I've had dreads for 10 days and have washed them twice, and the roots unraveled, so did the tips but i banded them. I used the twist and rip method but i dont think me and my friends did it tight enough at the roots, i have some really loose ones and some that are lose he first inch or 2 inches. Will this affect the way my dreads mature or the thickness between the tight and loose ones?
Also i only have 27 dreads and they're skinny.
Yes, it will effect how they lock. It'll make them lock better. New locks should always have about 2-3 inches of loose hair at the roots. That loose hair allows your hair to move around freely. This freedome lets them tangle and knot. If it was done too tight, they would have nothing to grab onto as they grew out. PLus they;d stick up looking like Sideshow Bob.
Take the bands out. Bands only hurt your locks. At best, they will just restrict movement and stop the from knotting. At worst, they can break off and get sucked into your hair and start to rot inside causing mold and mildew. Bands also are too tight and pinch your locks causing weak spots.
If you want to keep them sectioned off, you can use beads or wraps. Beads are better because they move freely and act like little knots. Wraps are ok, but restrict movement more.
As for how many and how skinny they are... Baby locks are always thinner than they will end up being. 27 is going to give you some pretty hefty locks. When they mature, they'll end up being roughly the size of the sections. You probably don't realize it, but I'd guess your sections are probably about and inch or more for most of them. So your locks will be about the thickness of quarters of even thicker. If you don't want them to end up this big, you can take them out, and redo them before they get too far along, and you lose all that progress. It;s easier to combine 2 locks than it is to split one into 2
Thank you so much! I took out the bands, the reply was exactly what i was looking for! I didnt know the locks needed loose hair to lock,
This helped alot, thanks! :D
No problem. It's common for many to want to clean up those loose hairs at the roots. But locks don't grow out of your scalp as 1 thick hair. As they grow they keep tangling. That's why we always say that even mature locks change on the regular. Mine are 6 years old. I had a bead that fit over one lock and only that lock for a while. I showered a few months ago, and all of a sudden that bead didn't fit anymore. I liked that bead, too. Too bad. Maybe one day I'll find a different lock it'll fit over.
take all the bands out they will and sghould be loose at the roots and tips for minths the bands are only gonna cause trouble
also, twist and rip is going to fall out mostly so youll end up going natural anyway.i didnt know this when i tnr'd my hair but i was cool with it 
i just thought i would tell you so if you are going to take them out to redo them anyway, you might just want to let nature do its thing instead.
I TnRed my hair and mine mostly came loose and then started to tighten up at the end of 1 month. Now my hair is rock-awesome at (approaching) 4 months!
Check out the dreaducation link at the top navigation bar and you will learn a whole tone of info that will be useful to your journey and, if you have any more questions, just ask.
