Aloe is a moisturizer. It will not help them lock. It will not hurt your hair. If you are using it to help it to knot......it won't work. I would only recommend to use it occasionally to neaten up dreads for a wedding or job interview. But if your hair is just starting to knot then skip the aloe.
I have seen that photo for years but had no idea who's dread it was.I am so glad that you were able to start dreads again. A few of my dreads were back combed. I know lots of people who started with that method who have beautiful mature dreads.My issue with it is that down the road there is a lot of split ends (tiny white spots) caused by how rough back combing can be on individual strands. I noticed that they shrank less but had fewer cool lumps and squiggles too. You are going to have some shrinkage. The weird thing about shrinkage is....the longer the hair the more it shrinks. Waist length hair can shrink 20 inches but shoulder length hair may only shrink 3 to 4 inches. It may sound crazy but it is true. I have no advice that you have not heard before. Just keep them clean and separate them as they start to attach to each other. No palm rolling this time!
What a perfect time to start locks. Growing them at the same time you are growing new life in your womb. That is beautiful!
The rule of thumb is that your dreads will shrink and fatten up to the size of the section on your scalp. If your hair is thin like mine your locks may be a bit thinner than the section. So go by the size of the sections on your scalp. If your sections are over an inch redo them now before the knots are too dense. Even though your hair may be thin or fine...your dreads are going to get a whole lot fatter during the next year.
At the end of my first year I had less than 30 dreads. I have not brushed my hair in over 7 years now. I have over 60 dreads. Your babies are only 4 months old. They are still going to shrink and fatten up. Over time they will not look or feel as "straggly." They are going to change so much over the years. The trick is don't stress over it. Just let it happen. Just think of your dreads as going through an ugly duckling phase. It is important to let your hair move around freely. If you keep it pulled back it will take longer to knot up.
My dreads make medallion shaped knots on the ends. These knots start curving into them selves and then round out.and form round balls on the ends. The 1st picture gives an example of a few of the baby dreads on my head. They have already gone through the medallion stage and have turned into balls. The tips will always be a bit thicker because there is so much more hair balled up than there will ever be on the rest of the dread. The second picture is showing a 7 year old dread. See how it is so much fatter on the end? It is my most extreme one. So yes....those balls will always be thicker, but they will not be as noticeable It does not bother me at all that they are fatter on the tips.It is just the way mother nature wants my hair to knot. What bothers me is when people tell me that I should leave my tips undreaded. LOL I do not have a choice in the matter. I have even combed out a tip or two but guess what? It just does it again! Embrace it and love it ! It is your dreads and your journey. Don't worry about what other peoples dreads look like and never compare them to yours! Yours are unique and beautiful! And have lots of personality!!!
The majority of my dreads do that. Almost all of them are thicker on the tips because of the weird knots that form. They round out eventually but will always be thicker.
What type of hair do you have? Is it African American or Caucasian? It makes a big difference. African hair needs moisture. or it will get brittle and break off. Jojoba oil is wonderful to use.
The mildew soured smell of damp towels that have been left sitting for a week or so...that is what mold smells like, It stinks. I enlarged your photos. All I see is lint and a few split ends. I have never seen the butter stuff but I can guess that it is what has caused the sticky feel. Dreads attract lint. If your dreads are sticky then obviously it will attract a lot more lint than normal. I pick some of my lint out with my finger nails or tweezers but over the years I have just gotten used to knowing there will always be some in there somewhere. I have noticed that I get a whole lot less lint now than I did in the beginning.
Fox, I just ordered your green tree bead 
thanks
