My five-year mission: to explore strange new hairstyles, to seek out ways to keep locks neat and clean, to boldly go where no man has gone before with dreadlocks.
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?
Egads, what on earth am I doing this for? Why do I want dreadlocks? It's an important question, part of the whole mental-preparation process. This video is definitely worth ten minutes of your time if you want to dread your hair. I'll clue you in below if it's not worth spending ten minutes.
As Jonny Clean explains, knowing why I want dreadlocks is going to make it easier, because the reason will give me the commitment and the will to get through the hard parts. For the first six months that's going to include:
The long day of initial locking
Daily palm-rolling of locks and checking for loose hairs
Weekly waxing
Regular washing, every two or three days for most of the process
My reason, and my commitment, will also carry me through as I learn to explain my hair, answer questions which I'm sure will get tiresome ("You wash your hair?" "Yes, I just can't use the chemical crap on most stores shelves because the residues will cause rot and mildew."), and potentially deal with bias or discrimination based on my appearance.
Writing a book about it isn't going to cut it - that's too circular. For me, like many people, this is going to be a spiritual journey. 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.
Where the journey will take me after that is unknown - and that's part of the fun. I like being surprised.
It looks like this will be happening in about a week or so, although the full cast and crew hasn't been lined up yet.
Maybe it's just a way to have a midlife crisis that costs less than buying a sports car and a new mail-order bride, but I have decided to lock my hair, as in dreadlocks. I'm also going to write about the experience . . . how it gets done, what it's like to have and maintain dreadlocks, and most importantly, how it shapes how people perceive and interact with me.
That last part - chronicling those perceptions - inspires the name of this project. Dread Like Me is a play on Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin's story of how he became black in order to experience racial oppression in the southern United States. 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?
Of course, I've also worked with attorneys who have locks, and it didn't keep them from commanding respect, so maybe it's more than just the wearing of the hair that forms those perceptions. The name is also rhymes with Dead Like Me, which is a bonus. Maybe the creators of that show wanted to remind people of Black Like Me; I don't know, I just had the idea this moment.
I'm a writer whose greatest challenge is finding things to write about, so I'm hoping I can milk an ebook or maybe even a publishing deal out of this idea. Can't hurt to try, hmm?
, John Howard Griffin's story of how he became black in order to experience racial oppression in the southern United States. 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?