Dread Disaster! Cannot go on any longer.

Alright. I realise that I have posted many, many discussions on almost the exact same topic, which is the horrid outcome of my locks. I've been on this journey for about 15+ months now, lost very important locks due to terrible maintenience caused by horrible advice. A lot of root rubbing & beanie wearing (to my assumption) have caused the breakage of 5 dreads in the back of my head, 2 on the sides, 1 in the front & the other is on its way. I'm tired of walking around with large areas of hair on my head lacking where dreads should be. My first main concern, even 'til now, was that they were not growing. But now I should be done with this period of 'stalling' & the noticeable growth should begin. But to my sad reality, I am 99% sure I am going to cut them off in the middle of May. I see all of these wonderful dreads all over the web & they have inspired me to keep going, but I honestly think there is no hope as I have seen absolutely no progress with at all. That 1% wants me to not give up, but if I do, I am sure to start this journey once again, now that I know most of the proper tips & what not. I will be posting a few photos of any of you have any last recommendations. I'm definitely sure I've done as much as I can, & mustered up as much patience as possible. & also, I have a very, very bad habit of touching & twisting my hair/dreads. Could that be harmful to my hair? Are there any supplements that actually work & help for maybe THICKER hair growth for when/if I do cut my hair? Or any significant diets? (I'm a pescetarian)

Also, what would be some recommendations for when I start my dread process over? No one in this area can actually dread, so I have no good way to judge sectioning and what not. If you suggest neglect method give me tips on that was well as the second best method in your opinion and pros and cons for both. I realise I'll be setting myself back for a good four years, but I can't help my distaste for my dreads right now. Thank you for all of the advice & responses , & I will be getting back to them immediately. Much appreciation!

updated by @xyz123: 02/14/15 07:43:57AM

Click on each attachment to view the images. The loose hair in those large areas throughout are no longer than 3 inches, maybe.

I take Biotin supplements. I think they have really encouraged hair growth in the past year. My hair has grown a lot. Yes twisting and playing with your hair excessively can cause damage. Keep your fingers out of your hair

ok b4 we make any decisions

what all had u done besides root rubbing looks like crochet too maybe/ wax?

more details ..and your ethnicity

i dont think u should cut i mean u can comb out tho the new growth will dread in a few more inches

it does look odd due to how they were lost but hey ..pull it off as intentional haha just your whacky style then when new dreads grow in filling gaps it wont matter

if u do start over save as much length as u can

then u only need 3 inches

ok i definately recomend neglect just stop combing and conditioning and let it dread..real simple then seprate as needed

otherwise twist n rip isnt a bad method its gentle and after u do it just wash and separate

over maintaining is what caused the issues the less maintenance u do the better

in fact i just posted a low vs high maintenance discussion today

and this sorta illustrates what i was trying to say

give me more details i=on everything u did

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

thank you i knew i forgot to answer parts of that
knew i could cont on you to fill in what i forgot haha

yes biotin its a vitamin b that makes hair and nails grow fast and strong

and yes twisting can weaken the roots especialy if u twist tightly or obsessively

taye said:

I take Biotin supplements. I think they have really encouraged hair growth in the past year. My hair has grown a lot. Yes twisting and playing with your hair excessively can cause damage. Keep your fingers out of your hair

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Yah I started taking Biotin for a little bit but just stopped for, I don't even know the reason. I'm no good @ swallowing capsules or pull or whatever so I like break it down & drink it with something. I don't know if that lowers its affects I'm not sure? I also heard vitamin B12 is also good for hair growth.

taye said:

I take Biotin supplements. I think they have really encouraged hair growth in the past year. My hair has grown a lot. Yes twisting and playing with your hair excessively can cause damage. Keep your fingers out of your hair

Nope no crocheting I don't even know how to use the needle ahah. No wax @ all either I was told from the beginning it was very harmful soI steered clear from that. During the first months of dreading I was concerned with the maturity of my dreads & the roots locking so I was told to root run for the roots & palm roll to get the dreads to lock in faster. I root rubbed the back dreads & the front to A LOT because those were the most bothersome. But now, as you can see, they are gone. I did interlocking on two of them just as an experiment &, again to my regret, one of them became very thin, which I'm not sure how because I don't recall any hair falling out at all. I am biracial, black white & a little Hispanic. The problem that I have with just leaving the loose hair is that it looks very unpresentable because obv. it sticks out, very poofy like a FTP, & now straight like white hair. My hair is very complicated in texture. The back is very soft & fine, the top was a mixture of both but was thin-ish to begin with & the sides were a lot thicker & more African-American-like texture. Overall my hair has been very, very thin from the start. But yah allI did was the root rubbing & the constant wearing of the beanie, which hopefully didn't cause any permanent damage to my scalp. I do have an obsessive compulsion to pull & twist my hair constantly. 90% I honestly do not realise that I'm doing it. A very bad habit since I started growing my hair out.I do like how the neglect method dreads turn out but the thing with that is, for me, I'm getting out of high school this May & will be going into college, & I should be getting a job. Which, I don't want it to look "unprofessional" as most view it, which sucks. With this dread experience, I used the twist & rip method. I was very please with the outcome until 6 months into the dreading when they all fell out & all. Preferably, I would like that nice, clean look to my dreadlocks if they do become longer & if I do continue these or grow again.Since I first had my locks, I was also concerned with the fact that a lot of people I've seen with dreads either have really thick locks and have around maybe 12 or so dreads. & then the people with the normal, thick, fair sized locks and had maybe 30 - 40 dreads. & then people with skinnies have maybe 60 - 100 locks! & when I started, I had only 25 & they were in between small & medium sized. So if I were to start again should I maybe start off with smaller, skinnies & then maybe work my way towards thicker ones by merging them & whatnot? Just a side question I wanted to ask I've been concerned with for a while now.

soaring eagle said:

ok b4 we make any decisions

what all had u done besides root rubbing looks like crochet too maybe/ wax?

more details ..and your ethnicity

i dont think u should cut i mean u can comb out tho the new growth will dread in a few more inches

it does look odd due to how they were lost but hey ..pull it off as intentional haha just your whacky style then when new dreads grow in filling gaps it wont matter

if u do start over save as much length as u can

then u only need 3 inches

ok i definately recomend neglect just stop combing and conditioning and let it dread..real simple then seprate as needed

otherwise twist n rip isnt a bad method its gentle and after u do it just wash and separate

over maintaining is what caused the issues the less maintenance u do the better

in fact i just posted a low vs high maintenance discussion today

and this sorta illustrates what i was trying to say

give me more details i=on everything u did

Yah the twisting & pulling is a very obsessive habit I have and have had it for a while. Many say you can just stop but I really can't I just need to condition myself to stop, somehow. Haha.

soaring eagle said:

thank you i knew i forgot to answer parts of that
knew i could cont on you to fill in what i forgot haha

yes biotin its a vitamin b that makes hair and nails grow fast and strong

and yes twisting can weaken the roots especialy if u twist tightly or obsessively

taye said:

I take Biotin supplements. I think they have really encouraged hair growth in the past year. My hair has grown a lot. Yes twisting and playing with your hair excessively can cause damage. Keep your fingers out of your hair

ok interlocking root rubbing and palm rolling obsessively can do it twisting too much too

wearing the beanie too much i dont think mattered

your sections were kinda big they would thicken up alot u can se how much more by the lines around the existing dreads ..they will puff out to those lines

biotin is a b vitamin is it 6 or 12 tho i forget

u can get biotin in drinks u can even get biotin shampoos

if u tnr . you should leave em be after donttryto rush em

umm

i hope u went baxck to thoe who gave u bad advice and showed them what it caused!

XYZ123 said:

Nope no crocheting I don't even know how to use the needle ahah. No wax @ all either I was told from the beginning it was very harmful so
I steered clear from that. During the first months of dreading I was concerned with the maturity of my dreads & the roots locking so I was told to root run for the roots & palm roll to get the dreads to lock in faster. I root rubbed the back dreads & the front to A LOT because those were the most bothersome. But now, as you can see, they are gone. I did interlocking on two of them just as an experiment &, again to my regret, one of them became very thin, which I'm not sure how because I don't recall any hair falling out at all. I am biracial, black white & a little Hispanic. The problem that I have with just leaving the loose hair is that it looks very unpresentable because obv. it sticks out, very poofy like a FTP, & now straight like white hair. My hair is very complicated in texture. The back is very soft & fine, the top was a mixture of both but was thin-ish to begin with & the sides were a lot thicker & more African-American-like texture. Overall my hair has been very, very thin from the start. But yah all
I did was the root rubbing & the constant wearing of the beanie, which hopefully didn't cause any permanent damage to my scalp. I do have an obsessive compulsion to pull & twist my hair constantly. 90% I honestly do not realise that I'm doing it. A very bad habit since I started growing my hair out.

I do like how the neglect method dreads turn out but the thing with that is, for me, I'm getting out of high school this May & will be going into college, & I should be getting a job. Which, I don't want it to look "unprofessional" as most view it, which sucks. With this dread experience, I used the twist & rip method. I was very please with the outcome until 6 months into the dreading when they all fell out & all. Preferably, I would like that nice, clean look to my dreadlocks if they do become longer & if I do continue these or grow again.

Since I first had my locks, I was also concerned with the fact that a lot of people I've seen with dreads either have really thick locks and have around maybe 12 or so dreads. & then the people with the normal, thick, fair sized locks and had maybe 30 - 40 dreads. & then people with skinnies have maybe 60 - 100 locks! & when I started, I had only 25 & they were in between small & medium sized. So if I were to start again should I maybe start off with smaller, skinnies & then maybe work my way towards thicker ones by merging them & whatnot? Just a side question I wanted to ask I've been concerned with for a while now.

soaring eagle said:

ok b4 we make any decisions

what all had u done besides root rubbing looks like crochet too maybe/ wax?

more details ..and your ethnicity

i dont think u should cut i mean u can comb out tho the new growth will dread in a few more inches

it does look odd due to how they were lost but hey ..pull it off as intentional haha just your whacky style then when new dreads grow in filling gaps it wont matter

if u do start over save as much length as u can

then u only need 3 inches

ok i definately recomend neglect just stop combing and conditioning and let it dread..real simple then seprate as needed

otherwise twist n rip isnt a bad method its gentle and after u do it just wash and separate

over maintaining is what caused the issues the less maintenance u do the better

in fact i just posted a low vs high maintenance discussion today

and this sorta illustrates what i was trying to say

give me more details i=on everything u did

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

therss a ..umm i guess its a disorder? that causes an compulsion to pull out the hair or twist and pull ive seen some discussions of people dreading as a way to combat that compulsion..trichosomething? i forget

you may have that and im not sure what treatments are available but if itds a mental thing perhaps there something that can control it

conditioning

even hypnotic suggestion

you can also try replacement therapy

stress balls

or those metalic metal balls u roll in your hands

something else your hands can do without thinking

XYZ123 said:

Yah the twisting & pulling is a very obsessive habit I have and have had it for a while. Many say you can just stop but I really can't I just need to condition myself to stop, somehow. Haha.

soaring eagle said:

thank you i knew i forgot to answer parts of that
knew i could cont on you to fill in what i forgot haha

yes biotin its a vitamin b that makes hair and nails grow fast and strong

and yes twisting can weaken the roots especialy if u twist tightly or obsessively

taye said:

I take Biotin supplements. I think they have really encouraged hair growth in the past year. My hair has grown a lot. Yes twisting and playing with your hair excessively can cause damage. Keep your fingers out of your hair

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1