Hi! My name is Renna.
I have had most of my dreads for about 7 years and the top layer for about 4 years. The bottom layer of my hair is dreaded with the top loose.
I started out my dreads by back combing them and palm rolling. For maintenance I rub the root base to get the hair fuzzy, crochet the loose hair in the dread and use a rubber band at the base of the dress for about 2 days or so until the roots lock.