Sectioning

Hello. I was wondering if you all could help me. I am getting ready to embark on my dreadlocks journey, and I was wondering about how to section.

I am planning on using the tnr method to start. I don't want really thick or really thin, but kind of middle sized to a little smaller. How big should my sections be to start out? I don't want a ton of dreads, or a smaller number.

And with baby dreads, will they totally fall out when I sleep? Do I need to sleep in a tam or something? Also, is putting baby dreads up in a hairdo bad to start out? Any help would be appreciated!

This is my hair from the back. It is pretty long. Any ideas on how much I would lose? Thanks!

updated by @masha-johanson: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

let it section itself naturaly it should pretty quickly

just if any sections are too big at the root seperate em into smaller sectuions

no ned to wear anything at night

u can put em up but the more u do the more u gotta seperate and can also slow progress

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

If you make your sections about as big as you would like the dreads then you should be fine.

Whether they totally fall out or not depends on your hair. Some of mine did, most of mine didn't. Sleeping with your hair tucked away is only going to hinder progress. Dreads need to move to dread. If they fall out, don't re twist and rip. It won't be worth the effort. Just let those ones dread naturally. Or if you are really adamant about it, re do and then wrap in hemp for a couple weeks.

I was using my dreads to style my hair as soon as I had two to tie together. Go crazy. Just remember that dreads that are tied up are more likely to want to eat each other. I try to rotate which ones I use to tie my hair back because my dreads do start to kink up at the spots where they are tied. Not really a big deal though.

Now for the length loss. Initially you will lose almost no length. But after time...you might end up with dreads above your shoulders. I'm almost 3 months in and some of mine are still long and others have bunched up to a maybe 5 inches. My hair started maybe a couple inches shorter than yours!

Good luck!

Most of what I was going to be was already said here. But to add... It's better to have them not be uniform. If you do it somewhat naturally, or even completely natural, you'll have a myriad of shapes and sizes. Not only is this method healthier, but it also avoids having scalp showing in between the squares of the sections.

Now to the loss of length... Most people tend to lose 1/3 to 1/2 of their original length. So you will probably end up with locks around shoulder length. But as they mature, your will be astonished at how fast your hair will grow. I had one that was 1 inch long when I first started and after 5 years it's over a foot long

Definitely randomize. And this is probably person preference/comfort but it is my opinion that having smaller dreads around the front hairline and larger ones in the back is better. Both for sleeping and styling. Especially for women who want to keep some softness around the face without keeping bangs. I kept my bangs but my dreads are still smaller in the front and larger in the back.

I was going to keep a fringe of bangs around my face.

I'm a fan of this look. Just be prepared to snag your dreads with your fingers as you learn to navigate your new hair style. It's very easy to get them with a comb as well. I don't use a comb on my bangs for this reason.

One thing that helped my fingers learn the new boundaries of my hair was the use of wraps and beads. Doesn't take long for you to get used to it and they can help your dreads out a bit in the early stages.

Just be careful you don't use them too long because they will affect the size/shape of your dreads. Beaded ones get indents/stuck beads and wrapped ones stay skinnier. Depending on how they're wrapped it can also force loops.

Masha Johanson said:

I was going to keep a fringe of bangs around my face.

I was just worried because I know that dreads get thicker, and I don't want to end up with some super huge ones, so I wanted to find out a little more about sectioning.

when i sectioned mine, i started by not brushing my hair for a day or so, and it seemed to separate into reasonably sized pieces.... then i just went at it with tnr! and after it is tnr'd you can still separate ones that came out funny, and adjust as you need to... its really great to have a variety of sizes, but thats all personal preference..... i kinda worried about the sectioning and sizes at first, got all panicked and such, but i realized that in the end, they are all going to be awesome and as long as you love them the way they are, there isn't really a right or wrong way

good luck!!! you are in for the journey of a lifetime!!