How to start dreads: Sectioning?

      Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog. If you read my first post (and hopefully you did), you know a little bit about me, my dreads and what I learned from starting them a bunch of different times. I want to try to guide you on this dreadlock journey ahead, and provide you with the knowledge you need to have them look the way you want. Like I said before, dreads aren't for everyone, and they take an immense amount of patience, but once they're started,  they can really turn out. If you're still seriously considering dreadlocks, that's great :) Maybe they're for you. And if that's the case, read on!

      If you've read up a little bit on dreadlocks or watched a few how-to videos on YouTube, I'm sure you've heard the word sectioning. Some say sectioning is really important, and some don't even do it. First let me explain what sectioning is, and how to do it before I give you my personal opinions on whether it helps or not.  Sectioning is the process of creating the blueprints for your dreads to grow into. It's done by taking a comb and marking small squares or circles on your head establishing where the dreads are going to be. Most people with salon dreads have them done this way, and use a grid (or pattern) to map them out. Here are the most common grids to use, although in no way are you limited to just using these.

      It looks a bit funky, but if you take your hair piece by piece, and tie each end off with a rubber band, it'll end up looking the way it's supposed to. This is what your hair would look like if you sectioned them, but haven't dreaded them yet.

      Another really important thing to remember is the size of the grid ovals or squares you make. Most Salon dreads and professionals say you should have half inch sections for dreads, but it all really depends on how thick or bulky you want your dreads to become. I wanted really fat dreads, and I "sectioned" my hair into rough 1-1.5 inch squares. My dreads are pretty huge now, and they keep getting bigger with age, which I kind of like because I prefer natural looking, fatter dreads. If I were to go back, I would only do one inch squares (because my dreads are HUGE at the root). This is however all a preference, and no small thing will decide the fate of your dreads, so don't worry too much.

These are dreads that have just been finished that are sectioned. 

      Once the hair starts maturing, she would cut the rubber bands out and the roots would become dreads as well. If the hair is mantained, then you will be able to still see the sections of hair. 

    In my opinion,  I don't think sectioning is THAT important in dreadlocks. It changes the overall look, and depending on what. You want them to look like, you may want to try it. But if your just going for that natural look, grab some hair and start dreading :)

To dread, or not to dread...

      Hey everyone and welcome to my blog. This is more or less of a lifestyle blog, but mostly I will be covering dreadlock tips, tricks, and styles as well as answering any questions you may have. Before we start, I would like to graciously thank you for visiting my blog, and hope you stick around for more. I am so exited to start this, so let's go!

      First, some context. I started out with hair straighter than the Ohio republican Convention attendees, which is pretty hard to work with for dreads. 

      And I also had no idea what I was doing, I just knew I really wanted fat dreads, but had no idea the patience that goes into it.  My first set of dreads was , to put politely,  a nightmare. They were half braided, half back combed and completely wild. My mom, (who doesn't like dreads to begin with), almost cried at the sight of the stringy mess that fell from my head. 

      This picture does not do it justice--they were reallllly bad. I combed them out and started a new set, this time using back comb, then combed those out as well and did the twist and rip method (I'll go into each method further later on). So, after many hours of tearful combing and hair jerking, I made a set I was happy with and have had them for 2 years. I learned a lot from making mistakes over and over again, (DO NOT USE WAX), and  feel I have a lot of knowledge in this area.

      If you are considering dreads, there are some things you should know before. 

1. They are a long term agreement. A set of good, mature dreads may take as much as a year and a half to really start looking like good dreads (also depending on the method), and besides that, you may want to keep them longer before you comb or cut them out. You should make sure dreads are what you want, and seriously consider the time commitment before starting them on a whim.

2. People WILL make judgements of you.  Of course, people always judge you, but with dreads there seems to be common judgements (or misjudgments) that you are going to have to deal with. One is that you don't bathe. Some people assume that the only way to get dreads is to not wash your hair for long enough, and your hair will naturally clump up. As true as this may be, most dreads now a days are NOT made that way, nor should they be, as a health hazard. As a dread head, you will always have to answer the question of whether or not you wash your hair. Another judgment people make is that you smoke a loooot of pot. Whether it's true or not, it ups your street cred, but you have to be aware of this in job interviews and school. 

3. People will stare. You will stand out as a dread head from the crowd and although it's nice to be complimented at stop lights and the grocery store, you have to know that you are going to be looked at ALL the time , good day or not. 

      And that covers the dreadlock essentials before starting. I hope this post has helped you in some way, and if you have any questions about my dreads, or some things to know before dreads, leave a comment or email me at iamtheonlyhollis@gmail.com.

I really appreciate you checking this out, and hope you stick around for more.