Dreadlock'd up for the new year!

I finally got my dreads done today! After making my mind up earlier on this year, I got them in the end…it wasn’t easy though! But nothing worthwhile ever really is…

I first had to cut off the majority of my treated hair, I didn’t have any such attachment to it, but I must admit, its scary witnessing your hair being chopped off...all those years growing it and with one silent swift snip, the wisps of shinny treated curls that once covered your head are laying limp on the floor, leaving you ‘naked’...I have always thought females with short hair quite brave, they must be very confident in who they are, and how they look, no need for a tousle of hair to crop, hide, sweep, cover their face, distracting the eye from fully taking in their facial features…

Its not the first time I’ve erratically decided to cut my hair. Once when I was a little girl, I decided to cut a chunk of my long natural hair that my nanny and aunties had slaved over to grow. Just like that, without second thought, I decided that I wanted short hair like daddy. lol. actually thinking back, you could question my gender identification and role models (?!?)...
Well, point is, I’ve never felt too bad about cutting my hair, and have had an aesthetic preference for short hair, ever since I was a child...I think its spunky, and hence matches my character quite well, wouldn’t you agree??

Convincing my mum about the dreads the biggest obstacle, because if she doesn’t like the idea, she won’t give me money, and without the money, no dreads! So I went and did my research, pointed out women with dreads who still manage to look smart and orderly, and assuring her that I know all the implications and consequences that come with ‘such hairstyles’, and most importantly I’m not turning Rastafarian!!!

Honestly, Rastafarianism is more than a dreadlock thing, it’s a ‘conception of the heart’ like the song says, and the same goes for dreads, dreadlocks is more than just a Rastafarian thing!

To me, it’s working with what I have, building onto to make myself stronger. Let me break it down for you: I've never had my hair straightened and it lasts long, even with the chemicals, after a week and a good few washes, it starts getting tangled and knotted. I got tired of this, and tired of always braiding (it’s so tight, and I use fake hair when I already got a mass of thick hair, it just didn’t make sense to me) so I decided to work with my kinky mass of super tangled afro hair, instead of work against them.

Also, as I went through my little identity crisis this year, i realized our image of beauty (this goes for African women) is so messed up! All the weaves, extensions, coloring and fake hair just to have long Muzungu/Caucasian hair...why? When there is so much we can do with our natural hair, that is different, but beautiful all the same! Let it be kinky and wild, like our spirits, let it grow rich and dark towards the heavens! (I love South Africans for this, the way they wear thier black hair is so creative and proud)

Metaphorically, taking the knots and kinks in my hair and making them into strong long dreadlocks symbolizes taking the lemons of life and turning them into lemonade! Using those obstacles that life throws at you sometimes to build upon and make yourself stronger.

A great way to start the New Year, right? All dreadlocked up for 2009!
P.S. 1st pic is of me in plaits with my own hair, and second is of me and my dreads! I plan to grow them and make them bigger/thicker as time goes by…