Dreadlock Myths busted

1. Only Black People can have dreadlocks. Anyone can have dreadlocks, though it is easier to with some hair textures than with others. IT's very possible to lock caucasian hair
2. Dreadlocks represent rebellion or drastic opinions. I guess India Arie is the one who said "I'm not my hair". Some people have dreadlocks because they love the hairstyle, others as a tradition due to where they come from while others are just experimenting.
3. Dreadlocks should be left dirty and should never be washed. Locks like any other hairstyle needs to be well maintained and part of that maintainance includes washing. Locks are on your scalp and involve your hair, meaning, the sweat on your scalp accumulates in the hair together with all the dirt from the environement leading to the locks stinking and looking really horrible.
4. Dreadlocks drain out your body weight. There is no direct connection between body weight and length of hair. Ofcourse when you are healthy you have healthier hair but it doesn't mean you will never grow fat because you have dreadlocks.
5. Locks are for Rastas only. Locks are like any other hairstyle and considering it's a free world, anyone can have them.
6.Mayonnaise, Honey, Toothpaste, Glue, Rubber Cement, Mud, Chewing Gum, Peanut Butter, Shea Butter,and Candle Wax all work great for starting dreadlocks. This is just plain wrong. What will your hair smell like with all these stuff in it? Please do not try this at home. Have mercy on your beautiful hair
7.Locks damage your scalp. Quite on the contrary. Locks are very natural, you just wash and twist, meaning you never damage your scalp with relaxers, or pulling hence relaxing you scalp. Just give your head a massage once in a while and you will be surprised at how relaxing it is compared to perming and braiding
8. You have to cut your hair to get rid of locks. Today with the amount of products in the market, you can undo the locks anytime and maintain the wonderful length attained during the locking stage, just soak the locks in V05 conditioner and comb them out.

My Journey to Hair Locking

My fascination with locks began when I first watched "Sarafina" the movie about Freedom in South Africa. Whoopi Goldberg was the first person I had ever seen with that kind of hairstyle. After the movie I asked my mum what Whoopi had done to her hair and whether I could do that to. At that age and the kind of mentality held against people with dreadlocks, my mother wasn't going to think of doing it to my hair. SO I kept up with the blowdrying, braiding, cornrows and nights when I couldn't sleep cause my head hurt from the tight braiding. Arrggghhh it was all a bother, then I went to high school, and I decided to relax my hair. Relaxing hair is a complex issue and I salute anyone who can maintain beautiful relaxed hair without a hairdresser. Mine with or without the hairdresser was just a problem. It cut and I decided to cut if further, at first it was difficult to see my hair go, but as my mum says, Hair will always grow back. When it regrew, I cut it again and let it remain Afro. After high school I finally decided to lock my hair.
The multitude of opinions concerning dreadlocks made me rethink the idea for a while, but I took the leap of faith and locked it. I love my locks, they are easy to maintain, complex to understand and just fabulous.
Are you still wondering whether to make the BIG Decision or not? Believe me, I love my locks and I do not regret a moment of having them.