My Dreadlocks.

I've had my dreads for nearly a year now and I've got to say that I love them more every day.

I've read a lot on the web about dreadlocks, what they symbolise, who should wear them, their history, cultural, social and spiritual significance and I've got to say that there's a lot of people out there with some funny ideas about hair. Although I do agree that how we wear our hair is an expression of identity, I must disagree with the idea that hair represents the sort of person you are. In relation to dreadlocks, there are a lot of stereotypes and characteristics attached, such as lazy, smelly, pot-smoking, rasta, hippy, earth-mother, deep, etc, and a lot of people look at my hair and think that I'm some sort of dirty hippy, (not thats theres anything wrong with being a dirty hippy, I am a hippy, just not a dirty one). They just see my hair and nothing else. Some people just cant believe that I would willingly dread my hair, they come up to me and are like "how could you do that to your hair, you've always had such beautiful hair and now look at it". Although really annoying, I do find these sort of comments quite amusing. "Its still the same beautiful hair,"I say, " just in a different style". Its like dreadlocks are a whole different thing, not just a style of wearing hair.
I must concede however that although dreadlocks are just a hairstyle, there is also something deeper in them. For me it was a big decision to dread my hair because I knew that for quite a long period of time my hair would look a bit mental and having two parttime jobs this did worry me a bit. I was concerned with what people would think and what sort of response I would get from my colleagues. i knew that dreads would take a long time to mature and really lock, so I had to be sure that it was what I really wanted to do. I thought about it for quite a long time and after researching the best way to do it, I decided to do it. I decided to do it because I love deadlocks so much. i think they are just beautiful. Whenever I see someone with dreads I just have to stare at them because I love the look of them so much. To me they really bring out the beauty in peoples faces and evoke feelings of mystery, naturalness and wisdom. I love the feel and texture of dreads to, they're so lumpy and strong, like rope, yet soft.
To me, and many others, dreads symbolise strength: strength of mind because you have the courage to leave your hair in its natural state, in a style that is frowned upon by society and physical strength because although a single hair is quite strong, knotted, twisted, matted hair is like rope. Let us not forget that Samson who was one of the strongest men in biblical times had dreadlocks, "hair like rope", and only lost his strength when Delilah cut his hair. I feel stronger because of my dreads because I know that I am not succumbing to social and cultural pressures that dictate how we wear our hair. I have the resilience to not care if people think I'm a freak, I am a freak.
I have also noticed that on the web there seems to be a lot of misinformation about dreadlocks and their history. Some people seem to think that dreadlocks are only to be worn by Rastafarians or people of African descent, and that white people with dreads are guilty of cultural (mis)appropriation. To these people I say, before combs and brushes all peoples had dreadlocks. I am Irish, and therefore a Celt. The Celts are one of the oldest tribes in Europe and we have always had matted hair. When the Romans tried to conquer Ireland, they were scared off by the wild Irish with their matted hair. My dreads are part of my cultural heritage and identity and I too am a wild Celtic warrior who commands and demands respect.
For every person who gives me negative comments about my hair, there are 5 more who complement me on it. Strangers often stop me on the street or at work to ask me how I did my hair, or to tell me how beautiful my hair is. This is one of the many benefits of having dreads. And when I see someone else with dreads, I always feel a sense of commradary and commonality with them. Its like you share some sense of identity with them.
I love my hair, I love my dreads. They're so cool and I feel great having them. If you are encouraged by this and would like to have dreads then I recommend checking out DreadHeadHQ and KnottyBoy for instructions on how to acheive phat dreads and products to help grow them and decorate them.