Separation hell!

Hi, wondering if I could get some advice please? I'm only 2.5 weeks into my journey but amazingly my hair is just loving being left alone! I swear intention has something to do with it. However, as it's locking up quickly, I'm facing greater and greater issues with separating. When they first started forming, they were joining together lower down. They were doing this tightly, but there was more room to work with and I got the hang of teasing out individual hairs so as not to damage my hair. Now, it's meshing together tightly from the roots. I spend the whole day (here and there as my arms ache working on just one loc!) separating, go to bed and BAM! The entire back of my hair is all meshed together! I'm not complaining about the amount of work needed at this stage, I'm happy to go with it, it's all part of a bigger journey. My issue is that every day this gets tighter and harder, and I'm getting a panicky feeling when trying to separate as it's getting more and more immovable. I'm worried that I'm heading into not enough time in the day to separate!

When would you start putting beads in? Would this help with keeping them sectioned? I have got two in now.

Tips greatly appreciated. Thank you!

You seem to have a lotta hair, and it's pretty long, so maybe it goes with the territory? I'm not really sure, but I would say hang in there, keep separating and hopefully it will get easier as you acquire more and more defined locks. What is your hair care program, i.e., shampoo etc. No conditioner, right?

I share your separation anxiety, as I also have abundant hair. And I know the feeling of arms getting tired! But just recently it seems to be getting easier, after several months of separating. Starting to get lots of defined locks and less clumping. I would say hang in there!

separating while wets easiest beads help a whole lot!

and yes with fast dreading you have to separate much more often but  they will get past that stage faster and in a few months weekly will be plenty

lil tip the ones that are hard to separate, a lil olive oil on the connected hairs should make em come loose easy

baba fats made a great separating dreads video on here

but you cant worry about damaging the hair (in this case) i know i'm very against damaged dreads but the hairs that your separating are between dreads not in the dreads and the only way to separate them is to break those hairs free

its just like cutting them they will just be shorter at the scalp and form new dreads later on

Thanks for the words of advice and support! My hair is to my armpit, there's quite a lot of it but has acquired MASSES of volume as it's locking up. Poofy even at the sides now! 

I'm using Dr Bronner's for shampoo, and ACV to condition - I'm washing once a week, and don't want to wash more frequently as I only wash when it actually needs it.

I'm glad to hear that it's getting easier for you, and will hold onto that through my frustrations!

Thanks for the tips

I've found that trying when wet was harder! That was when it was clumping together lower down. Maybe it will be easier at the roots? I will try that post-wash and see.

Argh, so much conflicting information. May I ask why it is ok to break them? I'm envisaging a lot of tuft-y hair at my roots if that happens!

and whats the alternative? yes you wil have a lot of short hairs at the roots but they will dread when longer

also when wet or damp its more elastic but weaker too so it stretched then breaks so hurts less

You have nice hair, and a lot of it, but maybe the abundance means it will be a fair share of work. It sounds like you're up for it tho, and I think it'll be worth it!

Also do u have someone else that can help separate I know I have to do my wife's cause it mangles so much at the roots I have to hold up the hair that mangles then rip from the root up she could never do it herself and some hairs get so stuck she is almost crying while I separate 

Sounds similar to my hair! I could let my husband have a go...... I have a friend who is 6 months into her journey, doing a mixture of freeform and t&r, who's offered to have a go. We just don't see each other as often as we'd like! I've been separating like mad today.