THE DREADLOCKS ROUTE

Let's take a trip down Dreadlocks Route, we've got the world famous Bob Marley, pirate Jack Sparrow, Lenny Kravitz in his signature hair rocking his Are You Gonna Go My Way music vid and my favourite dreadlocks moment of rapper/stripper (best job combi for a girl for guys) Brooke Candy in Grimes' Genesis music vid. Of course, the Dreadlocks Route wouldn't have been so popular if not for Lady Gaga. 

As much as I love to see people in dreadlocks, I personally wouldn't try it. Partly because my endurance for pain it too low to stand the five hour process, I'm too lazy to maintain it (more time and effort than maintaining my current purple and red hair), I can't stand not being able to scratch my hair when it's itchy and I'd look awfully weird in it (I need some fringe to cover my fat face). 

Over the years, I've realised more Singaporeans have taken the Dreadlocks Route. In fact, I just saw two girls sporting really long ones yesterday at Haji Lane. Elden (above), who is currently waiting for his enlistment, has been dreadlocking for 6 months now. It's much cheaper to get it done outside of Singapore so Elden first went to Thailand and now goes back to Johor Bahru for maintenance. With the tribal headband, eye brow piercing and ear gauges, Elden's dreadlocks is just an icing on his hippy cake.

Next up is Kiki. Dreadlocking isn't a temporary commitment for her - she's a permanent resident (PR) in Dreadlocks Lane (where the Dreadlocks Route leads to). I like how she adds beads to her dreadies for some extra colours. We can do that to our normal hair too but with thicker strands, comes with larger beads and of course, bigger impact. Kiki loves it so much she said she has finally found her look. Gosh, I'm still looking for mine. 

And finally, we have media student Yong Xian, the New Dreadlocker on the Block/Route/Lane. When I spotted him in town, he just got it done at Far East Plaza. Sporting a side shaved look with bright blue streaks and thicker locks (see how hard his are compared to Elden's), Yong Xian takes dreadlocking to a completely different level. 

What Elden, Kiki, Yong Xian and possibly Bob Marley, Brooke Candy and the rest have in common is that to them, dreadlocking not only changes their ordinary appearance but is a form of self-expression. 

I had so much fun using 'dreadlocker' and 'dreadlocking' but does 'dreadies' sound better than 'dreadlocks'?