March 2012
27 posts
e doing them badly but i found it really helpful to watch them and see what i liked about what each one showed and what i didnt. so exciting to get to start someones journey :) let me know how things go if you feel like it! namaste :)
Second part of your response, thanks!
hey! im not an expert either but over the past many months (before and after starting my dreads) i have done a lot of research on them. i have pin straight (wouldnt even take to a perm) smooth hair, and mine has locked up nicely! i suggest just backcombing tightly and you can do a little pulling (kinda like twist and rip but dont twist.) to compact the knots youre making with the backcombing together, but thats not even necessary. youtube has a lot of examples of people doing them well and peopl
This 2-part advice doesn’t really need an answer but I wanted your tips to be out there…thank you!
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The Big Stick →
dreadedrepublican.wordpress.com
My musings on why I believe that a smaller military would better serve the Republican values of energy independence and national security.
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Criticism of my 'Nature vs Nurture' Dreadlock Experiment
Some great points here about how valid my testing method is. I have a couple of comments which I will add below the “read more” link.
A little while ago I stumblred (my new word for stumbling upon something on tumblr that I just invented because I’m so bloody clever) across the blog of a pretty neat sounding experiment by the user dreadlikeme.tumblr.com. There is a lot of debate in some corners of the dreadlock world about whether or not WAX is bad for your hair. The ‘Nature Vs Nurture’ experiment intends to test this argument by pitting one side of his hair against the other - one will be allowed to mature ‘naturally’, the other will be maintained with wax and other generally frowned-upon methods. Ding, ding! Round one! Sounds like a worthy test, right? Well, unfortunately - as nice as I’m sure this man with an awesome moustache is - the experiment is littered with erroneous bits of information that compromise the accuracy of the results. I am going to tackle those key points with this post.
Firstly, a bit about me just so you know who I am and why the hell I think I have any authority on the subject. I’ve had dreadlocks for a combined eight years over two sets and am a moderator on a very active Dreadlock forum (dreadlocktruth.com), so I have seen the progression of hundreds of sets and answered thousands of questions (and you can see my own locks here: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/hereticmag/IMG_0636.jpg). So my knowledge is based on what I’ve seen happen rather than just warnings or rumours posted online and is echoed by the core of the forum. So anyway, let’s get to some of the points that need addressing.
- Wax is hidden. Yes, that is what I’ve heard. Can’t tell until you cut them off! That’s fine — I’m planning on doing that down the line, and then we will see. Most “truth” experts believe that waxed locks won’t last more than 3-4 years and I’m planning on keeping these for five, so if they fall apart, that’s pretty clear and damning evidence against wax.
- Not a real test because I started with wax on both sides. First, to clarify the timing: I waxed for three months, stopped entirely for five months, and began this test in January. I won’t know what they would have looked like completely untouched, but I’ve had a lot of growth over the past seven months, which has not been waxed whatsoever (although some of them got a single root flip). This will certainly show a comparison.
- Spreading misinformation. This seems to be based on the assumption that my conclusion will be that the wax was okay. I don’t know that. I don’t see that this test is skewed that way, either. If half my locks falls out, or are revealed to be mildewing and slimy and stinky, won’t that prove something?
As I said when I planned this test:
It won’t be exactly scientific, but at least it will be systematic.
Perhaps even more importantly, I’m pretty sure that I’m overusing wax, and that one of the problems is that even if it can be used responsibly, it’s very difficult to do.
Hope that helps clarify my position. Keep up the critical analysis!
Thanks for your reply - due to the character limit in the 'ask' box I decided to write up a more thorough response to your experiment on my page. If you want to reply to it or share on your own blog, go ahead. Also, happy to tell you that you CAN comb out dreadlocks - I've combed out two peoples sets myself, both of which were 4 years old. Takes a lot of time (and conditioner) but it's possible.
Well it makes sense that conditioner, enemy of all dreadlocks, is the way to destroy them. Sounds disgusting!
I definitely appreciate the intention, but do you realise that this is a wholly flawed experiment? Most of the 'negative' effects of Wax are to do with the fact that it stays in your hair and builds a nasty, disgusting core whilst not greatly benefiting the process so unless you plan to comb out both sides at the end to 'judge' then you're not tackling the problem. Also, 'natural' dreadlocks are considered to be dreads left to dread up by themselves... you started your whole head by waxing so...
Excellent question! It deserves a two-part answer:
1 - My plan for the test is six months but I expect to keep the locks for five years. The anti-wax crowd warns that my locks won’t last more than three or four years because of what I did to them, so 5 years is a good test. I have read that there are ways to unlock hair, and I want to try one out and see if it works. (I’m skeptical.) When I do that, I can cut off a lock or two from each side to see what it looks like in the core.
2 - Yes, I started waxing all over. Wax adherents (yep, that’s a pun) don’t expect me to use the stuff forever, so if they are right and wax is wholesome, I should see no problems when I look at the core, right? And if they’re wrong, or I have overused it by their rules, then the nurture side should reveal much more damage.
2a - Another theory is that dread shampoo is designed to strip out wax. I just finished my supply and will not be getting more. So, if it does remove wax, there shouldn’t be any more in the nature side, and it should start building up faster than ever on the nurture side.
“if I could have an awesome mustache and dreads I’d be soooo happy”
— comment made about me on Facebook, by a woman who knows me only by my profile pic.
Another reason for dreadlocks: chef hats →
dreadlikeme.blogspot.com
“So if I am opposed to abortion, why don’t I feel persecuted, like so many people of the Roman Catholic faith do over this issue? It’s simple: I’m pro-choice. My religion trusts people to make good decisions. I don’t have the stomach for abortion, but abortion isn’t about my stomach — it’s about a woman’s uterus. As strong as my feelings are, I have neither the moral nor the religious right to impose them upon somebody else.”
—Notes from a dreaded Republican
