Dread Myth #1

I think I forget how much research I've done on dreadlocks.  I started researching them years ago, and so I forget how common some of the common misconceptions about dreadlocks are.  It always surprises me when I get a question from a friend that I thought everyone knew the answer to.  Then I have to remind myself that I am the only one of my friends who's ever wanted dreads, so I'm the only one I should expect to know that stuff.

As this happens more an more often, I'm beginning to realize that, given the information all my friends and family have about dreads, they are going to be much more alarmed about what I'm doing.  So, in order to foster the dissemination of correct information and an end to misconceptions about what I'm doing with my hair in a few weeks, I am going dispel a few of the most common myths about dreadlocks.  I'll spare you all the minute details I've picked up through my obsession, but I'll try and communicate the gist of my research so you don't think I've gone crazy.  Well, any crazier than I actually have.

Myth #1
You Get Dreads By Not Washing Your Hair...Ever...

Wrong.  Well, you can get dreads that way, and some people still do, but they are becoming the minority.  Dreads do not have to be dirty.  They do not have to smell bad.  I'll be dreading my hair clean--I'll shower right before we put them in.  Then I'll continue to wash my hair multiple times a week (although probably not every day) for the duration of my time with dreads.  My dreads will probably smell like shampoo, just like everybody else's hair.

"Neglect" dreads, formed by never coming your hair and washing it really really infrequently take a loooong time to fully form.  Like a year.  When they do form, they are irregular (and probably smelly), forming in all different sizes and at all different speeds.  Let's be honest, I respect those dreads.  Those are gonna have some serious personality, but it's not gonna be my personality.  I can't stand to be that insanitary, and since I intend to continue to be a responsible professional and adult, I will be washing my hair.  The "hands off" approach to dreads can also leads to your dreads eventually beginning to "congo," or to combine into mega dreads.  Some people think this is awesome.  I think it's gross.

This is an extreme example, but it's still gross.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/217/nappyhairna5.jpg/sr=1

So I will be actively dreading my hair (hence the dread party), and I'll be maintaining it afterwards.  Purists, and there are a few out there, may feel like this is the sell-out way to get dreads, but I think the majority of dreadheads are beginning to move away from the smelly, hippie, all-natural stereotype.  And thank heaven.