Thursday, September 24, 2009

Homemade synthetic dreads

Here is a small video of my first three (experimental) dreads and the synthetic extensions I made and attatched all by myself! Not too shabby! I think this is going to work!

I am still awaiting my hair which I ordered from buyhair.co.uk .

If you are wondering what the heck I am doing in the video, I am trying to show you where the extension starts on each dread, what each one looks like up close, and finally, to show you how the tips turned out. Remember, I had just finished doing both the dreads and the extensions. So, they are completely fresh. Not bad really, in my opinion, especially given the fact that the synthetic hair was straight, silky hair, and my natural hair in the back there is not nappy at all (and also has been relaxed). I am experimenting with different techniques for making both the dreads and the extensions and with ways to get them attached so that they look natural. I will be sharing my conclusions pretty soon. But for now, adieu! and enjoy. (I'd be interested in any feedback or comments should you care to share!)


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Brief Aside

Just a note. This is not actually my blog. I am just one of the authors. It actually is the property of Vincent Faini, one of my best friends and my exercise guru (when I can pin him down). I just sort of hi-jacked the blog for my own purposes because I noticed nothing had ever been done with it, and I had a sudden need for a place to share this important dreadlock-related information. Thus, do not be surprised if I have to move it all to another URL one day soon. Ok. That's all I had to say today on that subject. Thanks, y'all!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Dreadlock Tutorials

I did a lot of looking around the internet for written tutorials on how to make dreadlocks. I figured there might be good, educational info in these that might be missing in the above videos and...sure enough! In addition, a couple of the sites on which I found these tutorials had FAQ pages that answered a lot of questions I hadn't even thought of yet. I have listed them below in no particular order as I feel they are all great sites in terms of wealth of information. Personally, I think one should read all of them thoroughly (and watch the videos), and then come to one's own conclusions about how to make your dreads. The reason I would not recommend any one over the other is that there are many equally valid ways to go about making dreads. Different methods are probably more effective in different situations (i.e., hair length, texture, etc.).

So, here they are...

The Best Dreadlock Tutorials on the Internet!!! (according to me, anyway!)



http://www.knottyboy.com/

http://www.dreadheadhq.com/

http://www.doctoredlocks.com/

http://www.dreadlocks.com/

http://www.perfectdreadlocks.com/

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Dreadlocks: My present mission possible


Mission:
to dread my hair and add long, synthetic extensions.

Obstacles
: lack of any experience with dreading hair, lack of money ($300-400) to get it done by a professional, (mostly) straightened hair.
Advantages: hair that just loves to knot up on its own, about 3" new growth, a good friend, free time, a seriously motivating sense of desperation about my hair.



I have done a bunch of research on how to do this. There are many, many ways to make dreadlocks, and each person has their own little (or big) twist to add. Not to be outdone in adding to the confusion, I have come up with a plan as to how I am going to make my (hopefully) beautiful, long, thin dreads come into being. This section of Our Mission Possible will be devoted to documenting this process and the subsequent progress of my locs.

It also remains to be seen whether or not they are strong enough to stand the test of time. I believe they will. In addition, there is the question of adding synthetic hair as permanent extensions to my natural hair. I have done a few experimental locks on myself to test it all out, and they look very natural.

I have a great friend who is good with black hair and is willing to spend some time on this project with me. Good thing too 'cause, from the looks of it, it is a very long process. Since neither of us has ever done this before, I have watched many You Tube videos on the subject and read many an article. I made up a playlist of the videos I believe will be the most helpful, and here it is!


Next post on this project will probably be some links to articles I think will be helpful.