Separation frustration

I am so frustrated, there are no words. The things that happen to my hair during night are impossible to describe, they will suck up tons of loose hair that is not even in the vicinity, not to mention the intertwining, getting over one another, etc. I do the best I can to separate them, but I am really worried about the back of my head, which is something I cannot really see. So it is now a job for people around me.

I have given thought to wrapping them,but that would mean wrapping each and every one of them, since they are all troublesome.

And beads don't really help.

I have come to the point where I am afraid to wash my hair, because I cannot imagine what will happen when I do. Just to be clear, I did not miss a wash because of this, my washing day hasn't arrived yet, I am just afraid of it.

How do you guys go about this? Do you 'hire' help too, or do you have a magic recipe for separating by yourselves? If you do, I would love it if you would share the secret.

updated by @rainbow-fortune: 01/13/15 09:19:02PM

well you don't separate it early, after you actually see some progress thats when you rip them. i get the sense that it's really getting messy on the back. all that means is that its working, embrace the knots. i don't know about the others but i don't "hire" help, that was funny though. i took two mirrors the day, one behind me and the other in front. it was unbelievable, the first time i saw the hair on the back. all those dreads really made me smile.

1. Stop worrying about it. Think less about what you don't like and more about what you do like about your dreadlocks. 2. Go outside more often. The sunlight is good for you. Let the wind separate and develop your dreadlocks. If you can not go outside use a hair drier as an alternative to the wind.

Thanks, guys. :D

It's not that I don't like them. I absolutely love everything about them, even the one thing I seem to be complaining - their unwillingness to get the hell out of my face. :D

I was just worried about them getting out of control, as in pulling hairs that don't belong to them and congoing to the point where I won't be able to separate them.

But, I'll take your advice. Stop worrying, get one more mirror, and start blow-drying my hair when bored. :D (Going outside for more than 15 - 20 minutes is not really an option now, we have one-meter-deep snow, and it's -25 C. )

You can do a short wrap on the roots of those clustering menaces. Beware rubber bands! But shorter wraps with embroidery thread should be ok. Just make sure you don't get overzealous with sectioning them. Don't measure or use a comb to create hard lined sections-- let your hair fall into natural sections and then tie them off with short wraps about a half an inch long. Don't tie them up so that they stick up away from your scalp. Let them hang down naturally.

The wonderful thing about embroidery thread is that you can find a perfect match for your hair in a good art shop. I've got several shades close to my hair color for this very reason. When I've got a few locks that just wont leave each other alone I tie off one or two of them and let the rest mature a bit more and then undo the others. I alternate and it seems to work.

getting someone to help you with the back might not be a bad idea since your having so many problems. i would suggest though learning how to separate without a mirror. doing it by feel really helps you to learn how each one feels. i can basically speed through my separating while watching tv because i know how the base of each one should be. plus doing it in front of a mirror might make you a bit ocd about everything being perfect and you might end up separating areas that really didn't need to be separated in the first place. does that makesense?

Yeah, getting some help isn't a bad call, but if you decide to wrap, realize that your don't have to wrap them all. Just wrap every other one or so. As long as one on each side is wrapped, the one in the middle won't get tangled with either one. It'll be 1/2 or less of the work you are thinking it would be

Angel, Baba, great advice! I'll combine what you two have said, wrap only the roots, and not all the roots.

Heather, it makes a lot of sense, and you do have a point there. I'll have to use a mirror (or two) just to figure out what's going on, but in the long run, I should definitely try and learn to do it without looking. After all, no mirrors in the woods, and I can't let spring and summer catch me off guard.