I know plenty of people on here that do wraps and beads, even on their baby dreads. I honestly feel that beads are better because they move around and in turn don't really hinder the hair from dreading up. Wraps however, are tight and don't move. Your hair could end up being straight underneath them the day you cut them out whereas if it had been free moving it may have dreaded up.
I just hit my 4 month and I have about 6" of shrinkage so far. I'm pretty sure it all has to do with how long your hair is to start with though. My hair was mid-chest and now it's shoulder length. a lot of my dreads are tight almost all the way to the scalp now.
Very cool and very informative post!
SE: Let us know how well the color fastness of this method is up against the dreadlock bars, will you?
That is true. The pores of the hair shaft will fill with water or, mostly fill with water, deflecting some of the effects of the chlorine. It's also good to give it AT LEAST a good rinse after the pool too though. If for some reason you are at someone's house and can't just jump into your cleaning regimen right then or later that day, rinsing the hair off with clean water will help. 
I'm not a fan of swimming or being under water at all... yet I am completely fascinated by the aquatic ape theory and under sea life. :P
It could be from the tension of pulling them back (regardless of how tight) for extended periods of time or it could be your hairs growth patter being conflicted. Not everyone's hair comes out of the head at the same direction/angle with respect to the rest of the hair otherwise people wouldn't have cowlicks to contend with. No matter how subtle the difference it could be affecting the direction your dreads are going. Just wait a while and, as the hair actually starts to grow out at the roots, if it's from pulling them back, they will eventually grow and re-knot in the direction of the natural growth pattern. If you hair grows out this way then, you may have to just wait for them to get longer and heavier to lay straighter.
What everyone is saying here is true about the washing and what to expect. I beseech you, take a look at the dreaducation page (link at top) and read up on the method you used (backcombing), washing, and maintenance, AT LEAST! This is great information for any dread head to know from day 1 of their journey.
After that, feel free to ask us more questions because we are here for help and support.
Just to reiterate what everyone here is already telling you, check out the dreaducation link at the top of the page for a fuller understanding and good luck!
Hi Caleb and welcome!
Glad to see you found us and are removing the wax. How does your experience compare from the waxy stages to the cleaner, wax-removed stages? I assume it's making you much happier with your dreads?
Anyhoo, pull up a chair, set up a timeline. Everyone would love to see your progress.
Rainbow is right in regards to the economic hardships being felt by all. My bf is clean cut with a BA in communications and a desire to get into public policy and he has been unable to find work for over 3 years now. He is also going to school and taking other classes and earning certificates in areas like programming, etc so that he can offer more skills to the employment arena and he still hasn't landed a job. He's only had about 5 interviews and has been spending a large chunk of every weekday looking for work and putting out apps and rsums so, the joblessness isn't exclusive to people with dreadlocks. Heck, I was able to find a crap part time job during a rather messy stage of my dreadlocks and still have said job.
Anyhoo, I have always been the one to say that if you weigh the pros and cons of any situation justifiably then lean harder on the side that weighs the most. If you find that more than 50% of your personal reasoning's justify keeping or combing then follow that path and don't feel guilty about it. It's not our decision or your boyfriends; you need to do what you feel is right. What we offer is solutions and reasoning for you in regards to keeping them. Take them into consideration but please go with your heart.
Anyhoo, me, wearing one of my snood's with a flower hair pin I made (since you wanted to see more):
You can either make them by yourself or I have seen them retail for as little as 3 dollars. They also come in different colors.
Good luck finding a job. If it's any consolation at all, I got hired 1 month into my dread journey by a beauty supply store.
If you want to wait it out a little longer, you can always put your hair in a snood and clip a flower to the side. Snoods are more breathable than tams and they look very pretty on women.
I usually wear mine farther up on the head than some other women but it is definitely my fall back when I don't wanna wash my hair before work and feeling especially frumpy.
