit of length! Personally I don’t see it, but they do feel thicker. All I see is a giant mess. I’ve got an insane amount of loose hair at my roots. It’s time to do some light maintenance. I’ve seen some professional maintenance done on a few dreadheads and I was pretty disappointed. It looked too tight and “fake” because they tucked every last hair into the dread. So I’m just going to do the maintenance myself with the same crochet hook that I started my dreads with. I’m only going to do some maintenance on the roots. So next month, they will be a little neater!
Look at this freakin’ mess!!
10 months!
Oh they feel so much better now that they are a little less messy! I tried to wait until 12 months but I just couldn’t wait anymore. I have to look somewhat professional for my work; I couldn’t just wear a bandana every day.
They are really coming along! Sometimes I wish I had made smaller sections though. Even though we sectioned them before we dreaded them, it feels like a lot of them are huge while other are tiny. Oh well, just gotta go with the flow.
Finally got myself a “hippie” sweater 🙂
My favorite dreads – I didn’t want to “fix” them with the crochet hook. I’m just letting them do their own thing.
So close to a year old!
11 months
I think they are getting longer! They are definitely getting thicker!
12 months!!!
It’s finally been a year!!!!
Feels like such a long year yet it went by so quickly. Much has changed in the past year. I still love my dreads and I don’t plan on taking them out any time soon! This summer, I will be spending a lot of time outside so I plan on trying new things such as bleaching my hair with lemon juice. I’m also going to keep spraying them with sea salt spray in hopes of getting them to mature even faster. For those of you who have been following since day 1, thank you!
If I had to guess, I’d say I’ve gained about an inch in the past year. Which is pretty good, considering the shrinkage!
Day 3 vs Week 3 Vs Month 3 Vs 1 year
Hello again! I haven’t posted any pictures in a while. Teaching full time is keeping me pretty busy. Here are a few recent shots:
This shot was taken in October, so my dreads are about a year and a half here.
This was the first snow of the year so they are a year and 7 months here. My mom bought me a ring that was too small for my fingers so I put it in my hair instead!
Dreads at about a year and 8 months here. They seems to be getting longer 🙂
Canadian Hikers 