A year ago: scared to shampoo

I left the mirror steamy as a courtesy

A year ago today I was nervous about washing my hair.  It was the first time I was going to try it after the locking, and I had to wear a stocking to make sure I didn't rip them apart.  My hair sucked up shampoo like Jewish cooking does salt, and then, hours later, after they were finally dry, I had to wax them again.

If you're one of those people who believes that white people shouldn't have dreadlocks because all the extra work should be telling us something, you're preaching to the choir here.  By this time a year ago, I realized that making and maintaining dreadlocks, at least using my chosen methods, was much more work than I'd ever done on my hair before.

Of course, I also was starting to have more fun with my silly hair.  I asked a dreadlock poll question which had such epic rhymes that thirteen people have answered since I asked it a year ago.  How cool is that?

One year later, I'm still spending more time than I should be on my locks (well, on half my dreadlocks anyway), and I'm pretty much done with that.  Once this test period ends next month, I will be very, very glad to neglect my locks like a normal person.

5 Reasons Why People Wax Dreadlocks

If you're considering waxing dreadlocks, be advised:  you're about to step into a big pile of hot wax yourself.  Waxing is very controversial, and passionate, intelligent people argue for and against it.  I finally decided to test it out on my own head to benefit people who are thinking about getting dreadlocks.

But the controversy doesn't have much effect on the decision to use wax.  I've compiled these reasons why people use wax in their dreadlocks to help explain why.

1. Google loves wax.  Do a search for "dreadlocks" and what do you see?  If you're like me, your eye drifts down past the paid results, and because I'm looking for more in-depth information, right on past Wikipedia, and I click on Dreadlocks.com.  That site gives a bunch of advice, and has prominent links to DreadHeadHQ, which is where I got my start.
   Bottom line:  sites which advocate wax come up higher in search engine results.
2. Wax replaces patience.  "If you want tighter locks faster, you will use wax."  Dreadlocks, like yoga, is all about patience, but there are plenty of people who are interested in getting the results in as short a time as possible.  If someone wants it badly enough, he or she will decide that the information supporting wax is more compelling than the warnings against it.
   Bottom line:  People believe what they want to believe.
3. Smooth is sexy.  Locking hair involves a lot of fuzzy areas.  Getting dreadlocks tight and smooth is a goal for a lot of people, because it is easier to maintain a clean, simple profile with mature locks.  Fuzzy gets connected with dirty in peoples' mind for some reason.  Smooth, not so much.  Wax can indisputably create less of a flyaway appearance, and that's something a lot of people value.
   Bottom line:  People like the look of waxed locks.



Short dreadlocks laugh at gravity

4. Waxed locks behave.  I've had my locks for a year now, and those first few months were rough!  I had to cover my hair or beat it into submission on days when I simply couldn't afford to look ridiculous.  (There were plenty of times when I actually reveled in how silly my hair looked, but it definitely was ridiculous.)  I used a bunch of techniques, including hats, water, and wax in various combinations, one of which I would not recommend.  A small amount of wax in a dreadlock makes it go where you want it to.  If a waxy core really does build up inside a waxed lock, it's not enough to make it permanently into a bendy figure.
   Bottom line:  Wax gets young locks to lie flat.
5. Marketing.  What wax opponents wish wasn't true is that marketing matters.  Every tale told about the horrors of wax may be true, or they could shameless anti-wax rumors, but none of that matters.  What matters is that dreadlock wax is marketed to fulfill a perceived need.  The information is easier to find, and its reported benefits speak to the desires of a wide swath of people.  Opposition to waxing has little to no money, and without a profit motive it also lacks a really cohesive strategy which would link its facts to the desires people have.  In the "industrialized world," people are programmed to seek out the product which will solve the problem in the most efficient way.  That solution doesn't have to be effective, it just has to be convincing.
   Bottom line:  Marketing works because people want the easy answer.

For every argument against wax, there is a plausible counterargument.  It can be frustrating to try to figure out the truth.  The one thing that is absolutely true is that no harm will come to your hair because you choose not to wax your dreadlocks.  Using wax might make them lock faster, or it could put them on the path to ruin, depending on what you choose to believe.  The truth probably is more complex, containing aspects of both sides of the story.

When it comes down to it, wax is a personal decision.  Some people don't ever know it has baggage, and other people don't care.  There will always be waxers, and those who try to talk them out of it.  Which will you be?

A year ago: Styracosaurus

Something about constant, low-grade pain must make my creative juices flow, because the post I wrote a year ago about my first day with dreadlocks is a really entertaining read.

Don't let the smile fool you.

After I warmed [the wax] and worked it in, Robin took the blow dryer to it so it would melt andreally get in there. The heat was enough on my inflamed scalp to make me gnash my teeth and rend my clothing, which is why I'm glad I was wearing a high-quality sweater from L.L. Bean, for it was quite resistant to rending.

In amongst the colorful language I used to complain about how much my scalp hurt, there is an interesting insight:  on Day One, my locks were about three inches long, and the first inch (at the base) wasn't locked.

Down locks are happier

One year later, my locks are 5-7 inches long, and the first inch or two isn't locked.  When I compare the nature and nurture sides, the length is about the same, but natural locks have a longer unlocked base -- they're the ones hovering at about two inches.  I don't think it's logical to believe that wax makes the difference, and I stopped experimenting with root flipping before I started this test, so that's not it, either.  I believe the bands I have used at the base of the locks (which also make it harder to measure how much is unlocked, so I focused on those locks without them at the moment) are helping the bases lock faster.

I kind of miss looking like a spiky dinosaur, but I don't think I could afford enough wax to make that happen again.  Maybe armature wire?

A year ago: What's on TV?

A year ago I sat mostly still for something like six to eight hours as my wife yanked a metal comb through my hair over and over and over again.  Getting ready I was excitedly picking movie selections, and in summary the day looked more or less like this:

. . . which doesn't even remotely begin to capture how horrible it felt, but I really needed to grin and bear it.

One year later I have locks that stay put, and are older than some of the things in my life.

It's obvious that my video skills are still not even close to as cool as my wife's.

A year ago: excitement builds!

A year ago I was nearing the day when my hair would be forced into submission.  I had researched how to lock my caucasian hair, and was convinced that my best choice would be to get a "dread kit" from one of the product suppliers.  A friend of mine, intrigued by this wacky hair-as-art-experiment, started talking it up.

One year later, I am well aware that there are more locking options than I had realized.  I've learned that wax, in particular, is very controversial, and I'm well into a test of dread wax and other techniques to see if they are as good, or bad, as some people say.

A year ago: pondering patience

A year ago I was asking myself the question, "Why do I want dreadlocks?"  I rambled a bit, but my answer came down to one word:  patience.

 Where it starts will be with a desire to learn more patience, which is one of the reasons I admire trees and other plants as much as I do.  Trees can only adapt to the world by using one tool:  slow, methodical growth.  In comparison, blooming flowers and ripening vegetables in the garden seem swift, but gardens themselves are best improved year over year in the long haul.

One year later, I haven't made so much headway on the whole patience thing.  I got tired of using wax, tired of not using wax, and then decided to do both.

Rubber bands

I've been careful to only use rubber bands on my nurture side, but I figured it was one of the more extreme things I'm doing.  I mean, what harm could a rubber band do?

When my friend Tim was thinking about locks, I offered him some of my excess bands for sectioning off the hair.  He agreed that having locks of roughly even thickness was what he wanted.  (We also spoke about wax, and I'll be coming back to that in a post soon.  There are more reasons people choose to use wax than some people recognize.)

So I was surprised when Tim told me he was not using bands, because he'd heard that they "cause clumping."  My immediate reaction was to ask, "Isn't that the point?"

I think what Tim had heard is that bands can cause thin spots and break hairs.  If they're too tight, yup, they can.  It's his choice, but I still think that rubber bands are not likely to be harmful, and the fact that I won't use them on the nature side is mostly me being extra cautious, in case I'm wrong.

A year ago: is my hair long enough?

My hair was free to roam.

A year ago today, I was fretting over my hair.  I'd made up my mind that I was going to lock it, but I wasn't sure if it was long enough yet.  My patience being what it is, I didn't want to wait.  I rationalized moving fast:

The main advantage of locking the hair when it's shorter is that it will take less time for my dreadful friends to help me.  The backcombing process can take six hours for 18 inches of hair, and is painful and tiring.

One year later, I know I wrote those words, but oh, I did not understand the meaning of "painful and tiring" when I posted that passage.  Nope, not by a long shot.

I daresay the locks have grown some.

My worries were for naught -- my locks have endured, despite the short hair we started with, and the controversial waxing, crocheting, and all the other hoo-hah that's been going into my nature-vs-nurture test.

And my hair has grown longer, too, but what I not sure 100% sure of is how much more they've locked in the past 50 weeks.  Living with them day after day makes it harder to notice change, and I'm not really sure how to measure it.

My friend Amanda Catherine, who hadn't seen me in a couple of months, just told me that my locks are lookin' fine, so that was a nice boost.  (I'll have her reason for dreadlocks posted here as soon as I can get her to hold still long enough to tell me about it.)

One thing I'm positive about is that I hate the length of my hair this April.  To much volume for a hat, not enough length to tie it back.  Of course, the milestone that everyone with locked hair looks forward to is being able to use a lock to tie back the rest of the hair.  At the base of my neck, my longest locks are about three inches, so that's going to be awhile.  Some people have told me that it's easier to shave the back of the neck than to get that hair to lock, but it's steady as she goes.

Reason #19: always wanted them

Tim is another one who has wanted to lock his hair for awhile.

A year ago: blogging begins

A year and two days ago I launched this blog with my first, tentative reasons for dreadlocks.

I know that there's a good amount of negative stereotyping and perceptions about dreadlocks, mostly because I've shared a lot of those perceptions myself.  People who wear dreadlocks are dirty, aimless people who can't get a job, right?

All the hat I ever needed

Even though I was considering them, I really didn't like looking at locked hair.  I would glance the way people do at naked bodies in a public locker room:  curious, but not wanting to stare.  The staring would have been in part from fascination, but at least a little from revulsion.  Even though I had been thinking about them for quite awhile, my emotional reaction that they must be dirty was still mixing it up with the new, more rational understanding that washing locks is not only possible, but a really good idea.  I definitely had a knee-jerk reaction against locks, so much so that my second post, the following day, chronicled how I wanted to hide my dreadlocks once I had them.

When I can't be bothered, it looks like this.

One year later, I look at dreadlocks.  I talk to people about them, asking their reasons for dreadlocks (and please, do send in your reason if you've got one).  It's a conversation starter, and it doesn't feel awkward to me anymore.

One year later, my hat can still fit all of my hair, but not without it looking like I have a beastly occipital bone tumor. While pulling it back right now makes me look like a mangy chicken, a ponytail holder working with my hat pulls off something of a round head profile.

This post is the beginning of a new, regular feature for this blog, called one year later.  In each post, instead of simply talking about myself, I will talk about how I was talking about myself a year ago, and then talk about how differently I talk about myself now than I did then.  I hope that this feature will allow me to create new, self-absorbed content with a minimum of effort, while avoiding a metaphysical feedback loop which could eliminate all traces of me from the space-time continuum.

Luckily for you, my reader, if I fail you will never have read any of this in the first place.