Have you always admired women with flowing hair? Do you long for a wash-and-go style? In Nice Dreads , Lonnice Brittenum Bonner, the author of the classic Good Hair , shares her secrets and personal stories about dreadlocks—from cultivating buds to keeping those locks looking their best! Perfect for women who want dreadlocks but aren’t sure how to start, or for those who’ve already started and want to know the best ways to keep hair healthy, Nice Dreads can help you grow your own lovely locks. From preparing for the haircut to everyday maintenance, Lonnice Brittenum Bonner tells you exactly what to expect, while photographs illustrate each stage of growth and showcase mature dreads in all their glory. The author (who sports locks herself) knows firsthand the challenges of caring for this hairstyle; those intimidated by a drastic cut or shy about showing off the stages of early growth will find personal encouragement from someone who knows exactly how they feel—and how great they’ll look! Learn how to overcome your reservations and wear your style with pride. Have you always admired women with flowing hair? Do you long for a wash-and-go style? In" Nice Dreads, Lonnice Brittenum Bonner, the author of the classic "Good Hair, shares her secrets and personal stories about dreadlocks--from cultivating buds to keeping those locks looking their best! Perfect for women who want dreadlocks but aren't sure how to start, or for those who've already started and want to know the best ways to keep hair healthy, "Nice Dreads can help you grow your own lovely locks. From preparing for the haircut to everyday maintenance, Lonnice Brittenum Bonner tells you exactly what to expect, while photographs illustrate each stage of growth and showcase mature dreads in all their glory. The author (who sports locks herself) knows firsthand the challenges of caring for this hairstyle; those intimidated by a drastic cut or shy about showing off the stages of early growth will find personal encouragement from someone who knows exactly how they feel--and how great they'll look! Learn how to overcome your reservations and wear your style with pride. Lonnice Brittenum Bonner began her writing career as a newspaper reporter with the Oakland Tribune . She has gone on to write several books on African American hair care, including Good Hair , Plaited Glory , and The Kitchen Beautician . She lives in Tennessee with her husband and son. Chapter 1: Getting Started: Fruit of the Nappy Root The main things folks want to know about starting locks are (1) Do I have to cut off my perm? and (2) Can you take them out? First things first. Black women and haircuts have a stormy history. There’s a natural distrust of cutting, trimming, or putting any sort of sharp edge to our hair. I believe this is because we’ve been misled for so long about the fabled benefits of cutting that we’re just naturally wary. We’re trying to keep some hair, grow some hair, but when we go to the hairdresser we always end up giving them some. That’s because we swallow the correlation between touch-ups and trims; your new growth needs a touch-up and you trim the ends. Some hairdressers will throw game instead of skills and tell you that you need the trim because it will make your hair stronger, help it grow. What actually happens is that they trim whatever you grow so your hair remains in stasis. If your hair is overprocessed–a chronic condition in Black hair care–you’ll have chronic breakage, which guarantees you’ll never really see any meaningful increase in length. The trim is simply a cosmetic stave-off that keeps your hair presentable and makes their work look good when you leave the chair. Another factor is fear of the unknown. We know how our perm is going to work; we’re accustomed to managing our expectations when it comes to touch-ups, breakage, and making nappy hair straight. All the energy has been directed toward achieving and maintaining straightness. The very idea of long lush hair that comes from the nappy coils we’ve been taught to remove is, well, an idea that takes many women some time to get used to. I believe many Black women experience a visual oxymoron when they see long locked hair. It can’t be real because everyone knows that nappy hair doesn’t grow long enough to hang, it only grows out, as in an afro. Plus, the long hair fantasy–Rapunzel, Indian-Runs-in-My-Family, Goldilocks, Cher, Darchelle on Solid Gold, Jan and Marcia, the Asian Chick on Soul Train when Don Cornelius was the host–is all about long, straight hair or braid extensions tricked up to look like straight hair. Not dreadlocks. So when women see waist-length locks they see a comb and a dream; if they can comb it out and make it straight, they can get to the Promised Land. I wish somebody had taken me in hand and told me to focus on what was important and forget the nonsense. The questions you should be asking when you are thinking about locking your hair should revolve around st