Marc Gravel said:

Ill take your advice, but im worried if i do that they will fall apart completly, a few that dont have elcastic bands are slowly falling apart, i know they will lock up in time, but i want them to look half decent in the process.

Lol dont worry so much about it sir, it'll pass. Dreads age like wine and they always look like "hell" in the first stages. Try enjoying the process instead of interfering. There is little to nothing you can do friend, they have to go through the process every head of dreads has to go through. Rubber bands can melt in and be impossible to remove, I had a bad experience with melting bands myself as a matter of fact.If you just cant help it and you feel like you NEED something on your tips wrap them instead of using rubber bands. Hemp string wont melt and it looks kinda cool, but honestly I really don't know if it even does all that much to help the dreads stay together in their first months anyway. It's something I plan on putting to the test when I start my next set of locks.

I was going to say the same thing everyone else already has.. Good to see that you figured it out and took them out. Rubber bands are known for melting and breaking.. Not good.

It's no problem! That's what the site is here for! Also, if you'd like to speed up knotting just a bit, start wearing a wool tam! Some say just wear it to bed, but I find myself wearing mine whenever my dreads are just blah. Instead of fighting their unruly-ness I put them to bed in a tam. Search artfire.com or etsy.com for a ton of awesome suppliers (I recommend Sweetbriers from artfire.com for longer tams), or check out our members shops. If you're the crafty type (like myself) then you can pick up a crochet hook and make one yourself! We have a great pattern courtesy of Purple sage designs (another awesome unique seller) that I use to make all the tams you'll see me wearing! Marc Gravel said:

So i took all the elastics out now, they feel waaayy better, and it also looks better. As i was removing some i noticed a few were already starting to melt into my hair, i think i got them out just in time before they really melted in. Had a shower and there isnt any gunk from the elastics left in. They feel more free to do their own thing now, im so greatful for this site. Thanks everyone!!!

They will eventually have to be cut out. I would simply allow time to work it's magic, and to gently palm roll and rub.

I just cut my rubber bands out after two days. They were to tight and making my roots feel weak. I feel like my hair can breath agian.