All Knotted Up (The Dread Blog)

As promised, here is the blog about dreading.

The History of Dreads:

First a brief history, because, well, I like history and I think it can in many cases give us all a very good sense of self and where we stand in relation to the past and the rest of the world. Moreover, it in this case--as it does in relation to many other subjects--clears up some popular misconceptions.

The oldest known examples of people wearing dreads date back to ancient Egypt. The evidence of this, in the form of art and the mummified remains of these ancient people, indicate that it was a hairstyle worn by royalty, clergy, and commoners alike. Some during this time even went as far as to create and wear wigs of dreaded hair. It is difficult to know for certain, but it is believed that there was a spiritual connotation connected to the style or at least to the wigs. Since it was the practices of the priests and others who served in the temples to keep their heads shaven and either bare or covered with wigs.

There are certainly many other historical and present day examples of dreads being in some manner connected to religion or spirituality, the most well-known example of which being the Rastafari. Who are also from where dreadlocks get their modern name. In the 1930s, the followers of one of this religions earlier sects ceased the copying of the way in which Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia wore his hair and took instead to locking their hair. It was commented by outsiders and the opposition to the movement that they looked dreadful in their locks, though this witty terminology was not actually recorded until the 1950s. The Rastafarians themselves claim the term is in reference to their fear of God or the 'fear locked' warriors of the Mau Mau uprising. Why exactly this hairstyle was preferred over others is as hard to nail down as the meaning behind the new name they were given. Some believe it was the influence of the Indians who were among Leonard Howell’s first followers. Others think the locks of the Kikuyu, who largely made up the Mau Mau, was a determining factor. Either way it is clearly meant as a rejection of popular Europeanized hairstyles.

Hindu worshipers of the dreadheaded god Shiva are also among the most enduring examples of non-African dreads, which their scripture calls jaTaa or the wearing of twisted locks of hair. They wear them both as an imitation of their deity, but also as a rejection and neglect of the physical in favor of the spiritual. The Dervishes are likely the second most enduring and well-known groups that actively dread their hair, but of course, because of their equally famous hats their hair, dreaded or not, is not usually visible.

Early Christians too join the Rastafarians, Hindu, and Dervish among the ranks of the religiously dreaded. the most notable dread wearers among them being James the Just, brother of Jesus and first Bishop of Jerusalem, and John the Baptist. This was likely in part a hold over from Christianity being born out of Judaism, which also has figures of holy dreadness. Samson and Samuel being the most well-known scriptural figures.

The lost or forgotten dreaded people of history quite literally span the rest of the globe. Roman accounts state many of the Celts had hair like snakes, no doubt a reference to dreadlocks. The Aztec of Mexico are described by the early Spanish conquistadors as having matted and flowing locks. Other little known or understood examples of people in dreads resided in the history of the Vikings, the Greeks, The wealthy classes of China, the people of the Pacific islands, and some Germanic tribes.

The Ways of Dreading:

Those with very curly and/or course hair have the easiest time of dreading their hair, because hair of this nature has an easier time of knotting up and holding the knots once they form. Some people with this type of hair have to do little else but twist or palm roll their hair to form dreads and can start them with a much shorter length of hair then those without can. However, as history and modern trends show anyone with any hair type can have dreads.

With the historical reasons for dreads understood it is not surprising that the best-known method of dreading is the so-called neglect method. This method, such as it is, is basically the suspension of all hair related grooming. When you see folks with dreads of uneven thickness mixed in with undreaded and dirty hair this is usually the method they went with. One way to avoid uneven dreads by use of this method is to section off and put the hair it into braids before neglecting it, but this too has large pitfalls. If bands are used to hold the ends of the braids together this can greatly slow the already long knotting process associated with this method. The hair will also always retain a somewhat twisted appearance and resemble braids. Braids or not this method quickly lives up to its history and does not produce an all together aesthetically pleasing look. I can also lead to scalp irritation and other scalp related problems.

The faster and thereby preferred method is the backcombing method. If you are familiar with the teasing method of achieving the big hair styles of the 1980’s, backcombing won’t be all that foreign of a concept to you, but for those too young to know about teasing it is basically using reverse comb strokes to frizz or in the cause of dreading knot up the hair. The hair is backcombed in section roughly the size and spaced in the manner that that the wearer wants their dreads. It is best to use a metal comb with tightly spaced teeth. A lice comb, which can be purchased at most drug stores, is ideal, but plastic combs may also be used. Each section, once it has been backcombed and is thoroughly matted, is then coated with hair wax, twisted, and palm-rolled. Palm-rolling can best be described as the same movement as rubbing your hands together to keep them warm, only with a dread clasp between them. When this processed is finished a hot blow drier should be run over the hair to melt the wax and help it get into the core of the locks where it can best do its job of holding together the dreads while they continue to knot.

No matter which method is used or what type of hair a person has dreads are always a work in progress.

Wax, if used, will need to be reapplied. Usually new dreads require a light coat of wax twice a week. Palm-rolling is for most a daily part of maintaining dreads.

New hair growth has to be addressed by some manner of incorporating it into the existing dreads. Backcombing at the root can be used to achieve this. Alternatively, what is referred to as the crochet method can be employed to tighten the dreads to the scalp. This is basically taking the end of a dread and running it between the loose hairs at the top of itself. Crochet needles or standard needles with enlarged eyes can be used to simplify the process, but if a person as long nails and/or small fingers it can easily be done by hand. Great care has to be taken though that the dread is not run through the same area and in the same direction consecutively to avoid creating a forked and twisted appearance at its base.

Dreads can and should be washed on a regular basis, but the use of special dreading shampoo is suggested. Nearly all other shampoos contain conditioners and detangles, which can of course work to undo dreads.

My Dreads, My Choice:

Like most other Westerners I didn’t choose to dread my hair for any religious or spiritual reason, though since I am a Satanist and Satanism is a religion based around fulfilling the ego and the self and my dreads make me very happy I could very well argue that I did. Then too by that logic I could argue that nearly everything I do is for a religious reason.

I won’t be doing that, because holy Hell would that ever be fucking annoying!

My fascination with dreads goes back some ways. My study into the subject, as is displayed here, has been extensive. I have wanted them for years, basically since the late 1980s when Lisa Bonet returned to her role as Denise Huxtable on the Cosby show with those long beautiful dreads that reached down to the small of her back.

Early this year I began to research all possible methods and products. It took me nearly six months to settle my mind on the subject and commit myself to the journey. Yes, dreads are a journey, even if not a spiritual one. This is not a hairstyle for the sort of person that likes to change their hair monthly or even yearly. Nor is it something that is achieved over night… though with the right products you can greatly speed things along and have your dreads presentable in hardly no time.

The dreading process and products I finally settled on was the backcombing method and the styling and care products of a Canadian based company named Knotty Boy. Details about the company and their product line can be found through their website, knottyboy.com

They have in their existing line two different colors of dreading wax. One for blonde/light brown hair and one for dark brown/black. I having dark blonde hair and naturally chose the wax designed for lighter shades. The wax comes in jars and is quite solid in nature. It comes out of the jar easily enough with the aid of a butter knife of similar device and becomes soft in the hands almost immediately. I also purchased a bar of their dread shampoo. They offer it in liquid form as well.

My main issue with the wax I received is the way in which it rubs off onto everything the hair touches and quickly coated the flesh of my back and shoulders. I was aware going in that this would happen to some degree, but quickly found it to be more of a sticky situation then I or my sensitive skin could endure. The other problem was that the wax I purchased is nearly pure white in color and when it had set it left the hair at the base of my dreads, where they were not originally as tightly knotted as the rest and slightly frizzy, with an almost gray appearance. It might have been my twenty-ninth birthday, but I’m not quite ready to be a blue-haired old lady.

I have since the first application used very little of the wax, except in small amounts on the body and ends, and have used the crochet method to tighten and hold the base of my dreads together. There is still a considerable amount of wax within the core of my dreads doing its job of helping them to bind together, but thankfully my light use of the wax has left them dry.

The backcombing method itself was not difficult. My hair is very straight, but was also very long. The length has made matting and keeping the hair mattered a much more easy task then those with shorter hair, even curly hair, would find it. I was only able to persuaded one person to aid me in this process and over the course of two days and it two sitting it took nearly thirteen hours to complete the whole of the job. As can be imagined having someone combing, twisting, and other wise pulling out your hair for that many hours leaves one with a mammoth headache. I am not sure how much ibuprofen I consumed during these time, but I can nearly promise you it was more then the recommended dosage.

Due to the irritations the wax was causing me I did not wait the full time suggested before washing my new dreads for the first time. I instead washed them when they were a day or so shy of being a week old. This did cause them to loosen up considerable, but with use of palm-rolling and the crochet method they were easily reshaped and tightened. I have since washed them about every other day. Further loosening has occurred, but not to as profound a degree as what the first washing caused and in fact with the last couple of washing it has been hardly noticeable.

Other problems I’ve faced included the forking of two of my dreads. One is forked at the tip and I’ve come to accept and love it for its unusual nature. The other forked at the base and I eventually, with use of a pair of small scissors and great care, split it the rest of the way down and created from it two smaller dreads. The crochet method has also lent itself to the creating of problems. When applying this method it is important to be sure that you do not run the tip of a dread through any part of the base of another. Doing so can bind the dreads together and cause painful pulling of the hair. I have twice had to trim away sections of hair and rework them back into the base of their original dread, but I’m becoming more mastered in this technique with practice.

Sleeping, dressing, and other daily activities have also been affected. My experience of sleeping with a head full of dreads I can best liken to napping on a rope hammock. In fact in general dreads feel like ropes against your skin and body. Some might find this sensation annoying or uncomfortable, but those who know me well shouldn't be shocked that I find it most… simulating.