But...How Do Dreads Relate...?

I've been thinking about where I can make a home for my dreads in the blogging world for a while now.  I've got a number of blogs right now, possibly too many!  I'm really kind of trying to see which ones resonate with me and which ones don't.  I guess that's been part of the process with my dreads and my blog.  I need to figure out where they fall in the grand scheme of things.

So, why this blog?  Why is this the home for my dreading process, the journey my hair takes, and everything else?  What do dreads have to do with healthy and natural living anyway?

Well, that's kind of a complex subject.  Dreads are more than just a fashion choice.  They're more than just a hairstyle.  In many ways, dreads are a lifestyle choice.  They do take time to maintain.  They take a lot of effort and energy to put in.  The whole process isn't something you just do on a whim.  It takes a good deal of thought and consideration.  After all, why would you spend hours of time to put dreads in just to take them out again?  What about all the time it takes to get them out?  Then there's the cost for anyone who has them done at a salon, which can easily cost over $300.  That alone should be a deterrent for anyone who thinks they'll put them in to want them out a month or so later.  Dreads also take time to mature, so for the first few months, sometimes as much as the first year and a half, they're not going to look at all like the beautiful dreads of your dreams.  In many cases, they require maintenance and upkeep, unless you like the look of dreads by way of neglect.  This is a choice that takes a good deal of commitment.

On the subject of dreads being natural, in truth, they're the most natural thing you could do to your hair!  Think about it.  If you let your hair go without brushing it, without maintaining it, no conditioner or coloring and cutting, what is your hair going to do?  For most of us it will only be a matter of time before your hair begins to mat into one or several dreads.  I've actually seen a woman with one long dread down her back because her hair was so neglected.  Doesn't that kind of make the whole idea of dreading natural?  Yes, it may not be a case of just letting my hair do what it wants, but it's a natural process for hair.

As for healthy, I've heard a good deal of arguments that dreads aren't healthy because you don't wash them.  Well, I guess for some people that's entirely true.  There are the "dirty hippies" out there, and there are certainly a number of people who dread by neglect, not by choice, but by simple self neglect that get that end result of unclean hair.  However, most people with dreads do wash their hair.  However, instead of having to wash their hair several times each week, most people with dreads really only need to wash their hair once.  Often times that's just the roots cleaned with an organic bar soap and they only deep clean once every month.  That might be shocking for some who believe in showering once, sometimes even twice in one day!  Think of all that water getting wasted!

Did you know it may actually be healthier not to shower every day?  I remember being told by doctors when I was a teen that showering every day is actually bad for your skin and can weaken your immune system.  Our country has an obsession with sterilization and cleanliness which is actually reducing our bodies ability to cope with the diseases we come in contact with.  Here's another interesting tidbit, frequent washings with anti-bacterial soap kill off the good bacteria on our bodies, as well as leave almost twenty times more bacteria on our skin than we started with depending on the product!  Yes, the alcohol based ones do kill the bacteria, but that leaves our skin defenseless.  That bacteria is there for a reason.  We need it.  We use it!  If we didn't need it, it wouldn't be there!

As a result, showering less may actually be a good thing!  Of course, it's still good to clean your body after a work out and things like that.  No one wants to smell or actually be dirty, but for an average person's day of work sitting at a desk all day, there's no need to shower off the grime.  You haven't even gotten dirty!

In many cases, less frequent showers can be made up for in other means.  There's plenty of cleaners out there, like Dr. Bronner's, that can be used without ever needing to set foot in the shower or bath.  These save a good deal of money and our water supply!  It may seem foreign to wash your body with just a sponge bath, but these means are effective and healthy.  If they weren't, they would have been pulled from the market.  Washing hair with dreads can also be done in the same water conserving manner.  Many with dreads deep clean by soaking their dreads in a bowl of water mixed with baking soda and vinegar, sometimes including lemon or tea tree oil.  I even met one girl with dreads where that's all she did to clean them.  She never felt the need to go back and clean the roots unless she got really sweaty that day.

Another big question I've already gotten is whether or not my hair gets greasy.  Well, to be honest, it does.  My hair has always been the kind to get greasy unless well washed frequently.  I found when I kept my hair in braids that washing them out, they were a bit greasy and gross-feeling.  Taking out the wool extensions I've got to put in natural dreads, I'm finding the same to be the case.  The hair will get a bit more oily because most cleaners don't penetrate the dread well enough to wash out every last bit of oil.  However, a deep clean should take out most of the remaining oils in the hair, which is all that is really needed.

So are dreads healthy?  I think with all of that, they're definitely a healthy lifestyle choice!  Are they natural?  Of course?  Are they for everyone?  Definitely not.  My woolies have gotten me a lot of compliments all across town, but I've gotten some negative results too.  I'm sure going over to natural dreads is going to have much of the same results.  It's really a process, and in the earlier stages, I'm sure I'll be getting a lot more strange looks.  Dreads are not acceptable on all people for the work place either.  Many corporate environments take the stance that dreads on anyone other than an African-American man or woman is a choice of laziness, signifies something about their personal hygiene, or otherwise implies they will have poor work ethic.  This could be a challenge to overcome in the workplace.  People will treat you differently too!  Most people are very accepting, but that doesn't mean all will be.

Dreads require serious consideration, but if you believe the choice is right for you, take the several hours to put your dreads in, or do a handful at a time, and go for it!  It will be a healthy, natural choice for your hair that will simplify your daily routine!