Discouraging Experience... What do I do now?

So I've been helped by advice on this forum a lot, and I decided to join today and tell you guys about this terrible experience I had today.

First a little background. A few years ago I did backcombed dreads DHHQ style with all their products. After year I wasn't happy with the results and how my hair was always covered in wax, and the dreads didn't look at all natural. So I cut them off. I wasn't planning on dreading again until I found this site and some great advice on how to dread naturally without all the products and fuss that DHHQ teaches. So I decided to start em up about a month and a half ago, doing very light T&R just to get some sections going, then letting them do their thing naturally from there. The only maintenance I do is separating and baking soda washes. I feel like its going great and that after only a month I see them dreading up well, making lots of loops, etc.

Until today.... I took my wife to a salon to get her hair done, and while waiting one of the stylists starting talking to me about my dreads and telling me how I need to start palm rolling them more and applying products or else they will never tighten up. I tried to explain that I've been through that before and was only interested in doing them naturally this time. But she insisted they she could make them better if I let her start from the beginning with interlocking, rolling, and periodic retwisting they will come out better. Ugh.

I did really light T&R to start them off about 1.5 months ago, just enough to get the sections going, but not so much that they were dreaded at the roots, so what I have now are some dreads starting tighten up but only on the bottom half of the sections. The top half (middle of section up to the root) is still all loose hair. She said I'll end up with dreads just on the bottom hanging from plain undreaded hair on the top if I don't redo them. But I was under the impression that even the roots will tighten up and dread naturally with time.

What do you guys think? Could it be true that I didn't T&R tight enough and now I've just created half dread/half plain hair sections? Or should I continue letting them do their thing naturally and they'll tighten up at the roots too? My hair was really long when I started, about to the middle of my back, so maybe its too much hair length in each section to be able to tighten up naturally?

I'll try to get some photos up later to show you how it looks.

Thanks for your help.

updated by @james6: 02/14/15 06:38:20AM

You're fine, plain and simple. Your hair will lock up on it's own it's just starting from the bottoms where you gave it a bit of a kick start, roots don't generally always lock all the way up to your scalp, your hair needs some room to move and if it dreaded all the way to your scalp it would stick straight out, salons will tell you things to get you to spend money, or plainly out of ignorance and not knowing what kind of locks can become from just leaving them be and letting time and love dread them for you!

the salon was lying to rip you off tell them they had no idea what they are talking about and are just dsestroying dreads with theyre lies

youtr dreads will be perfect.. dont worry your doing things just right

the roots take 8 months to tighten up

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thanks for the replies Shanxon and se! Its encouraging to hear that I should trust in the natural process. Here are a couple photos of my progress so far. You'll see how I've got a lot of crazy looping happening, but with really loose roots.

Do you think I should expect the overall length to shrink a lot? I started with my hair almost to my mid-back, and its an inch or two shorter now.

updated by @james6: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

its dreading fine and im sure it will be shrinkin to shoulders or more lol

but they are pretty far along for so young and oh wait u tnr not nat so yea theyre exactly where thy should be for so young

loose roots take a good while to dread

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

yea... most salon people dont know jack about dreads.

And should I wrap some hemp or beads on those loops or is it better to let the loops do there thing? It seems like leaving them alone will result in the dreads shrinking quite a bit with the current rate of looping I'm seeing!

you'll be fine. your progress looks good! i'm going to start beauty school soon and when i went to tour the school i had to redreaducate all of the stylists at the salon! they couldn't believe there was nothing in my hair and that i did nothing to maintain the roots. they really just don't know shit, so don't feel bad

and i personally would leave the loops and bumps alone, but that's personal preference.

yep covering or doing things to the loops and bumps is strictly personal preference they look great and will look even better in the future to come w/ out the help of products or the salon people!!

I, personally, think the loopiness looks pretty wicked :D