is this normal?

i've had my dreads a month, i knew going in there would a long awkward phase, but i cant seem to find any pics of others dreads who looked like mine a month in so it has me concerned, i have a lot of loose hair, both loose hair not in a dread and loose hair in the dreads, i know ill always have some loose hair, so i guess im wondering if itll clear itself up over time without any intervention or if they need redone, im wondering if i shouldve twist and ripped instead. also sorry i wasnt too sure what category to post this in.

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they look fine for a month in though the sections are a lil indistinct so its hard to tell the sizes

how big are te sections at the roots

tnr would have been a better choice just cause its a lot gentler on the hair 

this is what backcombing does

they should be inch and a half by inch and a half, i think theres 40 in total, hoping they'll get thicker, i dont think theyve shrunk yet.

they will get quite thick though 40 is a decent average number  1 1/2 is 1/2 thicker then max recommended for easy care. that extra 1/2 inch can add a whole lot to drying times and increase the mildew risk .now if any 2 accidently congo..which can happen without you noticing, thats a 3 inch thick dread thicker then your wrist that can take days to dry fully 

if you don't mind the risk then proceed (and 40 sounds like quite a few would be under an inch then typicaly  1 inch gives you under 30  1 1/2  could be as low as 20)

but.. keep in mind that ticker dreads can be extra hard to care for ..after an inch.. and a 1 inch dreads pretty thick

additionally a blend of sizes  typically looks most natural  and they bled beautifully

yeah im hoping they dont get too thick either but i imagine therell be different sizes, my wife did the sectioning so im not sure the exact sizing but id say 1 inch section up to 1 1/2, i was going for dreads similar to the lazy dreads guy lol, his just looked how i wanted them to turn out but ive learned to just like them for however theyturn out

mine at 18 years in (out of 26 and cunting)  but this was the year i stopped separating and let as many as 6 join into 1..none got over an inch  really but still those 1 inch thick dreads  although stronger  have a higher risk of starting to smell funny after a wash

most of these in the photo are pencil thin (1 was 1 mm x 2 mm ad that was 3  even tinier dreads cobined) only 2 or 3 at that time were 1/2 an inch to an inchbut because thick and thin and medium all blend together  it just gives a more natural look 

rule of thumb

you can always let thin dreads thicken by combining or congoing later on (don't separate and they join together)  you will ever know how  thick a dread will get on day 1 (well yes they get to the section sizes and  1 1/2 is pretty big) a dime to quarter sized section will make a reasonably thick dread  and be way easier to care for then 1 twice as large

yea i think his are an inch or less 

did he backomb? always figured he went natural

i think he did backcomb, although im not certain, i know hes said before hes got about 37-40 dreads, is there any kind of way to make dreads that are too big smaller?

not without breaking every last hair in them hundreds of times  its better to comb them out and restart thinner 

you see when they are dreaded the hairs zig zag back and forth chaotically in every direction

you can start at the roots and split them, breaking every hair  as it zigs and zags its way through the split

but then you can split unevenly too  having a thick end from a thin root and vice versa

if any are too thick its really beer to simply comb those ones out and  let them re-form  as 2 or more