# WPD (white people with dreadlocks)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 30, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618 "2011-08-30T13:01:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/41 "2011-08-30T20:07:19Z")
> [@Duckster](#):
>
> [Hair lyrics by Hair - original song full text. Official Hair lyrics, 2025 version | LyricsMode.com](http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/hair/hair.html)
Bravo.
As a guy who shaved his head (and has maintained a smooth dome) recently.
Bravo.š
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### Author:  [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/42 "2011-08-30T20:15:47Z")
I think nice dreads are pretty cute.
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### Author:  [@Stately\_Greek\_Automaton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stately_Greek_Automaton)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/43 "2011-08-30T20:34:12Z")
This reminds me of an elderly lady whom I see everytime I frequent the local Sally Annās. Her hair is done up in one giant stooping dread that could be pulled right out of Doctor Seuss.
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### Author:  [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/44 "2011-08-30T20:46:32Z")
[I am not my hair.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7rSv5NvAK8&feature=related)
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/45 "2011-08-30T21:19:37Z")
> [@TruCelt](#):
>
> Find some good youtube footage of this guy: [JohnSomerville](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aMFcrR7bnVo/TBma0GzxK_I/AAAAAAAAAKw/w-AWzkaG8zE/s1600/John+Somerville.jpg) it was pretty gross to see that hair swinging around and imagine eating food he had cooked. Definitely changed my attitude about dreds.
If I understand what youāre saying, the problem here is failure to wait a cap or hair net that enclosed the hairāas any professional cook should, regardless of hair style. Nothing particularly to do with dreadlocks.
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### Author:  [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/46 "2011-08-30T22:05:32Z")
Iāve closely known two people with dreads; both were happy, well-adjusted, and had navigated a good place for themselves in life.
Dreads, like aggressive piercings and whatnot, do make it harder to integrate into the mainstream. Some folks, however, donāt want to integrate into the mainstream ā and itās easier to integrate into subcultures if you do look the part.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/47 "2011-08-30T22:15:14Z")
My son decided to grow dreads when he was 17. He said it was to emulate one of the kids graduating from the high school band, so thereād be always be a kid in the band with dreadlocks.
He spent far more time maintaining his hair than just about anything else. My wife and I talked it over, and decided we had bigger battles to fight, so we never bugged him at all. He kept the dreads through the rest of high school and college, finally cutting them about 3 months before he graduated.
You know, he did look kind of cute, in a Bob Marley sort of way.
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/48 "2011-08-30T23:15:40Z")
For most people (white or blackā¦but especially white), wearing locks is a temporary thing. They are actually high-maintenance if you want them to look nice and clean. Itās harder for white people to lock āwellā, so they have to put extra effort into it. I think that this, in addition to their unconventionality, is why they are often a phase rather than a permanent fixture.
Butā¦a wearer needs to be aware of the obvious. If you decide to give up on them, itās not as simple as combing them out. No, itās āgrab the scissors!ā time. You will have to sport the Sinead OāConnor look for a while. So you better hope youāve got a nice-shaped head!
That said, both my mother and sister have locks. I think they are rather nice looking, but they spend time and money keeping them that way. One downside, though, is that as they grow longer and longer, you can experience [traction alopecia](http://nonsurgical-hairrestoration.com/traction-alopecia-dreadlocks). My mother and sister have this and not even a little bit. So this would be something the niece might want to know about.
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/49 "2011-08-31T01:32:57Z")
> [@Maastricht](#):
>
> Actually, Miss Mannersā advice for parents is to make a Very Big Deal about their teenage kids hair. That way, the kids can safely satisfy their need for rebellion without having to resort to something that actually \*can \*do them damage, like drinking, smoking and screwing.
>
> So to the OPās friends I say: make a very big deal out of it. And try to hide your amused and indulgent smile while doing so.
Sure, but I think they mean 13-17, while the kids live at home. 18 seems to be well after the cows are out of the barn.
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### Author:  [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wpd-white-people-with-dreadlocks/594618/50 "2011-08-31T02:59:08Z")
Itās my opinion that dreadlocks usually only look good on black people and simply arenāt flattering on the vast majority of white people. Nonetheless, it doesnāt really seem like that big of a deal. I agree this is a harmless form of experimenting. Just because I donāt think a hairstyle looks good doesnāt mean that nobody else should wear it.
However, I would be very ashamed of having a child who was so ridiculous as to write a pamphlet about it being wrong for white people to wear hairstyles that originated in other cultures (or anything else that silly). I might have to disown them for that degree of cluelessness.
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