What's The Difference Between FREEFORM Dreadlocks And NEGLECTING Your Dreadlocks

[@RestorativeClarity]

I was under the impression that neglect locs are freeform locs that also aren’t shampooed. These people only wash with water, like Queen Abike Idowu. I never thought it meant that the person was neglecting themselves.

[@rasheemgreedyman8255]

You got the real freeform dreadlocks Johnny King the real freeform.!!!💯💯😎😎💪🏿💪🏿👊🏿👊🏿🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@househead67]

gotta love the contradiction in folks who say, "don't judge", but wind up being the first folks who pass judgement on a person's dreadlocks.

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Facts lol

[@RestorativeClarity]

Mayowa (Mayowa’s World) received a lot of flack because she didn’t have the “right” type of freeform dreadlocks and it really revealed how much anti-Blackness exists even in the locked “community,” and why “soft locs” and “boho locs” are trending styles. People usually prefer the watered down and whitewashed version of things.

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Exactly. Part of me thinks that's why some are so against fake locs, they low key want their locs to appear 'perfect' like that.

[@kabukimanindahouse]

just my own opinion, nobody has to agree on it, but i think freeforms with perfectly tapered hairlines and parts shaved look really clashing and i don't quite get it. sure, it works on like these perfectly manicured dreads and people can of course prefer them. i just think if you freeform, just let it free and don't manipulate it so much. just my own observation.

[@sunkiss-da-dreadisrael4561]

Agreed

[@shehryaarparacha990]

Honestly in my humble opinion freeforms don't look very neat in general so to make ur hair not look like shit and balance it a taper really helps. Just my opinion

[@kabukimanindahouse]

@@shehryaarparacha990 you can think that way, i don't really mind. this isn't a matter of right or wrong, just personal preference

[@shehryaarparacha990]

@@kabukimanindahouse frfr

[@yongslicer]

@@kabukimanindahouseyeah I had semi free forms and then I had a barber taper it without my consent. I ended up removing the dreadlocks , I hated it

[@marleymonroe4687]

I like your logical mindset on all topics Johnny, not just on hair 1 of the reasons I respect and watch dis channel

[@tonybenjamin336]

i like yours i don't care what people may say congo keep it going natty the natural the better think and strong like a living tree you will always get a fight

[@sandyescoto5060]

I have a quote from a south African book written in 1948 "The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil" that is how I feel about my dreads.

[@hotdogrodriguez6005]

People tend to think with there eyes which makes it easy to fool them

[@BigSteve186]

Great video! I especially enjoyed hearing you talk about what type of dreadlocks you envisioned for yourself when you first started out. It made me stop for a minute and consider which direction I want to go with mine and I think that's healthy. To take a step back every now and then and give yourself some time to figure out what it is you actually want.

[@Manguerabrothersproduction]

Johnny the dred, zayloc 23 n a few others are one of the original neglect loc method

[@DirtyFastingLife]

Love this video because people truly don't know the difference. Your locs bring about peace and freedom.. it's your energy. It's real.. There is a big difference because when you freeform it's not neglect it's just "allowing" but washing and taking care of your hair is very important in this journey ❤❤❤❤ Keep up the great work. Still waiting on my ASMR wash and brushing video. 👀👀😮‍💨💕

[@ElisiasEvolution]

I agree my locs bring me peace and freedom 😊

[@eleanorhunt273]

Thank you for yet another observation, of the terminology’Free form”. It is clearly open to personal interpretations. And a wearer may not fully understand it’s connotations, and the intrigue, it may bring. I would be inclined to address my hair, as being free formed. As it has grown of it’s own accord. And will continue to do so. I have no desire to interfere, with it’s growth pattern. Regardless of how it is viewed.

[@ariesmry]

Ohhh.. I love conversations around the way we use words and categorization in society. I think the only difference between “freeform” and “neglect” locs is intent. If you intend on your hair having a certain look or grooming procedure, but you’re unable to maintain it for whatever reason, then it’s neglect. To me, it’s similar to referring to your hair as loced hair vs matted hair. Even though locs are matted hair, when people generally refer to their hair as matted, it’s bc their hair is tangled in a way thats unexpected or not intentional. It’s interesting (now I’m just musing)…my hair is loced/locing and 5 months into the process, I started looking up how other people with mature, thick locs (freeform/organic/semi,/wicks, whatever) took care of their hair. Mostly due to having been in a location with extremely hard water- I wanted make sure I’m caring for my locs in a way that prevents chronic flakey scalp and build-up. And I’m glad I did that bc it led me away from taking a bunch of random advice and down the rabbit hole of hair science and cosmetic chemistry, traditional and modern hair practices, as well as getting a better cultural understanding as to why there is an expectation for locs to look and feel a certain way. But wow. When it comes to people who make content around their hair, the term “freeform” is used quite broadly. I was a loose natural for most of my life and when the Dickey hair-typing system took the internet by storm, there seemed to be a wide variety of textures that were being labeled 4c (which was probably indicative of the faultiness around this system and how it was utilized). I think some of it was based of off relativity in perception (my hair doesn’t look curly, so it must be 4c), but some of it seemed as a way for content creators (and companies) to grab attention in an ocean of hair content. Seems to be a pattern of that occurring with the freeform term. I don’t make content or products, and I don’t provide hair services, so I’ve decided to go back to the old school method and not categorize my locs. If people are curious to what I do or don’t do to care for my hair, they can ask. Interestingly enough, regardless of how my hair is perceived, I’ve been much more thoughtful and intentional about certain grooming practices since shifting my attention from my hair

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Yes the hair typing era was interesting too, I'm sure it's still done but I don't see as much fuss about it these days(could be the content my social media is geared towards as well.) So yes, it's pretty much like that now in 'freeform' spaces on social media. I also agree with the locd vs matted explanation, because like you said that's what it is but most don't describe their hair that way. I've also seen people say locs and dreadlocks are different, locs are neat and twisted ones whereas mine would be dreadlocks. So it's definitely a lot going on lol.

[@expansive4485]

sure, i will let you know who my locs are. i started my locs by not doing anything to them for a while, and then separated them by curl because i like learning the details of my hair in that way then as time goes on, i slowly combine them to be bigger and bigger until now they have been called wicks by others. i'm not freeform because my hands are always up in my hair, i just wing it and do whatever i feel like for that particular day, and those days can happen once for the month or few months or once for the week, i don't count or keep track of days like that. i fiddle with my hair, if i feel like interlocking i do but it's not proper and without tools or direction, if there's holes in my hair i don't find a problem with them. i often give up half way while i'm fiddling and just braid the parts together like i'm doing right now and watch them grow together like a sculpture i love thick locs, i love that i have no neat parts, and no one knows my hair better than i do and it doesn't follow anyone else's grid or protocol (and i don't even follow a grid or protocol of my own). i'm not sure what to call what i'm doing, there is no schedule i'm following, i'm not a salon person and i don't like other people in my hair (i learned that the hard way and cut off my first set which was similar to my current), my hair can't hold a retwist nor would i want it to or force it to. i'm not freeform, i'm on a different path, what i've been doing still feels "free" for me, just not freely formed. i've learned to trust my desires in the moment and that my small choices are beautiful even when unconventional, like an artist harvesting and fiddling with her own clay, she doesn't need to go to school to find her artform i get what you mean by it's not your personality to have salon locs. i feel similarly enough. i take good care of the health of my hair, just because there's no parts and you can't see my scalp that doesn't mean i don't care for them, it's quite the opposite, i do care to wear it and what it represents in my life, my locs are important and i don't care for what people say is presentable or what looks like "normal" locs. i would want to be semi freeform in the future, where i would stop separating entirely and let it be it's own creation, but for right now the excitement of handmade creation calls to me and i like answering the call for now, i'm an excited person in general. hence the length of me sharing! haha just a "stream of consciousness" i admire locs like yours, they are not the stereotype that people wish them to be. neglect strikes me as a harsh word, that is not how i would describe an intentional hair lifestyle. that would hurt me if someone said what i am doing is neglectful just because my hair doesn't follow directions! i'll say i have nurture dreadlocks instead. i'm not sure, just something that fits the perspective of the person who chooses to not have a price tag or a transaction attached to their hair (and i don't mean that in a dismissive way for other people's hair choices either; i know my perspective can seem harsh, and i know my perspective isn't objective it's a personal thing). being free means priceless, not worthless. i wish we had better understandings of each other, that's why i watch all sorts of loc videos, freeform to salon. none of them are like me and that's all beautiful to me, genuinely and truly

[@JohnnyTheDred]

I dig the way you're going about your hair, just letting it flow and not much worry about the labels, doing what fits your personality 🤙🏾

[@leodoamaral9359]

The Natty dread will always be respected above bathroom locs since one is the hard way and the other the cheaters way. Plus all that twisting is going to leave you bald just ask Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz

[@BobbyBWoke]

Cant believe at 36 ima try to grow locs again. I failed the first time but ima stick it out before i go bald

[@auddievaage]

10-4 Brother!

[@nycinkmaster]

Give thanks my brother, teach the people . Your natty dread is your crown . No matter how it grow . But the term neglect suggests unwanted . Freeform being the natural progression of your dreadlocks

[@thalyricalbambino_x]

Its almost a year now, i haven't twisted my hair, cause I'm inspired by the freeform lock you gat brotha...i just use Jabustone spray and head and shoulders prolly washing once in two weeks...but i dont hoe the I'd get them to flatten as they grow away from the roots cause I'm seeing a little bit of break up which is kinda making me thinking of crotcheting,

[@MoreTooArt]

I'm a year in and I just started separating slightly.

[@MuhammadAbdul-Kareem]

¿ how are you dread . To answer your question I think of neglect as no semi freeform . I would say that I freeform and that is because I never used no comb no clips . But on my journey around the 6th month of hair growth I used the towel rub method . I just within the past two months started to go neglect because stray hair would mat in other locs , especially after wash . November will be nine years .

[@JohnnyTheDred]

I'm alright. Hope you are well, appreciate your comment🤙🏾

[@MuhammadAbdul-Kareem]

Good to know . Things could be better , but I can't complain . No doubt , I appreciate the content . Stay up .

[@bongoikno4994]

The original has be vilified by the imitators aint that some bullS#!+ 😅

[@leoneforte444]

Great video bro 🤙🏼🤙🏼

[@ibbydread6092]

For Rasta , Neglect method means doing nothing. Whether washing them or not maybe up for discussion. Ive known rastas who dont wash their dreads so i dont know truly. No offence intended.

[@RastafariHealth]

Friend,does coconutoil clogs up the follicles?❤❤❤

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Probably. But it's a very light oil so you don't need much at all.

[@RastafariHealth]

@@JohnnyTheDred thanks

[@cassicage73]

What do you use on your beard?

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Shea moisture beard wash. Shea moisture conditioning oil after

[@manuelrush]

❤

[@808Nehemiah]

Hey quick question does sea salt spray loc hair up easier

[@JohnnyTheDred]

No, your hair is gonna lock regardless

[@808Nehemiah]

@@JohnnyTheDred oh ok

[@808Nehemiah]

@@JohnnyTheDred can freeforms seem to grow slower

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Yea definitely. Because freeform is doing a whole lot more matting, forming etc.

[@househead67]

is it me, or are these "terms" similar to segregation in many ways?

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Well, anytime new terms form, new groups, what have you, there's going to be separation and spinoffs from the previous thing. I Just chalk it up to human nature.

[@househead67]

​@@JohnnyTheDredalong with the dog-gone internet and social media, because this wasn't a "thing" until that popped off.

[@bongoikno4994]

​@@househead67it's a natty hair cast system iyah

[@househead67]

​@@bongoikno4994? 🤔

[@K2.Trylock]

Hey should I start my Freeforms from a fro or just leave it

[@JohnnyTheDred]

Sorry for being late just seeing this comment. If your hair is short, you can start from there. If you wanna start from a fro you can do that too.