Wonderland Wanderess

  Here's the thing about brightly coloured hair: it fades...really fast! Blues, purples, pinks, greens, and reds should ideally be maintained in-salon at least every 6 weeks (though this can be stretched out for dreads due to less frequent washing). Aside from cost, this is also rather time-consuming, especially if, like me, you have naturally dark hair and require your roots bleached prior to adding colour; think bleaching, waiting, rinsing, colouring, waiting, rinsing, drying, styling, and/or cutting if necessary. It's a lot but I would argue those pretty colours are worth the hassle! If this is realistically unfeasible for your lifestyle or wallet, however, do not despair! You can request to purchase a "top-up" bottle of Crazy Colour   from Styles, Highfields after you've gone Crazy . This can potentially enable you to stretch colour sessions out to once every 12 weeks. ~ This was my first experience topping up my dreads at home with Blue Jade : (FYI you probab...

  Whether your style is subtle, wild, or somewhere in between, Dreadlocks Unlocked has an obsessory for you. Dreadheads can choose from an impressive and ever-growing assortment of clips, beads, headbands, wraps, beanies, hair towels, shower caps, and more! In this blog, I am sharing my current Top 5 Dreaded Obsessories, though these will undoubtedly change with the rapid expansion of the Styles Highfields in-salon range. 1. Sssssssay hello to my dread pet, Sammy Snake These are quite a new kid (or reptile 😏) off the block and are unequivocally my favourite dread bead. I initially had one installed after colouring and loved it so much, I had another two installed after my maintenance session the following week. Installation of these guys is slightly different to ordinary dread beads in that they are twisted onto the dread, rather than pushed on. The snakes are strong but also have just the right amount of give to allow them to be shaped across dread buns, and straightened out agai...

  Hot on the heels of the pepperminty goodness of Dreadlocks Unlocked shampoo,  Supasoak,  comes its delectably scented sister product,  Oceanise . This is a light hold spray, made with fine, mineral-rich sea salt. It helps tighten dreads and adds a satisfyingly gritty feel, leaving a matte finish akin to beach air hair. Oceanise has a fun, coconutty fragrance and evokes fond memories of summer sunshine. It is 100% vegan, made in Australia, cruelty-free, and contains organic ingredients. This spray can be used on clean wet or dry hair and can be heat styled post-spritz, or simply left to air dry. My personal preference, is to liberally apply Oceanise to towel dried locks, allow them to dry naturally, then palm roll once completely dry. I find this process results in a grittier finish. A 200mL bottle of Oceanise retails at $25.95 and can be purchased either online at www.dreadlocksunlocked.com  or in-salon at Styles , Highfields. The lucky last product for revie...

Welcome back dreadheads, non-dreadheads and soon-to-be dreadheads! Today we are going to be talking about the Dreadlocks Unlocked  product range. This range is currently comprised of three products: Supasoak , Oceanise and Dreadlixia . We will talk more in depth about each of these soon but first, I would like to give a little insight into how and why the Dreadlocks Unlocked  product range was born. 2020 was a year like no other; it was the year the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia hard. Cities shut down, the stock market crashed, children were being home-schooled and all non-essential businesses were ordered to close. The majority of these non-essential businesses were small, family-owned enterprises like cafes, beauty parlours, tattoo shops, florists, and, you guessed it, hairdressers. Many livelihoods were left in tatters and unemployment rates skyrocketed. A necessary component of survival for business owners, in this new world, was the ability to think critically and inno...

There is no shortage of ways to decorate dreads but today we are going to talk wraps. These are a perfect way to brighten up uncoloured dreads  and play around with funky colours in an easily reversible way. On the other hand, they can also be used to create quirky patterns in coloured locks. At only $10 each, wraps are great value. This price includes both the string and installation. In terms of how long they last, so far I have had mine in for almost 4 weeks.  This is the first time I have personally trialled wraps in my own dreads, so I will see how long I can get out of them and then revert back to this space for an update. Those who know me, know I love a challenge and pushing the limits of how long I can get out of dread related products! Being my first wraps, I admittedly babied the 3 of them for the first couple of weeks—I was petrified of accidentally unwrapping my pretties; however, after they survived their first wash, I became more confident treating them the same...

  Temporary dreadlocks, commonly known as "temp dreads", can be synthetic or real hair, depending on the locktee's preference.  As with regular hair extensions or dread extensions, real temp locks can be coloured, while synthetic, cannot.  Synthetic temp locks are also a great deal heavier after washing and cannot be blow dried (they would melt!).  towel drying, then air drying, is required which becomes tedious and time consuming, to say the least! I trialled temp dreads before my "natural" dreads and opted for synthetic to cut costs.  If I had my time again, I would definitely invest in the real hair... though hindsight is a wonderful thing and this choice would be rendered redundant; I would likely skip the temp dreads altogether and get straight to commencing the "Baby Dread" journey (baby dreads is the term used for freshly installed dreads in natural hair). ~ I have spent the majority of my life, lusting after dreads —even as a young child, I was...

  Whoever said, "Blondes have more fun" must never have met a dread head!  Surely nothing is comparable to a kaleidoscope of colours, spattered with glittering beads, upon a canvas of wild, rope-like tresses. Surely, this is not bias.  No.  Fact it must be—dread heads certainly have more fun! Hi!  I'm Wonderland Wanderess, by name and by nature, and it is my absolute pleasure to announce my appointment as blogger for Dreadlocks Unlocked.  This is, as the name suggests, a dreadlock salon, and is the brainchild of Styles Highfields owner, Sair. Sair, a fellow dread head herself, is down to earth, friendly, quirky and authentic; a wonderful human, by all accounts.  It should then come as no surprise that Styles is one of the only local hair salons, catering to dreadlock cliental. ~ As my first post, I have decided to do a Q & A of frequently asked questions about dreads.  Should you have any questions I may have missed, please feel free to add th...

  Cultural Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following blog post contains images and names of deceased persons Introduction The writer acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of Australian land.   Respect is paid to the Elders, past and present.   With this respect in mind, this essay will examine the Mabo decision and the importance of this decision for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.   It will commence with a brief biography of the life of Edward ‘Koiki’ Mabo.   Next, an overview of Mabo v Queensland (No.2) will be discussed, followed by a critique.   Finally, the impact the Mabo decision had on dispossession will be analysed.   It will be argued that, fundamental as the Mabo decision may have been, it was conditional and with it came complex rules the Crown had no right to attach.      The Man Behind the Law Edward...