Backcombing Vs. TnR

This may be a duplicate... i thought i made one but i cant find it lol, so i'm trying again....

I know this site is mainly for people who do their dreads naturally, and i completely respect that and i think you are amazing for having that much patience... that being said my hair is very uncooperative and it would end up a hot mess if i did dreads naturally lol..

I have been doing alot of research on dreads and was actually planning on getting them backcombed (i have white people hair so i was told this was the most effective method to do it). but after doing research on the twisting and ripping method i am completely stumped as to what i want to do and figured i would as for some opinions...

My hair is 20 inches long (just measured it today lol) and i have been growing it for 2 years without any trims or cuts so i have split ends out the ass.. now i know that backcombing is said to damage your hair, but my hair already tries to naturally dread and ive talked to hairstylists who say it will be very easy to dread and lock because of its texture. So i am mainly concearned about how either way will look, i do have to go out in public while my dreads are baby dreads so i would like to be able to look presentable if possible lol..

Also, i know that doing the crochet method is horrible for your hair, but is it possible to fix the dreads once they are dreaded with a crochet hook or is that still damaging?

Thanks!!

updated by @blue-dreamz-420: 01/13/15 09:34:15PM

croch4et to "fix' them is way more damaging then crochet to start them crochets just bad all the way

umm if it dreads itself already unintended why would u ever consider any other way but bnatural

i would really reconsiser that and if u think it takes so much patience your wrong natural is exciting day to day to dsee profress..backcomb or tnr u see backwards progres for month so its pannick and worry from the start

backcomb and tnr takes way more patience cause u expect instant rwsults instead u getthem falling apart

now ill answer the questions but 1st give u a reading assignment

http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/topics/the-beauty-of-the-early-messy-stage-of-natural-neglect-dreadlocks

after you read that..then we can move on

backcomb

not as damaging as crochet but you say u have split ends from hell thats from combing gently with the grain the hairs covered with scale like cuticles like a snakes sca,les or a roofs tiles when u comb gently these get a lil roughted up on the ends

but when they are combed backwards gently these scales are priesd open permenantly ry]ugghed up and damaged ..but backcombings not gentle its agressive (a mother of 4 said it was worse then 18 hous of labor) painful hair pulling and agressively hacking away at it

the end resulrs are puffy sausage like messes that stick straight up

tnr is gentler no or very low damage ues the hands only soerta like a randomized m chaotic braiding

the looks nice neat dreads that hang right ..if u didnt randomize enough a lil braid like at 1st that goes away

no matter how u start dreads go through a mesy stage..this is the fun stage wgere u fal in love with the messines..

its not worth fearing ir shoul be embrased

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

If you only crocheted once or twice, it will be able to easily fix itself over a few months. If it was done more than that, you might have to actively loosen them with jojoba oil or aloe in order to let the healing begin.

As far as who different locks look that were back combed and TnR'ed... Check out the recover and the timeline forums. I back combed 2-3 of my locks, and TnRed a few. The rest were completely natural. At this point I can't tell the difference between the methods. Once they mature, they look like locks. That is because all a starter method is is a blueprint for where you want the sections to be. They will untangle and retangle a lot in the first few months. This should happen and should not be touched except to wash and separate as needed. I posted a video on separating last week. you can check that out if you have any questions about it.

The only methods that make your locks look like anything different from natural locks is interlocking (This gives your locks a distinct braided look), crocheting (this makes them overly tight and look like sponges with all the tiny pores from the holes poked into them), and root rubbing/palm rolling (This makes your roots MUCH thinner and weaker than the lock itself. It can also make them fall off at some point under their own weight).

Obviously wax, too. But that just seems obvious. They'll look waxy and greasy.

Caucasian hair is no harder to lock up than African hair. If you say that yours naturally tangles and knots, then why not go natural and watch my vid on separating. There are a few good posts about it here too. Just follow them and ask questions as you go along.

And as for going out in public. If you need to look presentable, you can just tie them back in a loose ponytail. Or wear a plain black tam (that is very professional and no one will ask you questions about it). You could also try the locking gel from dreadlockshampoo.com. It's great. It's completely water soluble and does not leave any residue behind. It even starts to break down within the first day of use and is completely gone by the third day.. So you don't have to worry about using it every few days

Ok i was just curious if that would be an effective method to well not fix them... but try to get them more dread like lol. And when it dreads itself it turns into a huge dread that is under the rest of my hair and looks bad. I also havent brushed my hair in over a year or so and my hair doesnt naturally dread anywhere else aside from the back of my neck.

I am also very picky and i was my dreads a certain thickness, and based on what i have seen they will not have the desired thickness i want if i do them naturally. now i would love to do them naturally because honestly i have a sensitive head and i would prefer not to have it pulled and combed, but i really want dreads and it seems like that is the most effective way to do it

I think the TnR method looks alot less damaging, i just know there is alot of discussion about how it works and looks compared to backcombing. and my friend just got her hair dreaded (backcomb method) and it looks good, but i worry about the roots and how those will turn out... given she has only had them 3 or so weeks it is too early to tell lol.

Ok i wasnt sure if there was any difference, as you said i guess in the end they will all look like dreads lol. And i dont mind wearing a tam at all, i just wanna show off the dreads, like i said im really impatient lol. and i know it is a journey and i need to be patient, but i want them to be mature and awesome immediately!! i also make my own tams so if i do have a bad hair month or so i can always switch it up

thanks for your responses!!

soaring eagle said:

croch4et to "fix' them is way more damaging then crochet to start them crochets just bad all the way

umm if it dreads itself already unintended why would u ever consider any other way but bnatural

i would really reconsiser that and if u think it takes so much patience your wrong natural is exciting day to day to dsee profress..backcomb or tnr u see backwards progres for month so its pannick and worry from the start

backcomb and tnr takes way more patience cause u expect instant rwsults instead u getthem falling apart

now ill answer the questions but 1st give u a reading assignment

http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/topics/the-beauty-of-the-early-...

after you read that..then we can move on

backcomb

not as damaging as crochet but you say u have split ends from hell thats from combing gently with the grain the hairs covered with scale like cuticles like a snakes sca,les or a roofs tiles when u comb gently these get a lil roughted up on the ends

but when they are combed backwards gently these scales are priesd open permenantly ry]ugghed up and damaged ..but backcombings not gentle its agressive (a mother of 4 said it was worse then 18 hous of labor) painful hair pulling and agressively hacking away at it

the end resulrs are puffy sausage like messes that stick straight up

tnr is gentler no or very low damage ues the hands only soerta like a randomized m chaotic braiding

the looks nice neat dreads that hang right ..if u didnt randomize enough a lil braid like at 1st that goes away

no matter how u start dreads go through a mesy stage..this is the fun stage wgere u fal in love with the messines..

its not worth fearing ir shoul be embrased

if u change yoir routine and manage the way they dread they will dread perfectly naturaly your probly conditioning and finger combing and your not seperating the huge 1 in back

ifyiou change those habbits it will dread percfectly on its own

theese are my dreads all did was go camping a couple weks and it dreaded right up

its really that simple

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
updated by @soaring-eagle: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

Well... They'll never look matureimmediately They won't even look mature in a few months. The 4th month tends to be the messiest for most people. So you really are looking at a process that'll take around a year for them to be mature. The only way to get mature looking locks immediately is to destroy them with wax or crochet hooks.

You're probably not separating enough, or at all. That one in the back is just a bunch of different ones tangled together. If you separated it, you'd have thinner ones. Al you have to do to get the desired thickness is to separate them into sections. However big you want them to be, make the section at the root that size