Question regarding VERY moderate backcombing on my Day 2 of Wax-Free dreads

So I had my dreads done at a salon with wax/twist/backcomb and it was awful - the wax was just horrible. I got it out with vinegar soaks and dish soap. Anyway my question is that I am basically trying to go as natural as possible, but after washing out the wax I was left with some areas that needed attention because they were painful (thanks to the salon). I have very long hair. Like 3 feet. After the aggressive removal of wax I was left with half dreads and half straight hair - about 6 inches of baby forming dreads at the bottoms that didn't wash out, and then a lot of loose hair from the crown of my head for several inches that were partially into the remaining dreads that were left. So I have these uncomfortable sections of straight hair that were tugging out of the dreads thanks to the horrible salon job, and those pulling areas were painful. Since then I have had my girlfriend backcomb very small sections of the hair that was very loose and pulling **very, very gently** I know backcombing is very much discouraged here. I take that into consideration because I respect everything said here by people who know loads more than I do. The backcombing we did today did not give me any of that aggressive puffy look - they look very wild and natural, and basically they are all dreading naturally now. I just used the backcomb method to get those painful areas back on track and separated so they didn't tug. My hair is mainly loose. I did not backcomb to the scalp. Just small areas very very gently. Is this ok? I am not going to do anything else from here on out. I feel like I've undone the salon's damage. I hope my question makes sense.

updated by @sarah-weathers: 01/13/15 09:24:57PM

It shouldn't be too bad. Just don't do anymore. It undoes/stalls progress.

If you get that tugging feeling again though it may mean that the sections were poorly made and that's what is pulling. If that happens you should probably just comb out the dreads that are doing that and let them dread up naturally. They will section themselves and/or join other dreads.

You will be amazed at how quickly your hair is going to lock up. You will probably even notice that the fully natural ones surpass the ones that still had backcombing in. I certainly noticed it with my twist and rip dreads compared to my naturals.It's so much fun to watch!

Good luck. Just remember to keep your hands out of your hair!

Thank you for your reply - yes I feel like I'm on a good start now - and I am going to keep my hands off it now on out. I am excited about the journey so far, and honestly I feel good about it. Hands off - I promise. I'm just going to see what happens naturally.

Tied up in knots said:

It shouldn't be too bad. Just don't do anymore. It undoes/stalls progress.

If you get that tugging feeling again though it may mean that the sections were poorly made and that's what is pulling. If that happens you should probably just comb out the dreads that are doing that and let them dread up naturally. They will section themselves and/or join other dreads.

You will be amazed at how quickly your hair is going to lock up. You will probably even notice that the fully natural ones surpass the ones that still had backcombing in. I certainly noticed it with my twist and rip dreads compared to my naturals.It's so much fun to watch!

Good luck. Just remember to keep your hands out of your hair!

... and i can't stress how gently the backcombing was done, and just in very small areas that were hurting. i would have done the TnR method, but my hair is very natural and tangled now so there isn't a good area to grasp onto to begin that method. the ends are quite dreaded - natural and wild, but dreaded nonetheless. i think it'll be ok. it was nothing near aggressive backcombing. we did it so gently and slowly that i barely felt it at all, if at all.

Yeah it really doesn't sounds like you did anything crazy bad to them. It's just a simple fact that anything, even twist and rip, causes at least a little damage. That's why the less you do the better.

You're off to a much better start now than you were a couple days ago. Try not to stress too much about what you do or don't do. Just remember that less is best and hair doesn't need any help to dread. It just needs time.

thank you i just looked at your photos of your dreads by the way, and they look beautiful. mine are going the wild natural way. i'm just leaving them the heck alone. thank you for your encouraging words. i'm new here, and i am learning SO much. thank you

Tied up in knots said:

Yeah it really doesn't sounds like you did anything crazy bad to them. It's just a simple fact that anything, even twist and rip, causes at least a little damage. That's why the less you do the better.

You're off to a much better start now than you were a couple days ago. Try not to stress too much about what you do or don't do. Just remember that less is best and hair doesn't need any help to dread. It just needs time.

You're very welcome. And thank you! I'm a big fan of the wild natural look myself. Glad to hear that's the direction you're taking as well!

This place is a great one for dreadlocks knowledge.I read every single word of every single discussion before I joined. I still read every discussion!

Before you know it you will be one of the ones dispensing the knowledge and encouragement. It's the best thing about this community. We're all here to support and learn from each other.

this community is so loving and peaceful. i'm so thankful for everyone here, and i spend so much time reading all the knowledge and stories on here. it makes my heart feel so good to hear people's stories. thank you so much. your kind words of wisdom help very much.

Tied up in knots said:

You're very welcome. And thank you! I'm a big fan of the wild natural look myself. Glad to hear that's the direction you're taking as well!

This place is a great one for dreadlocks knowledge.I read every single word of every single discussion before I joined. I still read every discussion!

Before you know it you will be one of the ones dispensing the knowledge and encouragement. It's the best thing about this community. We're all here to support and learn from each other.

Yeah, you should be good to go, just let them do their thing from now on. With that length you'll be dreaded in no time. I still need so more length yet.

Sounds like they will be fine, just let them go.

I used the TnR method since the backcomb methods never worked very well for me in the past on my natural hair and I got a couple little bits of hair that pulled on my scalp after the first week. I just located them and tugged the little sections out and let them do their own thing on their own.