i always hear no rubber bands, but i hear beads help.. why is this if they both do the same thing by holding the hair together? if i put a bead on i have to put it on tight so it doesnt fall off, so wont that prevent the locking process just like the rubberbands? i just dont get it
My dreads are only eight months old, but from my experience with the rubber bands they ended up becoming stuck to my hair. It was quite the battle to get those suckers out. I didn't have them in for a very long time either. I used rainbow colored bands in order to ensure that I would get every last band out of my hair. This turned out to be useful because I could then see the colors as the bands were breaking into pieces as I was removing them. However, I would NEVER recommend bands to anyone. I've since switched to a few beads. Having trouble finding bulk beads with a nice sized mm opening. The beads through time fall out. I haven't had any of them break on me yet. Though I have heard that a dread will break a bead as it grows, Similar to that of how strong the roots of trees and plants are as they grow through buildings and concrete. This would be different from a rubber band which can get sticky and mixed into your hair. At least this is all from my view point and as I said I am only eight months in. I'm sure the wiser more educated dread wearers here can answer your question much better than myself. 
no 1st off your not putting the bead right at the tip or root 2nd its not squeezing 3rd its a bead its not going to gave knots form around it and swallow it its not going to melt into a sticky mess its not going to break into tiny pieces that stay inside the dread its not going to dry rot
pt a bracelet on 1 wrist and a rubber band tightly around the other
as your hand goes numb turns purple then black time how long till your hand dies and falls off
yea its lack of circulation in the hand but its the same concept a bead fits snug without constricting a rubber band to fit snugg has to stretch and the elasticity causes constriction
now placement
young dreads need about 3 inches movement room on either end for drwading rubber bands aplaced at the roots and tips hokld the hars together there when thats where they should be moving most to knot a bead in the ce=nter that has at least 3 inches above and below holds that are together where akll the dreading begins abnd alows the movement that lets knots build towards eact end
It's pretty much all been said. But what bands do is stop any loose hairs from moving around and tangling. This prevents knots from forming. Beads act like a little knot already in there. They help section the hair away from other locks so as to keep them from congoing, but allow movement of the hairs above and below the bead
Also rubber bands can cause hair breakage due to tension and the friction between hair and rubber.
Also, you will find that over time, as your dreads get a little bit more chunky, you can push a bead onto it and it will stay put longer. Even when the bead is not falling out of the hair, there is still and opening for the hair to breath and the bead to move.
But beware, if you don't move the beads around and just leave them for a really long time they can become a permanent addition to your locks... not necessarily a bad thing but you may not fancy that bead in your hair after a year of wearing it. :P
