First, I'm home for the first time in almost a year, so people are seeing them in person. They are horrified that I've tied my hair up in knots. They worry that it won't be the same "beautiful, curly hair" it was before. Let me tell you, people, that is NOT the case! It is precisely because my hair has its same texture, curl, and mind of its own that my dreads are so difficult to maintain.
Before I got dreads in October, my hair did what it wanted. I had pretty much learned ways to tame it sufficiently so that we were working together like a team, but my hair has its own personality. I used to be able to direct it in ways I was happy with only every couple of days. Other times, I just settled for it looking decent, not amazing. Then I experimented with dreadlocks. I have kept my hair contained and in the same positions for 8 months. It is rebelling fiercely by this time.
Little pieces are pulling out. New growth is not knotting up. The locks look like they have tumors from where curls have bulged out the sides, and I have little straggly curls around my face and neck because they won't stay knotted into the strands. After the wedding I'm a bridesmaid for in May, I'm not going to worry about maintaining the dreads any more. That's it! I throw up my hands in surrender.
Second, I'm running out of supplies, and I'm too cheap to buy more. So yes, it's the end of an era. I've got that itch thoroughly scratched, and I'm done trying to tame my hair while shock the world all at once. Don't worry, my hair may be shorter when the dreads are out, but it will still be my hair completely, and it will grow back. :)
