I have waited a whole year to do this, you guys!
A year ago, I decided to go all natural – but in a different way. See, before that, I had relaxed hair and I loved it. Then, I went for my normal hair treatment routine and the relaxer that was used, affected my scalp. This experience was the deciding factor for me.
I love trying out new things and well, I am loving this new me. I trimmed it into a fringe, then trimmed it all and dyed the ends, and exactly a year ago, had dreadlocks installed.
When I had my dreadlocks done, I thought it would be the easiest option. No bad hair days, no hair straightening, and yes, I could swim without a swimming cap. I thought it didn’t need much care. Well, I was 50% right and 50% wrong. Okay, maybe 40:60.
Good dreadlock installation is expensive. I had to pay an arm and a leg to get my dreads installed at one of the best salons in town. I got mine installed at Ksh3500. Every three weeks after my installation saw me back to the salon for a retouch that would cost me another Ksh1500. My ‘loctician’ at that time would do a fairly okay job, I just didn’t feel he was giving it his all.
And so after a few retouches there, I was introduced to a different ‘loctician’ that I have stuck with to date. For retouch, I pay close to half what I was paying on the other side, and he does a good job. You can see his whole heart, soul, and mind dedicated to your hair, as he works on it. (If you need his contacts, send me a message and I’ll link you to him). Other than dreadlocks, he does other styles too.
Anyway, so my locs actually became natural locs after about 6 months. All through this first year, I have been retouching every three weeks and taking a break to do braids or something. I love the versatility and so after two retouch sessions, I get my dreads plaited. This has helped in making them thinner (because I always wanted thin locs), and slightly longer. We can actually do a short pony without any of them falling off!
In turning one, I spritzed them up a little, and well, there’s color now!
The journey has been great! I am not sure how long I’ll have them for, but for now, I am enjoying them quite a lot.
One thing that this journey has taught me is to find yourself a good ‘loctician’ and stick with them. Most of them are men (I find they do a better job).
It’s the easier version of having natural hair. With all these natural hair products in the market (detangler, pre-shampoo, shampoo…and the likes) dreads don’t need all these. Choose products that will work for you and stick with them. A good shampoo, conditioner, and butter will do the trick for you.
Lastly, always be sure to get them worked on at least 4-6 weeks in. They look so unkempt when not done after quite some time. Choose a duration that works for you depending on your hair growth rate.
I am now a dread head and loving every moment of it.
What’s your take on dreadlocks and dread heads? Would you install them?
Until next time, all my love
