Hi Marsha. The perfect way to dread hair is to let it section naturally and make those sections smaller if they are larger than a quarter sized coin/ 1 inch. I did the twist & rip method, but you may be misinformed on the dreading process with this method. It only gives you a dreaded look to begin with, not dreads per say. The twist & rip method must not be done too tight because it needs to loosen up in order to dread. So after you twist & rip, it will take two steps back and loosen to start forming dreads. They will frizz, loosen, zig zag and loop like crazy, look like a birds nest for a bit and then shrink up to form the dread. I only did the T&R after my hair naturally sectioned, but now I wish I kept it completely free form to do it's own thing. Your twist & rip dreads are not dreads, nor will they look like that for long. They must fall out, keeping them wrapped will only slow down the process of them shrinking to dread. If you do wrap, use the criss cross method only, it will not be too tight and will let them dread. (there is a how to video on this site) Expect shrinkage if you have Caucasian hair, the longer it is, the more it will shrink. I have lost about 11 inches in 11 months, did not expect that. Hmm....how to keep them from looking like a matted mess....well, at a point it kind of will look like that...don't dis-pare, just wear a hat when going out...the dreaded outcome in 1 to 2 years is worth it. Remember to separate your hair so they don't join together, Baba Fats made a video to show how to do this properly. Natural/ free form dreads will last you a lifetime and is worth the first year turbulent journey they will put your through. Please do not put any products or wax in your hair to create the instant dread look, they are bad for the hair, will cause smells/ mould and years down the road you will have to eventually cut them off due to funk. Natural dreads are healthy, clean and free. What ever your path, enjoy the journey and get good use out of this site. The tabs at the top of the site will answer all your questions, plenty of reading to help you along the way.