So, around Christmas-time, Ben asked me what I though about dread locks. "I don't know," I answered, "I think they're kind of cool." "Would you ever wear them?" he asked. ""Maybe," I said.
I looked up dread locks and found these two awesome websites for info and products. http://www.dreadlocks.com/start.html
http://www.dreadheadhq.com/index.php
I looked up tons of pictures on flickr. I really like the skinny dreads with beads and colorful strings and things added in. I LOVE the twisty updos done with dreaded hair.
I know that to keep them looking nice I would have to do some maintenance - some rolling and waxing and stuff. But, I think I could maintain them (wash and wax and roll, etc) one day a week. The other days - I could just hop out of bed and tie them up or not!
So - I've been gearing up to buy a dread kit and ask some good friends to spend a day combing and hanging out with me.
Then, a couple days ago, Ben told me he's really been having second thoughts about me dreading my hair. What???? He's the one who has to look at me and like what he sees for the rest of his life . . .
Then he asked me what I was most excited for about dreads. I was/am excited about not having to wash my hair every day for it to not look gross (I don't blow-dry my hair - so I feel like my hair is wet for about 1/2 of every day). The fact that dreads make thin hair look thicker! They are different! I like the earthy, simple, free-spirited feeling that dreads seem to invoke. I like the idea of adding the colorful bits and beads.
Look at this pic. I like, like, like.
"OK," Ben asks me, "would a fun short hair-cut do some of the same things? What about something like this or this or this?"
Hmmmmm. Well - short wash time, short dry time. I could just throw in some gel or paste or goo and shake it up and go. I could add some beads and strings to it. It would be fun. It would be different. I know that if I go that short, I would need to keep it trimmed up, often, or it would get to a frustrating length. It needs to be short enough to stay out of my face and off my neck - or long enough to pull back. As I thought about an easy, breezy cut, the idea started to grow on me . . .
I know I'm going to do something with my hair. Soon. I have been letting it go since before Christmas - not trimming it - because I wanted it as long as possible before I dreaded it. So the ends are getting really straggly. And I don't want to just trim it. I want to do something. My hair has been the way it is for about 10 years. I chopped it off chin length once - and hated it. But it was an annoying length - not long enough to put up, not short enough to stay out of my way . . .
Ben laughed when I said that I was going to ask all of you what you think. And he told me that he's not opposed to dreads, he just doesn't want them to get fuzzy, out-of-control and gross looking. I told him if I do them, I'm going to maintain them. I don't want gross hair, either!
Edited to add :: I think that whatever I do is going to be all or nothing. If I cut it of - it's gone! If I dread it - it's dreaded. I thought about just trying the dreads - but, if I do them, I'm going to invest in about $75 worth of dread shampoo and wax and stuff to help comb them in properly - so they look right! It will also take a lot of hours to get them in. Thinking that I may cut them off . . . I know. It's just hair. But either choice is a big commitment!
So - a penny for your thoughts. A virtual penny that is. :) What do you think about my hair???
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Triathlon Training Day Three ::
60 step-ups on an 18-inch high box
20 pushups
15 tricep pushups
80 crunches