Monica's dread journey.

Marie Oldenburg-Crans

This is how it all began



Their is always maintenance


Cool in shades of blue

I am a Dutch woman from Amsterdam. I decided to get dreads at the age of 46. My hair was grey already coz I stopped dyeing it at age 40. I met the love of my life at age 43 (Jan Ronald) he introduced me to the world of gothic and fantasy festivals, where you see a lot of people with dreads. Suddenly I felt the hippie in me well up. I wanted dreads. My hair has always been shoulder length, it somehow never got much longer. I figured that having dreads would finally make my hair grow longer.

I did a lot of research online about the different ways of making them, about maintenance. I had them made in Belgium by a girl who had learned it in Bangkok. I liked that thick firm type of dreads. She made them by just crocheting, no backcombing. My dreads were ultra short and I looked like a hedgehog. But I didn't care. I loved having dreads. I have always felt like the odd one out and having an alternative type of hairstyle made me feel that my inner self and my appearance were more in sync.

I have had dreads for 2,5 years now.  I got married with dreads, my husband loves them too. My mother is 83 and she doesn't understand them. But she is too old and vague to really complain. :-)I am self employed so I don't need to worry about bosses and colleagues. I am not the kind of person who feels good in an office anyway, so getting dreads was never something that would hurt my 'career'. My in laws and friends like my hair too. They think it goes well with my quirky, weird personality.

And I am happy with my dreads too.