Twist and Rip Newbie eek...

I started my dreads night before last and did a few twist and rip and only one backcombed, because I want to keep as much length as I can,,,I'm sticking to the twist and rip ...also because my hair is super fine and the backcombing seemed to be causing a lot of breakage...

My question is this: After sleeping the "test subjects" for two nights, two of the twist and rip completely unraveled and are gone, the other four are hanging in the top half (6" of length, but the lower six inches unraveled) should I be rubber-banding the ends, or tying with thread or something? I have a friend to help me dread my whole head this weekend, but I need to know what I am doing wrong!

Also, can they be twisted and ripped too tightly? Because the parts that are holding together great are a little "kinked" with bends etc and will that affect their overall journey

updated by @rejay-cheek: 01/13/15 09:35:37PM

You should be doing nothing. Locks don't form over night. Not even in a week. In fact, they will keep unraveling and reknotting for the next few months. On average it takes about a year for mature locks to form.

Don't rubber band them, ever. And there's no need to tie them yet. Wrapping locks is more for decoration than for helping them knot. Bands tend to squeeze your locks too tightly and get sucked into the lock where they can rot.

All in all. Your locks are days old. That's nothing in terms of how long they will take to mature. Just be patient. TnR and back combing are methods used to blueprint where the sections will be. They don't form locks. They will unravel. That's natural. Check out the timeline forums

u dont have to tnr or backcomb at all they will loosen even fll apart if u r=tnr or bvackcomb'

but u dont want them too tight..or to loose just tight enough to hold together

also what r u washing with how and dhow are u drying

never use rubber bands!

never ever

rubber bands are a very bad idea

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thanks, no rubber bands... I'll hang in there and proceed forward!

I haven't washed my hair since putting them in and don't intend to for awhile... I've heard I should use Bonner's once a month... haven't even thought about buying it yet... I have an ALBA organic shampoo I used before that isn't tested on animals etc, but leaves my hair so silky feeling even without adding conditioner I know that won't be a good plan

This dread attempt is like a last ditch effort, I went five months without brushing, hoping they would lock naturally, only care being washing and drying every other week, but all I got was a stringy look that never considered locking up:(

Well, you should definitely wash you hair. You should be washing between 1-3 times a week. Dr. Bronners is good. But it doesn't work well in hard water. The BS/ACV wash is my favorite, but again you need distilled or soft water. The best soap for locks are from dreadlockshampoo.com. They work in hard or soft water. They leave your hair and scalp feeling amazing and smelling awesome.

u should be washing 1-3 times a week washing helps dreads dread oily hair wont dread it has ti ]o be clean

thats why it never dreaded

bronners will not work in hard water either

try the baking soda mix or the dreadlockshampoo.com soaps andwash wash wadh

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

So glad I asked. Too much info out there with different opinions about washing, drying, etc...

I will go to dreadlockshampoo.com because I definitely have hard water!

Yeah. That's the beauty of the internet. Everyone can post their opinions. Butunfortunately, there's also some really really bad info out there