My 8 YEARS of Dreadlocks Update!

Greetings! Salutations! Hello! and WELCOME to my 8 years of dreadlocks update!

Yes it’s official, I’ve now had dreadlocks for over 8 years - well, a little while over 8 years now, this video is quite late! I haven’t really known what to say - I still don’t know what I’m going to say!

8 Years, sounds weird to hear out loud - I’ve had dreadlocks for longer than some people have been alive… although there are some people who’ve had dreadlocks longer than I’ve been alive! I thought maybe I’d give a quick run down on the history of my dreadlocks. 

I started my dreadlocks just before my 15th birthday, with backcombing and beeswax my dreadlocks journey began. I had no idea what I was doing… hence the acceptance of the beeswax I suppose. There was a steep learning curve, many mistakes were made… again, the beeswax. Fortunately from mistakes comes learning… not to make the same mistakes again. My negative experiences with products and maintenance lead me to begin to completely neglect my hair - for months not even washing it. I was pretty unhappy with my dreadlocks for quite a long time, the waxy mess with protruding loops at the roots - I think the only reason I stuck with them is because I was stubborn and didn’t want the people who had bashed dreadlocks before I started to be proven right. At some point something strange happened, like a flower growing up through the dirt I began to become aware of the new growth locking at my roots - this hair, untouched by wax, unaffected by attempts and maintenance grow in fresh. Something you learn is that no matter how badly you treat the dreadlocks, the new growth will be unaffected, and given enough time and patience you can restore your dreads.After the 2 year mark I began trimming, heavily. I usually make quite the point to say it’s a months of dreadlocks or years of dreadlocks update rather than specifically stating that any particular part of my dreadlocks are of a certain age. I removed all the length that had ever been waxed. I spent years tormented by the length that did not form or change as it should, instead the movement and maturity restricted by the wax. Despite having straightened, soaked and even boiled the dreadlocks - all exterior evidence of the wax had been removed - but cutting inside revealed it still lurking in the core, so I cut it all off. Everything I’m left with now is just new growth that has been steadily growing on it’s own from the roots over the years.

I think somewhere along the way I stopped thinking of dreadlocks in the sense of them being a finite thing - like here are my dreadlocks - instead now I just think of it as, I grow dreadlocks, I’ve been growing dreadlocks for 8 years. I don’t get overly attached to any specific length or any specific part of the dreadlocks, more just an attachment to the idea of allowing the hair to form as it wants.

So it’s been 8 years now, I started out just before I turned 15, earlier this month I turned 23. I’ve changed a lot over the last 8 years, had to make a lot of important decisions as to the direction of my life - I’m not sure 14 year old me would recognise anything other than the dreadlocks, however I think the dreadlocks have positively influenced my life and I’m glad I started them and that I continue to grow them. 

So thank you guys for joining me for my 8 year update, running Lazy Dreads has definitely been one of the highlights of my dreadlock journey. I’ve loved sharing my experiences and sharing in your experiences. I’ve been running this page for 2 and half years, I hope to see many more years out of my dreadlocks and many more years of Lazy Dreads.

Cheers.