I decided after a while of wanting dreads that it was time for me to finally get them. Last Monday I started them using the twist and rip method. I didn't finish until 1:00 the following Monday 7/16. I sectioned as much as I could on the front and sides and had my mom help me section the ones in the back that I couldn't reach. My hair was ranging from 3-6/7 inches at various points around my head and seems about the same length now that I've started the dreads. I croched each dread and put rubber bands at the tips and roots after I finished ripping and twisting them.In the past few days they haven't changed much except a few loose hairs have been popping out. After watching literally hundreds of videos on YouTube and reading things on the Internet, I decided that I wasn't going to croche them any more. So now, I've just let them do their own thing. I'm going to keep the rubber bands on for about a month until I feel like they can hold on their own then I'm going to take off the training wheels As for products go, I washed them with diluted baking soda 3 days after I finished the last dread (just because my hair had gotten oily from the week I was twisting and ripping them). After I washed, I sprayed them with the sea salt/water/lemon juice solution and palm rolled. They took a few hours to dry but everything worked out better than expected-only a few loose hairs.As for the loose hairs, I figure i'll let them be loose for a month until school starts and dread ball some of it just to tidy up ( none of my friends know that I'm dreading my hair).I'm going to the beach the week before school (about a month of having my dreads) and again in October so hopefully that will tighten them up all nice I'm excited to see how they come along, I'm planning on keeping them for a very long time. I can't wait until they get longer so I can fling them around and tie them back and all sorts of stuff. I also plan on getting some beads, maybe a carved out Buddah bead and maybe a crystal to hang on one? A lotus flower bead would be awesome too! But I love my little babies more and more each day and can't wait to continue my journey for many years to come!