Yeah the weight sucks. I too pile em on top or just have half up and half down. When you do get your babes wet, make sure they can dry completly. Don't want nasty, musty smell in your hair :)

>"the weight of my hair is the biggest down side to dreadlocks. and because it takes so long to dry"

For me the biggest down-side when my dreads passed shoulder-length was people who couldn't see past my "beautiful dreads". All they could talk about was how to make dreads and how "nice" your dreads. It was at that point I saw it as a vain thing and totally UN-Ras Tafari. If I had gotten to the point I could not simply cut them off without anxiety, I would have been way too far. Ras tafari isn't about hair really. Know what I mean?

"Good dry... but it's still heavy" - Winston Rodney (aka Burning Spear)

I get a stiff neck alot more often lately then ever before, and can't help but think my dreads getting to be about waist length might be part of the cause. I have been tihnking of cutting about 3 inches off to lighten the load, but i feel like the ends of my dreads are the most beautiful part and have been part of me for so long, it almost feels like i would be cutting off my fingers.....change is hard.....i don't know if i am ready!

yes, get the hurty neck and back.....will deal tho, never cutting...think of the sadus who hold one arm in the air for the rest of their lives, or something like that.....this is a spiritual commitment for me...
like leslie....mostly mine are up

For me too! A couple of months ago, I had a painful injury caused by washing my dreads...usually I'm really careful when I first get them wet, I make a point of keeping my neck and head forward to compensate for the weight that is caused by them getting wet.

This one time, however, I didn't do that, and my neck snapped back and I instantly felt the most horrendous pain in my neck and shoulder...a hardcore muscle spasm...and I couldn't move properly. I couldn't raise my arms beyond about my waist without pain (well, I couldn't move my right arm much at all, it was soooooo painful!) and my right shoulder and upper back (right side) was stabbing sharp pain....I did, however, manage to shapoo and rinse my hair, man it hurt! All done with minimal arm movement, and relying on turning shower's water pressure up considerably and relying on the pressure of the water to rinse the dreads....

I no longer make the same mistake...I make sure to keep note of my neck when I get them wet...but I choose when they get wet....when I go swimming, they stay dry. When I have a shower where I'm not gonna wash my dreads, I tie them back tightly in a bun , wear a headband and cover the uncovered dreads with a shower cap (I can't find one large enough anymore to cover them all...too much dread length these days :-(

Leslie,
Did you make those headbands or buy them?