FUZZY!

I am new to dreads, and have been told different things by many different people, I come here in search of hopefully real advice. I dreaded my hair 5 days ago using the twist and rip method, i continued my normal every other day showerscheduled that i had before dreading, with the exception that i wasnt washing my hair.... until today, i looked up a basic baking soda rinserecipe, i poured it on my head and let it sit for about 15 min, than jumped in the shower and rinsed it out for a while. when the shower was done i towel dried off the loose water, and let it air dry for the remainder of the drying process....Well, now they are some fuzzy looking baby dreads. Some of them even seem a bit more loose, none fully came out thankfully. I was just wondering, everybody has a fuzzy phase in the beginning right?

Also... with some of my dreads, the roots are not knotted at all, some up to two inches from my scalp, will that fix itself, or am i doomed to loose roots for all of mydreadlockedlife to come?

updated by @alexander-mcallister: 01/13/15 09:37:15PM

Just like you said... You are new to locks. They are babies. Mature locks take, on average, a year to form. Nothing you do will make them form over night. Baby locks need to have between 1-3 inches of straight hair at the roots. This straight hair will allow new growth to snag and get tangled into the lock. As they mature the roots will tighten to between 1/4 - 1 inch.

The frizzies need to be there as well. Dreadlocks are mad of tangled knotted hair. If your hair was straight, it wouldn't knot. Those fuzzies get tangled with other fuzzies and create knots. Those knots get tangled with other fuzzies and create new knots. This process goes on and on until a lock forms.

Washing 2-3 times a week helps knots form.

Don't towel try. If you have to use a towel because it's cold out, just pat your head. DON'T rub your head. That will only undo knots.

Everyone has a fuzzy phase. Check out my pics of my playing with bubbles. That was me about a year into my journey.

I can guarantee you your hair will fix itself up, over time your hair will be able to grab onto other hairs more effectively. It just takes time. Don't worry about little loose ends or if it looks displeasing to you now just remember it will fix itself up, you just have to wait it out and keep strong. Good luck

And if you vigorously rub your head with a towel when your dreads are babies it will help to unlock your dreads, I usually just wrap my head in a towel for a couple of minutes while I shave and stuff, almost everyone has had a shitty phas ith dreadlocks, but eventually you yourself will learn what your dreads personally need and that might be the result of a terrible mistake. There's a reason why they call it a dread JOURNEY

haha well
its completely normal
but stop the towl drying thats only going to hurt you
the roots will be 1-3 inches for 8-13 more months then tighten up to 1/2 inch and stay there
u never ever want to force the roots to tighten more then they want to naturally

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

thank you all for the advice, and the much needed peace of mind, i look forward to this journey even more now

You don't want really tight roots. It doesn't let you actually scrub your scalp like you should be able to when you are washing your hair.

Dreads really do have a mind of their own. They will rebel and do EXACTLY what you are trying to force them NOT to do!

Glad you look forward to the journey...cause it actually never stops. That is unless your hair stops growing. Like...all of it!