And the joys of after...

What is the best and most difficult part of expecting a child? Well, its having the child!
Here's a continuation gallery of dread parents with their adorable little cuties.

 

' 

The joys of before...

This post today is dedicated to all those who have been through the magical experience of having a baby growing inside! And since, for the very first time, I am currently going through the same experience, 6 months and counting... I am feeling more than enthusiastic to share this wonderful and emotional gallery with you today! Enjoy :)

 

The simple and irresistible

Dreadlock beads are definitely the most popular embellishment for dreadlocks.
But are they just for looking pretty or do they have actual benefits?
Well, we believe both.

As far as aesthetics goes, there is an infinite array of beads to choose from.
Different material, shape, size, colour and theme.
You can say that they are worn as jewellery.

However, there is also technical advantages for having beads.
For one, they help tame loops and bumps.
And round out flat spots.

Beads also help hold the dread together.
If you have a weak area, just fold it on itself and insert the bead to keep it in place.
Eventually your weak area will dread back on its own.

Same way beads can aid in sensitive edges.
If your folded edges are getting loose, fold the loose hair inside a preferably long bead.
The edges will fix themselves in no time.

When placing dreadlocks in your hair you might want put them from the neck down.
Otherwise it will be uncomfortable to sleep with the beads pressing on your skull.
Or remove them during the night.

Dreadlocks at the workplace

I start with a recent post on our Facebook Group 'Dreadlock Culture Malta'.

Yes, when applying for a new job, people with dreadlocks are generally discriminated, as are people with tattoos. If you have dreadlocks, you won't be getting much luck securing a job that is considered front of house.

But what about safe-keeping your job, if one day you go to work with dreadlocks? If you are lucky and the bosses do not pick on you to get you fired, but truly appreciate your talents and effort no matter your hair style, here are some points you may wish to take note of:

1. Make sure your hair is neat and tidy

Keep your professional appearance from head to toe. You don't want to appear dirty or scruffy. If you keep your locks clean and smelling good all the time, no one will really mind the difference.

2. Have your hair decently styled

There are so many ways to pull up your locks. From a standard pony-tail for men, to beautiful up-dos for women, make sure you are consistently smart.


3. Dress smart

Your hair style should compliment your outfit, and vice-versa. You need to always appear professional. This way you will feel confident with yourself and make your colleagues and clients comfortable around you.

4. Know your dress-code

In addition to the above, you need to make sure you follow the Company's dress-code rules. Do you need to wear a hat? Gloves? An apron? A name tag? Always be in line with those rules.

5. Respect

You must give it before you earn it! Analyze your behaviour with your colleagues and make sure you respect everyone, even if you don't personally like them.

6. Be the best

Sometimes being good is just not good enough - you have to be the best. Do your job well, double check yourself and exceed your boss's or client's expectations.

 

7. Don't take it personal

If, after all your efforts you still feel that you are being discriminated because of your locks, remember that the only thing we have control of is ourselves. So decide that you don't care what others think of you and just be yourself. 

Keep Calm And Get Dreadlocks Malta feature on local website

Tal-Ostja.com  is a local website that features all the cool stuff in Malta.

Bands, Photographers, Artists, but also Bars, Restaurants, Event Organizers, and other service providers, just like Keep Calm And Get Dreadlocks - Malta.

Thanks to Miguel from Panda Design for the feature on Ta' L-Ostja!

Dreadlocks in Malta - What they say about us!

Preparing your hair for new dreads

So, you've been thinking of making dreads for how long? a month, two, three, a year, since you can remember? OK so now you've made up your mind and ready for it! And until the big day you'd be wondering if there is anything you could do to prepare your hair for the big change! Here are a few tips:

1) Stop using conditioner
Your hair needs to be the opposite of soft to lock in the best of ways.

2) If you are thinking of dying your hair, do it before the dreads
The chemicals from the dye or the bleach will actually help your hair lock easier

3) Start using a residue-free shampoo
Your hair will already have to deal with the new dreadlock style, so at least the shampoo will not be another new thing to deal with.

4) Avoid hair sprays, wax, gel, etc
These are not the type of chemicals that do your hair or scalp any good. Quite the contrary. With the introduction of your imminent dreadlocks, you cannot afford having dirty hair or a flaky scalp.

5) Decide what kind of locks suit you
Consider your hair type and also your face shape. You could browse images of different people with dreadlocks to figure out what thickness of locks you want. If you have large volume of hair you can choose 100 super thin locks or 50 thicker ones. Also, ask yourself if your hair is long enough - dont forget that the length will decrease during the dreadlock process. If it is not, decide if you will be happy with short locks or if you want to opt for extensions. You can also use extension hair to increase the thickness of the locks.

6)  Research
You will need to understand what is the best way to maintain your dreads once you have them. Prepare a set of questions to ask your loctician, check out forums and specialized websites about the best way to wash them, dry them, keep them good looking and good smelling. Get yourself informed.

Last but not least, make sure to motivate yourself for the maintenance and patience that you will need to give to your dreads.The first 6-12 months will be the toughest. Your hair will need to recover from the initial shock and adjust itself to its new style. Be ready for surprises - sometimes dreadlocks take a life of their own. No matter how much research you do and how many people you talk to, remember that every individual is unique and therefore every case is different.

You will probably notice that I have not included the point where you decide what kind of method you want to make dreadlocks with, as I believe that the best way is the crochet technique and strongly discard all the others - unless you have that kind of rough hair and you go for the neglect/natural method.

However you definitely need to decide WHO will do your dreadlocks. Make sure you choose your loctician very carefully. He or she has to be someone who is able to show you samples of previous works, and let you have comments from previous customers. Do you think it is a good idea to economize on your hair health and appearance? I don't think so! So be careful of cheap amateurs. Go for a professional loctician. And once you have found someone with a proven track record of excellence and customer satisfaction, you know your hair is in good hands.

Go for the ride!