Your dreadlocks blog for locks that get looks

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This blog highlights the best of the Locked Up! newsletter for those with short dreadlocks, long dreadlocks, thin dreadlocks, natty dreadlocks, dreadlocks extensions or...well, you get the idea! There will be sneak peeks into the newsletter every time you visit this dred blog.

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June 4, 2007 - 13 happy-go-lucky alternatives to "Don't touch my dreadlocks!"

Maintaining soft healthy dreadlocks is not hard to do, especially when you have a maintenance routine in place.

That's right, soft dreadlocks aren't hard to maintain.

I repeat it twice because - obviously - the general public, along with the occasional family member, is skeptical and want to touch my dreadlocks to make sure.

Here are some of the things I've been known to say (some of them in my head only) when asked the inevitable question: "Can I touch your hair?"

What? Are you, like, seven years old?
I'm not a kitten.
Fascinating, hun? You should read the novel.
You own a salon?
Only if I can touch your [insert scandalous body part here].
Why? Is my [wig/toupee/hairpiece] slipping off again?
Lucky for you: I bottled the scent! You can find it at fine retailers everywhere.
The petting zoo is over there...not here.
If you do, you may self-destruct.
Didn't you read the Martha Stewart magazine article? That's a faux pas now.
[Taking out a notebook...] Sign here before you do...it's where all the idiots register themselves.
Invade my personal space then prepare for the real Operation Shock & Awe.
[Blush then look around all coy and embarrassed...] I can't believe you're flirting with me in public like this.

Okay, so a lot of those weren't really "happy-go-lucky" in the true sense of the term. They do, however, make me happy and the Asker/Groper/Inappropriate So-and-so is quite lucky that I'm at least partially socialized and didn't resort to unspeakable acts.

Have a favorite from this list?

Better yet, send in a favorite line of your own that you use whenever people ask to touch your locks! The only thing you have to remember is to keep the language clean.

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May 29, 2007 - Models with dreadlocks? It's about time.

Television isn't much of a big deal in our family, so when my cousin called to tell me that a clean-shaven beauty pageant contestant was getting Top 10 recognition on Miss Universe, I was mildly interested.

"When I take you to the library tomorrow, tell me what happened," I suggested with some interest (but not enough to turn on the TV).

A few hours later, there I was looking online for models with dreadlocks. There was one: she's also part of the Miss Universe pageant this year.

This is apparently a first.

Are we supposed to be happy that dreadlocks and natural hairstyles in general are being accepted by mainstream culture as being stylish and a potential marker of beauty in women?

Please.

Perhaps the apathy is due to my perception of beauty pageants. Perhaps my feelings are rooted in the disrespect of pop culture "style dictators." Then again, perhaps I'm just jealous because I don't look as good in a bikini (did you see those never-ending legs? Or those high-definition cheekbones?).

Natural hair, whether you're a female or male model with dreadlocks or an average person with an average life, is always stylish.

We model dreadlocks on a daily basis, you and I. The way we wear our hair does offer passersby shallow insight to who we are. It also helps -- or hurts -- their idea of dreadlocks as a healthy, hip hairstyle that is appropriate in mainstream culture.

Neither you or I are dreadlocks models, which means we likely won't get seen by millions of people around the world. Our impact on displaying locks that get looks is just as significant but entirely different.

For that reason, I have to give both Miss Tanzania and the Rastafarian Miss Jamaica a big thank you for providing a positive representation of natural hairstyling.

Oh, and if you're wondering it was Miss Japan who got the tiara.

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May 29, 2007 - Time off to enjoy my great looking dreadlocks

There no shame in the admission that I took time off from working on the site to thoroughly enjoy my new, great looking dreadlocks (more pictures of the front, back and sides will appear exclusively in the next edition of Locked Up!).

I made all kinds of excuses to go outside and walk around downtown, uptown and in other people's towns. I shopped for new clothes. Heck, I even took time off my regular job to truly be "in the moment" with my new locks.

Karen Wallington of Knot Just Dreads...

http://www.knotjustdreads.com

...was fully prepped upon my arrival and she got to work right away. She is a true professional. A bit eccentric, what with her borderline excessive interest with all things Iceland, but a true professional! (Karen, I kid! I kid!)

While my natural tightly coiled hair could stretch to over eight inches, the dreadlocks I wanted needed to be a bit past ear length. That meant that additional human hair to make dreadlocks for me would be necessary.

Starting at around 10 am, Karen started on my natural hair first and created the cutest looking locks. We stopped at around 1 pm for lunch. Returning to her private, professional salon about an hour later, she started the human hair dreadlocks extensions. We were done by 7 pm the same day.

My mother was the first to see the new locks and she was impressed (although confused about how I would take out the extensions before summer. "No, mama...I care for it just like it is my own hair. That includes washing and all of that").

When I flew back home to Montreal a day later, my partner didn't even say a proper hello before he started running his hands through my new dreadlocks. "These are really great," he finally said. The poor dear still doesn't understand the concept of hair extensions though.

Good times, but the initial love affair is over and I must get back to updating this blog and the rest of the site! The good weather is upon us in North America and even my locked up friends in other countries around the world seem to have an increased interest for dreadlocks hair care information this time of year.

Over the summer, be on the look out for new articles, those pictures (you'll love 'em), Locked Up! updates and some news about the relaunch of one of our sister sites!