Do dreads represent the true length of the hair?

[joemerald]

Just wondering what you ladies think of this. Just a discussion to see if my way of thinking is correct I am open to other suggestions. I believe that long dreads do not truely represent the correct length simply because hair in another state eg relaxed or open and natural sheds. However with the twisting over, when dreadds are redone with no combing etc the shedded hair is incorporated into the lock therefore not losing it. It is like having dead hair (I know all hair is dead just trying to relay something here) attached to the hair which is still attched to the scalp giving the appearance of more length. Not sure if you all understand or if I am correct, but I would welcome your view, especially those with dreadlocks that are on the board. Thanks.

Jo.

 

[alliyah4eva203]

i could understand what you meant in terms of thickness of dreads but not the lenght. i don't see *** not shedding would add lenght.

 

[M_BYRON_M]

No shedding would add lenght over a long peroid of time but i have heard that when people have long dredlocks that they have to cut half of the length of before the can be loosed out .so dredlocks just give the image of long hair but that is not actually the case

 

[SherryLove]

A family member of mine wore dreads for a while....A dread basically contains your hair mixed with the hair you would shed - giving the appearance of longer dreds or longer hair......That's why they must be cut when the person no longer wants to wear dreads.

 

[sengschick]

I agree w/JoeM and SherryL. It's quite deceptive, b/c they never loose any hair until a whole loc falls off. And unfortunately it happens at the root

.

 

[Supergirl]

We had a thread on this before. My take on it was that hair that has been shed does not fall, but rather gets interwined with the rest of the dread. So yes it adds to the length but of course the shed hairs contributing to the length are no longer attached to the scalp.

 

[Cat_Eyed_Cutie]

[ QUOTE ]
Supergirl said:
We had a thread on this before. My take on it was that hair that has been shed does not fall, but rather gets interwined with the rest of the dread. So yes it adds to the length but of course the shed hairs contributing to the length are no longer attached to the scalp.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto!

 

[ms_kenesha]

When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

 

[DigitalRain]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought locs were permanent, and that they cannot be undone?

 

[syoulee1]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking about the same lady. I agree, the shed hair adds to the thickness.

 

[blue_flower]

I think hair texture plays a fact as well.

 

[JenniferMD]

[ QUOTE ]
DigitalRain said:
[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought locs were permanent, and that they cannot be undone?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought the same thing

 

[ms_kenesha]

[ QUOTE ]
DigitalRain said:
[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought locs were permanent, and that they cannot be undone?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought so too until I saw her album. It takes a lot of work and it does depend on how your hair has locked and the texture of your hair, but it can be undone. I also read a while ago about a company that makes a product to help "take down" dreads.

 

[moneychaser]

[ QUOTE ]
JenniferMD said:
[ QUOTE ]
DigitalRain said:
[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought locs were permanent, and that they cannot be undone?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought the same thing

[/ QUOTE ]
Me too

 

[moneychaser]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
[ QUOTE ]
DigitalRain said:
[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought locs were permanent, and that they cannot be undone?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought so too until I saw her album. It takes a lot of work and it does depend on how your hair has locked and the texture of your hair, but it can be undone. I also read a while ago about a company that makes a product to help "take down" dreads.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats neat. My boyfriend is gonna be hot when I tell him that

 

[GodMadeMePretty]

I got an online book a couple of weeks ago where the author says that dreads do not have to be cut off. That you can take them apart. But I believe that she was suggesting that you do it with a toothpick. I'll have to read it in more detail. I was only interested in the how-tos regarding styling my daughter's hair.

 

[ms_kenesha]

[ QUOTE ]
GodMadeMePretty said:
I got an online book a couple of weeks ago where the author says that dreads do not have to be cut off. That you can take them apart. But I believe that she was suggesting that you do it with a toothpick. I'll have to read it in more detail. I was only interested in the how-tos regarding styling my daughter's hair.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, the lady I am referring to did it with a toothpick as well, she said it took a LONG time, but she was determined!

 

[JenniferMD]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
[ QUOTE ]
GodMadeMePretty said:
I got an online book a couple of weeks ago where the author says that dreads do not have to be cut off. That you can take them apart. But I believe that she was suggesting that you do it with a toothpick. I'll have to read it in more detail. I was only interested in the how-tos regarding styling my daughter's hair.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, the lady I am referring to did it with a toothpick as well, she said it took a LONG time, but she was determined!

[/ QUOTE ]

I can see a toothpick working to undo dreads. Even though it may take a long time I think it'd be worth it. Dreads grow so long and I always thought it was a shame that if you ever wanted to go back to non-dreads that you'd have to cut off all your hair.

 

[JenJen2721]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
[ QUOTE ]
DigitalRain said:
[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought locs were permanent, and that they cannot be undone?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought so too until I saw her album. It takes a lot of work and it does depend on how your hair has locked and the texture of your hair, but it can be undone. I also read a while ago about a company that makes a product to help "take down" dreads.

[/ QUOTE ]

Boy, I really learn some awesome information on this site. I would've bet someone a million dollars that you couldn't take dreads down. This is why LHCF rocks!

 

[bellydancer]

That is what I was thinking because I always saw soooooooooooooooo many people with beautiful long thick dreads, but i rarely saw people without dreads with the same length (until i joined this board)

 

[DSTcutie]

Just a word to the wise, many people who sport Locks would prefer people to not call them 'dreads'...the meaning of DREADLOCKS came from the white man who first inhabited the Caribbean Islands during the slave trade...some white men who saw the Brown people wearing this style immediately called it "DREADFUL", thus the name DREADlocks. So, as a people, we should not support that notion.

And yes, definitely you can pick out your locks...my cousin did that last month...her hair was super long, but kind of thin....but if I remember correctly, her hair was pretty thin to begin with.

 

[LondonDiva]

Don't forget Ms K.

I wanna see the pics.

 

[prettykitty]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

ITA, the hair hasn't to be cut in half or anything like that, only the last 1 or two inches (maybe not even that). I know the lady you're mentioning : http://www.exittheapple.com/naturalhair/ her pw is kinky and her hair is gorgeous (and so is she

)! She had locks and undid them and you can see, it doesn't add lenght but thickness. Not ALL of your hair sheds while in locs,so off course you retain lenght.

 

[Nonie]

[ QUOTE ]
Denali03 said:
[ QUOTE ]
JenniferMD said:
[ QUOTE ]
DigitalRain said:

I thought locs were permanent, and that they cannot be undone?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought the same thing

[/ QUOTE ]
Me too

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually I've known about locks being undone since I was told by a friend from Tanzania about how the Maasai men he once visited (a tribe also found in my country

) would let their hair grow as locks and then they'll painstakingly undo the locks and braid them. I thought that was so cool, and although I never actually witnessed it done, for some reason, I never doubted its feasibility.

 

[gabrielle2]

[ QUOTE ]
ms_kenesha said:
When I get home I'll show you all the pic of the woman who sells the Oyin Handmade Hair and Body Products she had locs and undid them and the length of her hair was pretty much the same, the shed hair I think adds more thickness than length

[/ QUOTE ]

lol..i was thinking of honeychild (NP name) too..lol

and i know of another who took theirs done..well..i know of 3 that did so.

 

[katie]

[ QUOTE ]
DSTcutie said:
Just a word to the wise, many people who sport Locks would prefer people to not call them 'dreads'...the meaning of DREADLOCKS came from the white man who first inhabited the Caribbean Islands during the slave trade...some white men who saw the Brown people wearing this style immediately called it "DREADFUL", thus the name DREADlocks. So, as a people, we should not support that notion.

And yes, definitely you can pick out your locks...my cousin did that last month...her hair was super long, but kind of thin....but if I remember correctly, her hair was pretty thin to begin with.

[/ QUOTE ]

When you say Brown people,do you mean the Native Caribbean "Indians" ?

 

[silvergirl]

I think with ppl who have shorter locks, like waist lenght or shorter, the shedding hair wouldnt add to much to the lenght of their natural hair since most ppl can grow brastrap lenght hair or longer. however someone who has floor lenght locks may only end up with waist lenght hair after a take down due to their maximum growth lenght.

 

[GodMadeMePretty]

That's true, silvergirl. Your hair only grows for so long and then it sheds. So, if you reach your maximum hair growth for every strand on your head, every strand will shed making room for the new strands. Having locs does not mean that the hair cycle is changed any.

 

[deeshortesthair]

[ QUOTE ]
DSTcutie said:
Just a word to the wise, many people who sport Locks would prefer people to not call them 'dreads'...the meaning of DREADLOCKS came from the white man who first inhabited the Caribbean Islands during the slave trade...some white men who saw the Brown people wearing this style immediately called it "DREADFUL", thus the name DREADlocks. So, as a people, we should not support that notion.

And yes, definitely you can pick out your locks...my cousin did that last month...her hair was super long, but kind of thin....but if I remember correctly, her hair was pretty thin to begin with.

[/ QUOTE ]
my sister has locks and her boyfriend's are down to the back of his knees..she took out some of hers with a brooch pin it took really long and she lost a lot of hair in clumps, but her hair was still pretty much the same length in some spots and in others it broke off to the scalp..she has since started over.
anyway you can see the pics in the link if you wish.

 

[ms_kenesha]

Yes honeychild is who I was talking about this is how she said she took out her locs...

in the spring of 2001, i noticed disturbing bits of lint INSIDE the ends of a couple of my locks in the back. i attacked the problem with a bottle of conditioner and a pushpin. you can see a couple of the telltale puffs at the bottoms of the locks at right.

as i worked up the lock to where it was dust-free, i realized what i had already known theoretically about locks: they are mostly made up of hair that your scalp has already shed; holding on by the strength of the lock itself. all this hair poured out of the lock as i cleaned it, and they unraveled about an inch or two as i picked them apart to get inside. i became curious: how long was the hair that was actively growing out of my head? i decided to pick an unobtrusive place and see if i could unravel one all the way to the root.
and thus, the grand experiment was born. none of the other locks on my head had the amount of lint of those few in the back; but once started i was motivated by curiosity even more than hygiene. there aren't many pics of the process because trust me it was a month of raw fingers, paper bags full of loose hair, and an increasingly strange head of locks/twists combination hair that i mostly covered up with headwraps.

method: spritz w/water. saturate with conditioner. insert pin near end, jiggle around to loosen hair, pull down. repeat. repeat. repeat ad infinitum. once i could gauge how long my hair was, i could cut off the locks at about 8 inches and start a third of the way up from the end.

i loved my locks. but once i'd had them for a couple of years, i started really becoming wistful for the squandered styling potential of my fro. i totally enjoyed the freedom of locks and LOVED the ease of care -- wash and twist, occasional oiling was about all i had to do. but i used to wake up some mornings having dreamed about combing my hair. a couple of other things i do not miss: 1. they were very hot in the summertime; i love hot weather, but underneath all that heavy hair it could feel oppressive. 2. i was becoming dissatisfied styling-wise. they had just passed my shoulders and were starting to look long & straight... not a flattering aesthetic for me IMO. 3. they were really heavy when i danced. i wanted to feel light.

in retrospect, i actually consider it a rather ridiculous endeavor. i was and still am glad i did it; felt very triumphant and excited all through the process and afterward; i think i'd heard it could be done but i'd never known anyone to do it. but when i think about how much time it took, i am forced to consider myself a nut case. plus, of course, now that i've had my fro back for two years, i get thoughts all the time like what was i THINKING to pull out all those beautiful, easily maintained locks! (this mostly happens when in need of a deep condition and a trim, LOL). what can i say ... the grass is always greener. it's all a journey. ;o)