Create Your Sunshine

I’ve had long hair for about as long as I can remember. The first time I let it grow past my shoulders, I was about 7.  I have soft, fine hair and let me tell you – there is a lot of it. I loved the way my long hair tickled the back of my arms. I loved twirling it around my finger. I loved washing it and watching the sun shimmer off it.

There were times over the years that I had a momentary brain fog and chopped it all off. I’ve gotten layers, angles, bangs – you name it. There was even a time when I was younger that I *trustingly* let my parents cut my hair. Let it suffice to say that it did not end well.

I finally got to a point where I made my entire family and friends swear that if I ever threatened to cut my hair off again, they had the right to tie me down and leave me there. OK, maybe it wasn’t THAT extreme, but that’s how much I didn’t want to cut my hair. Ever again.

For years I just let it grow. Nothing fancy. A trim here and there. Maybe a change of color. One thing was for sure though – these locks were never getting chopped again. Until it became summer…..

A Connecticut summer with 9000% humidity and long hair is torture. There is no where to put it. It clings to you everywhere. Washing it is a nightmare because it takes years to dry. I never perfected a simple fun hair-do for long hair, and quite honestly at the length of my hair, I’d need to have Inspector Gadget arms to finish it off. No, this just wasn’t going to work. Then, on the days that it was nice and breezy – another nemesis! Wind and fine hair only accomplish one thing: massive and untangleable tangles!

Something had to be done! All of my “regular” options left me wanting. Surely there was something that let me keep my long hair and was low-maintenence to fit my spontaneous lifestyle! Ah-ha! Thank you Lord – there is!

Secretly, I think I’ve wanted dreadlocks since I was in the 5th grade. They’ve always been so cool looking and it seems you can do almost anything with them. In December 2012, a friend of mine introduced me to the lovely Erika from Make Me Dreadful. She is a super cool chica and immediately put me at ease and answered any questions I had about dreads. We emailed back and forth and I set up an appointment with her for January 13, 2013. OMG! This was happening!! Prompt and armed she came to my house ready to make my hair over! We chatted, watched movies, looked at pictures and honestly – just had an awesome time. 9 hours and 2 days later – this lady had a full head of dreads – and over a year later, I could not be happier!

But just what makes dreads so much more awesome than my loose flowing locks? Let’s break it down:

• No more tangles – because it’s all tangled! I can walk out in a hurricane and not have to wrestle my locks into submission by brush. Win!
• SUPER low maintenance. Every morning I wake up – I am ready to go. No brushing, styling, or drying required.
• They are the “Duplo” of hair. Big easy pieces, easy to style and make do what you want – which means I get to play around with cute hairstyles without my arms falling off!
• I enjoy rolling the windows down in the car again instead of getting whipped in the face with loose flying locks.
• Too hot? Just throw them on top of your head – with one elastic – and they will stay. Took me a bottle of hairspray and an army of bobby pins to get my hair to stay before.
• Know those hair cuts you get 2x a year? No need! All the maintenance I need is with the palm of my hand and a crochet hook!
• They just look super cool!

Now, I hear ya – dreads aren’t for everybody, but they definitely work for me! I am so happy that I found a way to keep my long hair, while gaining 100 more reasons why it’s awesome. While I’ve only had them for 1.5years so far, I can definitely seeing these beauties turning a fine shade of silver. The pros far far far outweigh the cons. These Natty Dreads are here to stay!

Timeline of Picture Below: Top Left: 1st Day • Bottom Left: 6 months • Right: 1 years

♥ xo