It Works!
Ok, her hair was soooooooo cute that I had to try it.  I wish my hair was all the same length cause I'd pull the hair up and form a fierce afro puff.  Either way, I LOVE how they look.  I love the feel of my unlocked hair.

I must say that although I LOVE my locks, I missed my natural.  Although I've only been sporting this for a few weeks and I have no way of telling how it will effect my future locks, it's cute (to me) now.

My locks not only look unique, but they're also fuller and appear longer...go figure!  This is truly the best of both worlds.

I took a few pictures and they can be viewed on the right.

Cutting Dreadlocks
You know, even typing that title made me feel a little nauseous.  If you're thinking about cutting your dreads...why?????  Sigh...let me say now I think you're making a BIG mistake but hey...it's your head :-P

Now if you're steadfast in your decision, we suggest growing your hair out for several months and cutting an inch or two off every few weeks.  Why?  Because believe it or not, if you've had your dreadlocks for sometime, cutting them too quickly can lead to seperation anxiety.  Sounds crazy right?

Well according to our very own Loctician Camille, she's had several customers over the years who at some point decided to release their dreads and have regretted the hasteness in their decision.  Although they felt it was time for a "new beginning" so to speak, many of these individuals had been cultivating their dreadlocks for several years.  Think about it, when you get used to one way of doing things, it's a little traumatic to immediately go
to the opposite end of the spectrum.

By gradually transitioning your self away from your dreadlocks, you reduce your chances of seperation anxiety and the dreaded..."Oh shiznet!  What the hell was I thinking???" response.  Camille said one of the baldheads still has his dreadlocks stored away and plans on sewing them back on one day.  Yeah...that one requires the patented "uh....hmmmm????" response.

For those wanting a temporary style, dreadlock extensions are an option so consult a licensed natural stylist.

Tubby's Response to Elisheba
Hey Elisheba,

Thanks for the compliments. Not much maintenance is needed to take care of the unraveled ends. You will find that over time the ends will look less poofy/afro-like and will begin to settle in to your natural hair Texture.

In my case, the initial undoing revealed mini-afros. Several months later, they started to look like curly tendrils.

The hair that you've undone won't necessarily re-lock. I've had my hair like this for about 2 years now and none of the ends have resealed.

What does occur is that the hair may curl onto itself while you shampoo. If it does this over several shampoos without your paying attention to the ends, you will find that the loose hair knots onto itself.  When you try to comb it through, it's just like trying to comb through any tangled hair so you may lose a few strands in the process.

On one hand it doesn't matter. On the other, constant loss of hair will eventually mean that your lil puffs will gradually dissappear.

What I would suggest doing is right before you shampoo to gently run your fingers through the ends to remove any snags/kinks. After shampooing, if you're at a stage where you can condition, put a little extra conditioner on the ends.  Conditioners detangle and soften so it will help to keep your hair from curling onto itself to the point where it gets tangled up.

When it's time for maintenance, I twist as I normally would then using a little lock'd down, I place a little on the loose ends and gently twist them so they are encouraged to form spirals. Not only does this help define their shape but the product will help prevent any breakage by protecting the outter layers of the hair.

If you continue in this manner, the ends should remain healthy.