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?

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.

End of the line, DreadHeadHQ Dread Shampoo!

I've been waiting for this day for months:  I have finally run out of dreadlock shampoo. How cool is that?

Shampoo is the one thing that I can't really use on just half my head.  That means that if this proprietary product is having a deleterious effect, I won't notice a difference from one side to the other.  No good!

Now I've read (sadly I can't find where at the moment) that the dreadlock wax business depends upon products that remove wax in order to survive.  If that's true, then I should think that my nurtured locks will be impacted.  There should be more hardening of those locks, and I should be able to detect surface wax for longer periods of time.

I'm now using a natural shampoo recipe which was my staple before I started this madcap adventure, and which I understand is a pretty common one for dreadlock care.  However, according to this article on waxing dreadlocks, a baking soda and vinegar regimen can also be used to remove wax, so it's possible that I won't see the buildup I'm expecting.  But maybe this combo will work better at wax removal than the shampoo.  Not sure how I would demonstrate that, but feedback is welcome!

Nature vs Nurture: Some visual differences emerge

I need to become better at taking pictures of my hair.  Close-up pictures that lets you see exactly what it is that I'm talking about.  But hey, if I can't paint a picture with words then the seas will rise anyway.

People, at least when they're prompted, say that they notice a difference between the sides of my head, and they can identify which side I'm leaving alone and which I'm futzing with.  I couldn't figure out how to embed the online version.

Here's a quick table laying out what I'm doing with each side of my head.

	Nature side	Nurture side
Lemon-saltwater spray	Yes	Yes
Wax	No	Yes
Palmrolling	No	Yes
Crochet hooking	No	Yes
Clockwise rubbing	No	Yes
Lock Pepa	No	Yes
Rubber bands	No	Yes
Split-and-twist	No	No
Dread Shampoo	Yes	Yes
Separating	No	Yes

Some things it's hard to do on just one side, like shampoo and the saltwater spray.  The latter (lemon juice and sea salt in water, spritz after bathing) is a replacement for a product, and the naturalists seem to like it so I'll stick with it.  The shampoo I'm going to use until it runs out, but I have ideas for a more meaningful replacement when that time comes.

I know there's an actual term for the technique I called "split-and-twist," but I forget what it is.  It involves parting the unlocked hair at the base of the lock and feeding the entire lock through the opening.  I'm holding off on doing this to tighten the bases, as I've heard that weakens the locks and I would rather look into that separately.

Speaking of separately, "separating" simply means cutting or breaking strands from one lock which get stuck in another.  I'm curious to see if my nurture locks will start to grow together.

PS - if you desperately need a fix about my dreadlocks and I haven't posted in awhile, check out the Dread Like Me YouTube playlist.  From time to time I'm in a visual mood instead of a writing one.

Nature vs nurture dreadlock test

This is a better name than the "half-headed challenge," but sometimes it takes awhile for my brain to catch up with itself.

As I gear up for the nature vs nurture dreadlock test, I'm winding down on my residue-free shampoo.  This probably isn't a bad thing, because I'm finding it's harder and harder to rinse it out on the first try. As wholesome as it is, I'm going to move to a baking-soda based shampoo once that stuff is gone, and use it on both sides.  I'll post the recipe for it and the vinegar rinse at some point.