The Crunchy Life

Okay, so I know I already did a blog on dread adornment, but I was so excited by my newest purchase (so new, in fact, that I haven’t even received it in the mail yet) that I felt compelled to make another post about them! Unfortunately, the bead that had purchased that inspired the original post about dread adornment had to be returned. The hole was just too big… as much as I didn’t want it to be, LOL.

I have come up with a ‘theme’ for the next several dread adornments I purchase. With the knowledge that dreadlocks are a sponge for energy and in the interest of balance I decided I want to acquire four beads (maybe five?) to represent the four/five elements; water, air, fire, and earth. For whatever reason I had been really drawn to beads incorporating a theme of the ocean or water so I figured that was a prime place to start.

I was THRILLED when I happened across the awesomely awesome Etsy shop, Beatle Baby Glass Works. whose work, in my humble opinion just completely personifies the element of water. She has mastered the ability to capture the depth of water, using dichroic glass to mimick the effect of sunlight glittering on its surface. The organic, free-flowing shape of her work seemed to communicate the amazing power and force of water. It was just so breath-takingly beautiful and perfect that I had to send her a message asking if she would custom-make me a dread bead. She didn’t have anything with a hole that size so I didn’t know if it would be possible, but she immediately jumped at the opportunity and ideas that I had.

Within 24 hours she had created a bead for me that was just gorgeous, but I stupidly said that it wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind and asked her if she would be willing to try again. Her second try was a no-go… not up to her standards. The third and fourth tries were also beautiful, but by the time she had come around to those I had fallen further in love with the first bead she had made. Although I loved the others, I was ready to take the first bead. In the end it was just too perfect not to!

In the process I inspired her to create a section in her shop for large hole/dread beads, so if you have dreadies yourself you should give her shop a look-see as her stuff is just AMAZING. She told me she is thinking of trying to make fire beads, too, which I’m SUPER excited about in lieu of my idea of a decorating ‘theme’ for my dreads.

On top of that I have also commissioned KnottySleeves on Etsy to create a peyote stitch dread tube for me. Her peyote stitching is the highest quality, most creative ones I’ve been able to locate online. I will post photos of that when I get them, too!

So, to round things out here I am going to wrap up with a video I created on how to use your Loose Hair Tool to help you put on dread adornments. (I wrote a whole other blog entry about the LHT and how to use it to tidy up your dreads.... check it out, too!)^_^ Enjoy!!!

God must have smiled on Knotty Johnny Clean and all dread heads around the world when he developed the wonderous thing that is the DreadHeadHQ Loose Hair Tool (version 2.0). In my opinion, it is the single most useful dread-related item ever invented. However in my travels across the interwebs, I have received multiple messages and e-mails requesting that I post a blog about how to use it. So, here it is!

The DreadHeadHQ Loose Hair Tool is pretty much a latch hook with a pointed end to help the user to insert it neatly into the dread. Some sites have claimed that, especially in mature dreads, using it can create holes. My dreads are only 11 weeks old, but I haven’t had any issues with holes yet. Considering that it isn’t recommended to use crochet hooks bigger than 1 mm for the same reason, it only makes logical sense that the Loose Hair Tool would do the same. Naturally either they cause holes or they don’t, but I haven’t heard any complaints from anyone on the DHHQ Facebook page yet. I plan to continue using it unless there comes a serious hole issue.

I mentioned in my entry about crochet that I don’t recommend doing it anymore frequently than every 4 weeks. More frequently can cause breakage (which adversely affects the overall strength of the dread as its strength comes from the long fibers) and prevent the dreads from locking (because you are continuously moving the hair around instead of letting it do its own thing). So, these techniques, particularly in the middle of my dreads, is how I tide myself over between crocheting, which honestly I do VERY little of at this point. More or less, this is ALL I’m doing now, so pay close attention so you can put the Loose Hair Tool magic to work for you!

Ultimately, there are three different places you can use a loose hair tool: the tips of your dreads, the middle of your dreads, the roots of your dreads. If you have dreads you either are of two general philosophies; loose hairs are unsightly, or loose hairs add the character of the dread. If you are of the latter school of thought than read no further and leave those loose hairs alone. I personally like my dreads to look really neat and this technique helps me achieve just that. Anyway, three different places. No matter what part of the dread you are working on with your tool, the technique is the same. The only difference being the manipulation of the tool because of your head being in the way, LOL.

I already have a video I posted on YouTube about how to blunt the tips of your dreads. Here is the first video I posted to help you out. The second one, which I recorded just last night, talks about it, too, but in less detail. If you are just starting out pulling in your ends I suggest the first. If you are just doing touch-ups where you already pulled in the tips the second video will suffice. If you are super bored you could, of course, just watch both.



Now, of course the first step of using your Loose Hair Tool is to find the dread(s) that need some work done. Usually I do my maintenance when I am in the bathroom after doing my business. I usually will start to inspect my dreads and subsequently find some hairs that I absolutely MUST fix right then and there before I loose track of them. This results in a nearly endless quest to find every single loose hair to pull in and fix…. I could get stuck in front of the mirror for hours, I swear. So, I’m not really picking out every dread that needs it in advance. I just do it as I find where its needed.

Now, I HIGHLY recommend Lock Peppa. As I say in the beginning of this second video, the Loose Hair Tool and Lock Peppa are my absolutely FAVORITE maintenance tools. How anyone can live without them in their maintenance routine is mystifying to me. Lock Peppa just makes everyone so much easier and helps all that hard work you are doing to stay put instead of just coming undone. (Keep in mind, though, that your natural hair texture can make maintenance and dreads in generally harder work -- silky, slippery hair being a good example.)

Once you have those things set up you can get started. Here is the video I created to illustrate to you how to use your Loose Hair Tool. Per usual, there are text directions after the video, although honestly I think it would be PRETTY hard to grasp this technique without the visual examples shown in the video.

1. Find a dread that needs loose hair pulled in.
2. Isolate the hairs and hold them in place while dipping your fingers (thumb and index finger) into some Lock Peppa. Use the covered fingers to twist the strands into a small knotty lock and hold them in place while getting your Loose Hair Tool so you don’t loose track of them.
3. Pick up your Loose Hair Tool. Guesstimate how far up the dread the loose hairs would be pulled and insert your Loose Hair Tool into that spot, feeding it down towards the loose hair lock.
4. You want the Loose Hair Tool to poke out in the middle of all the hairs you are trying to pull in.
5. Feed the loose hairs into the latch hoop and close the latch hook around them. While holding the Loose Hair Tool, pull the loose hairs taut within the hook to make sure the entire strand is pulled in.
6. While keeping very gentle pressure on the strand to make sure it is entirely pulled in, pull the Loose Hair Tool back through the dread the way it was inserted bringing the loose hairs with it!

I recognize in the video and will re-iterate here that the hardest part of learning to use your Loose Hair Tool is discovering how to comfortably and efficiently manipulate the tool to operate it. I think many people have difficulty getting the hair into the small loop, (1), and (2) have a problem closing the latch over it once they do. All I can say here is that like many other things in life, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!! If people still have major issues with this after viewing this blog entry and the included videos, I will attempt to do another video that captures more detail (closer up) of how I get the hair into the tool while I am using it.

So, the Loose Hair Tool is a godsend. It is the best tool ever created for the maintenance of dreadlocks, in my humble opinion. For those who have crocheted and are going crazy with all the frizzies and loose hairs that have come loose since your last crochet, give these techniques a try and I think you will find it makes a HUGE difference and make for some kick-ass, tight dreadlocks!!!`

I'm super excited everyone. One of my crunchy mama friends in Southern CT is ready to take her own leap into her own journey of dread-hood. Her and I have been chatting back and forth for a couple of weeks now about it, what products I suggested she purchase, what she needs to do to prepare, etc. She was saving up to buy a Dread Kit from DreadHeadHQ and finally took the plunge and has arrange her own dread party. To my knowledge, I am the only person who actually knows HOW to dread hair, so I suspect I'll be doing a fair bit of instructing while I'm there. I'm so excited for her! Of course, I'm also excited to get to help her out! I LOVE dreading people's hair, so this will be a really fun opportunity for me! I am heading to her place with my LO in tow Saturday afternoon. The hope is to at least section her hair Saturday evening so on Sunday we can get right to the good part!

I don't know yet if she will want her new dreads crocheted, but I am going to bring my NEW hook with me when I go! Yes, I received my NEW hook in the mail today! I tried it just a little bit on a couple of dreads in particular that were really hurtin' and the results were fantabulous. It has a nice fat handle which makes for less strain. The other cool part is that it actually came with a little metal cover to protect the hook, which in my case will more accurately protect my LO if she accidentally gets her little hands on it. I'm glad to have a hook that I know will cause minimal damage to my dreadies.

Other fun news, my hubby graciously agreed to remove all of my remaining rubber bands at the roots today! It is an exciting step in the growth of my dreads. To be honest, I felt like a lot of them were actually getting in the way at this point during clock-wise rubbing. Many of them had migrated down the dread and the dread had started sucking them in so I couldn't just take them out -- they had to be cut out. Now, though, I am BAND-FREE! Yippeee!!!

I am trying to get more in the habit of using my loose hair tool to pull in loose hairs in the body of the dread instead of crocheting. One person on the DHHQ Facebook Page suggested the results tend to be longer lasting than crochet. Here's hoping he's right! I spoke to a follow dread head through facebook who was very interested in seeing a video on how to use the Loose Hair Tool v. 2.0, so that will have to be something I plan on doing in the future. (Thanks for the suggestion, Natalie!)

However, my NEXT blog will actually be about washing dreads as so many of you have indicated you would like to see an entry about it. I actually have already written it, but am planning on making a video to accompany it tomorrow morning, so stay tuned!!! In the meantime, Happy Dreading!!!

Blessing

~ KnottyMama

So, today my exciting news is I BOUGHT A NEW DREAD BEAD! OMFG I swear the ability to put beads and pretty things in my hair is one of my favorite parts of having dreads. I used to feel like I always had to wear some sort of jewelry to identify myself as Pagan or feminist or interested in Native American culture, etc. Now I just put it all in my hair!!! So in this entry I am going to show off my beads and tell you their significance. To me, dread adornment is like tattoing; they should MEAN something to you. It might represent a belief, a part of your identity, memorialize a loved one, or commemorate something going on in your life. I want to clarify here that not everyone feels the same way about dread adornment. Some people like to cycle out their beads and wear different things all the time. Like tattoos and my dreads themselves, I feel like my dread adornments are a long-time commitments and so they should be something I REALLY love since I will have to look at them for a long time to come!

Some people may love putting stuff in their dreads, but it can be hard to find places that sell beads that you can use on your dreads. My favorite place to shop for dread stuff is Etsy. --> 69o9uiikjj,mjuik7 <-- (I'm leaving this... my daughter typed this when I got up to check on the chili in the slow cooker!) My dreads are about the size of a fat pen and when they were younger I could get a 5mm hole bead onto my dreads. All of the Pandora beads are that size so I had a big selection to choose from! Now, however, I have a hard time getting something that small onto the dread. That and 5 mm seems to vary from artist to artist. Some 5 mm beads I can get my Loose Hair Tool v 2.0 through to pull the bead onto the dread and others I can't. So if you dreads are the same size as mine or a little smaller that helps to expand your bead shopping options! Another site you can check out for dread beads is ArtFire. Another important note here is that you want to try to get your beads a little on the small size, especially if your dreadies are still pretty young. Dreads naturally shrink and then thicken up as they mature and you want to make sure the bead will stay put even once they tighten up!

So onto me, LOL. When I decided to get dreads I knew ahead of time that I REALLY wanted to find a bead to commemorate my new dreads and the beginning of my journey into dread-hood. Although the imagery and colors of the bead don't exactly mean anything in particular to me I thought it was REALLY f*cking cool. :-) Although, I will note that it does remind me a little bit of fire, but has a whimsical, etherical quality to it, too! It's just pretty and I put it in the back on my first dread! This bead was a bead that was made to be a Pandora bead and has a 5 mm hole (that my Loose Hair Tool v 2.0 fits through). I bought it on Etsy from a shop named Glass Addict Beads. I want to note here that you'll find that all but one of my dread beads is glass. I like glass because 1) the color won't fade or chip like wood, 2) it won't tarnish or rust like metal, and 3) it won't absorb bacteria and germs like acrylic or polymer clay will.

My second bead I don't actually have a photo of because its actually an earring that I turned into a dread cuff. I found the image on the left to help me describe it a bit to you. The image to the left is a Sun Face Kachina. Kachinas are nature spirits that are, for lack of a better term, 'worshipped' by many of the Southwestern Native American tribes such as the Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni. I have really connected with this symbol for a long time and associate it with my interest in Native American culture and spirituality. So, anyway, the earring was shaped like the middle part (the face) with four rays (or spokes) coming out of it. I bent the two rays on the sides around into the shape of a cuff and put it on one of my front dreads on the right side of my head. It is sterling silver, turquoise, red coral, and mother of pearl so eventually it will probably tarnish, but in the meantime I like having the symbol close to me! I purchased the earring set from the Santa Fe Trading Company which sets up a kiosk in the mall near me during the winter holiday season every year.

My third bead is a rainbow bead. I got it for a couple of reasons. For one thing, I LOVE rainbows! But, more importantly, I wanted to communicate my stance on gay rights. I am ALL for gay marriage and equal rights for gays. I strongly believe that love and love regardless of what may be below the waistline of your lover and that love should be recognized the same by the government and receive the same benefits as the love between a man and a woman. Really, what's the difference? Secondly, (thirdly?) this bead also represents, for me, the Rainbow Family. Their website states that they are "the largest non-organization of non-members in the world". The Rainbow Family "means different things to different people. I think it's safe to say we're into intentional community building, non-violence, and alternative lifestyles. We also believe that Peace and Love are a great thing, and there isn't enough of that in this world. Many of our traditions are based on Native American traditions, and we have a strong orientation to take care of the the Earth." Anyway, you basically become a non-member simply by agreeing with their ideals and I really love the ideals of it. So that's what my rainbow bead means to me. :-) It was advertised as having a 7 mm hole. I wear it on a dread that's on the top of my head on the left side. I bought this on on Etsy from a store by the name of Raven's Curiosities.

My fourth bead.... oh it's a wonderful bead!!! I found this bead, more or less, on ArtFire made by an artist who lives in England. She makes the most beautiful goddess beads! This one represents my reverence for the Goddess and by that I mean the Goddess in EVERY woman! It represents my feminist attitudes and my belief that every woman is divine and that the ability give life is truly a divine gift that we should honor and place in the highest regard. (And, in my opinion, that should be fully experienced without numbing the body...) It also represents my passion for natural, un-medicated birth and all of my parenting philosophies. I commissioned the lovely and talented Madeline Bunyan to create this gorgeous bead for me. It was created on a 5 mm mandrel (that my loose hair tool fit through!). I put it on a dread behind my left ear in a place where it is a little bit hidden by the dreads on top of it. Since it is, essentially, a naked woman and I work in the public I didn't want to offend people, but I haven't had any negative comments so far. In fact, I've received nothing but compliments!


My non-fifth bead was one that I am not going to describe here other than to tell you that it was a Pandora "5 mm" bead that the hole was too small on. BUT, I am going to be helping a friend put in her dreads in a few weeks or so and I am going to gift it to her to commemorate her starting on her dread journey so I don't want to ruin the surprise! I think that it was ultimately meant for her anyway and I think she's really going to love it!!!

My actual fifth bead, and the reason I decided to write this blog is a beautiful, blue glass bead with a star on it. To me, though, it has this undeniably celestial feel to it. It just seems so magickal. As soon as I saw it I fell in love with it. I was amazed that it stayed in the shop as long as it did without selling! I mentioned in my last blog that many believed that dreadlocks could bestow a person with extraordinary spiritual powers. I'm not expecting a miracle, but I feel like this bead just emanates spiritual power! The color, too, is highly associated with the brow/third eye chakra which deals in the realm of psychic ability and clear seeing. I feel like this bead will be an asset to my dread head! That and it's just SOOO pretty! It is advertised as having a 13 mm hole which is much bigger than anything I've bought so far so I am going to see how things fit. In the item description the artist says it will fit best on dreads the size of a lady's pinky finger or a little bigger, which mine are. So, fingers crossed, it will fit fine! I certainly shouldn't have any problems getting it ONTO the dreads like I did my non-fifth bead, LOL. I'm thinking of putting it on a dread behind my ear on the left side so it will be visible when I wear my dreads half-up. Plus, it's still pretty visible with them down, too! I bought this on Etsy from a shop named Infinite Cosmos.

Also, I want to encourage everyone to check out MY Etsy Shop: Sylph Wings Designs. I sell jewelry, hemp jewelry, dream catchers, and SOON dread coils! I haven't started working on them, but I can tell you I haven't seen ANYthing like them anywhere else online. I CAN tell you, however, that they will use ALL genuine gemstone beads (unless someone requests otherwise) and Alpaca silver which does NOT tarnish so should stay good even through washing! So, please check back often for updates! I will post more on it here once I get that up and going more. :-)

So, I know this has TOTALLY been the Knotty Mama show here, but I totally want to hear from my readers about what they put in THEIR dreads! Please post comments and leave some links with some photos of YOUR dread adornments, be they beads, hemp wraps, coils... I want to see 'em!!!! Even better is if you tell me why you wanted it in your dreads and what it means to you!

So, I've been doing some research. I've been wanting to do some more reading abut the case against crocheting dreads and I feel like I have enough information now that I can write an informative and intelligent article about it here! As most you probably know I have crocheted my dreads and really liked the results as it left them all nice and tight and really tightened them up especially at the roots where they are often resistant to locking, especially so young.

The long and short of crochet is that no matter how careful you are you will be breaking hairs when you use this technique. Your expertise and awareness of what you are doing will certainly affect how badly it breaks, however. The second more important factor is to make sure that you are using a SMALL crochet hook, that means 1mm or less!! At the time I started to crochet (and in the video I have included below) I was using a 1.3 mm hook because it was the smallest I could find at my local craft store. After doing more research last night I decided to spring on a 0.6 mm hook with a nice, fat handle to prevent fatigue for when I do touch-up my dreads.

The general consensus about crocheting is that it is difficult to stop once you start. Because crochet does have a tendency to cause broken hair once the tightness you get from crochet begins to wear off the broken hairs become more visible as frizz and loose hairs. This means that crocheting begets crocheting and it's probably not wise to start doing it unless you plan on doing it regularly and relatively often. You can stop, of course, anytime you want but you may have to deal with a lot of frizz before your dreads start to lock up naturally again. TOO much crocheting, especially if done incorrectly, can actually break dreads so badly that you will seriously compromise the strength of the entire dread. The strength of a dread or rope comes from the length of the fibers, which is why hemp is so much stronger than wood fiber. However, if you begin breaking the fibers you compromise the overall tensile strength.

My official opinion on crochet at this point is that crocheting is okay IN MODERATION! I wouldn't recommend crocheting any more frequently than once a month. More than that and I think you seriously need to worry about the breakage you may be causing. Granted, for some people they are willing to compromise a little strength for tight, neat looking dreads. That is a personal decision that I can't make for you, of course, but I CAN warn you about the pros and cons and encourage you to think long and hard before you decide one way or the other! Ultimately, don't start crocheting unless you are aware of how often and how long it will take you to maintain it that way. I can tell you that it took me about a total of 15 hours over the course of a three day weekend to crochet all my dreads like you will see in the video below. I plan to touch-up in a week or so any that really need it, but I am trying to really minimize how much I do. Crochet is a great way to get neat, well-manicured dreads, but be prepared to keep up with it or things might get a little crazy!

If you still really want to crochet (and I still am so I haven't been totally scared off by what I've read!) I have posted a video I took of myself crocheting my dreads so you can see how crocheting tightens the dread and how to do the technique. When you first start do it in front of a mirror so you can see what you're doing and definitely do it in silence. This way you will be able to hear and feel hair breaking if you are being excessively rough and adjust accordingly! And, this is important, DON'T make your dreads super tight! It prevents them from locking, not to mention how rough it is on your scalp! Below, in case the audio is too low for some to hear are the basic instructions on how to crochet your dreads.



MATERIALS NEEDED:

1) Crochet hook (1mm or smaller) - some say the larger size is easier to learn on and then go smaller once you become more proficient in the technique.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Choose a dread to crochet. I recommend starting in the front where you can see what you're doing before you start moving to the back ones.
2. Grasp the dread with your thumb, forefinger, and middle finger with the thumb underneath and other two fingers on top.
3. While you are crocheting you will insert the crochet hook always in the small area between all of your fingers as this helps to compress the dread as you are going.
4. Begin inserting and pulling the crochet hook out of the dread starting near the roots of your dread and working towards the tip. Make sure you are rotating and rolling the dread around in your fingers as you work your way down. As you go you should be able to feel the dread tightening up and you'll intuitively discover when its time to move onto the next area.
5. Once you reach the end of the dread I will usually insert the hook a little bit more vertically and parallel to the length of the dread to attempt to pull in some of the loose hairs at the tip. In this video I show how to pull in loose hairs a little more purposely. Since this video I have come to the conclusion that this is MUCH easier done with the DreadHeadHQ Loose Hair Tool v2.0. I will post another video at a later date on how to use the loose hair tool to blunt the tips of your dreads.

There is some conjecture out there that the Loose Hair Tool causes holes in mature dreads because of its size. Perhaps I will review the information out there on the safety of the loose hair tool in another blog! I, however, LOVE my loose hair tool and I doubt anything anyone says will sway me against it. In the meantime, I hope this blog has been helpful and informative for all my readers!