Info and advice about TnR?

I used TnR as my method yesterday, my hair is very soft, I tried to dry it out with some sea salt water first but it was still very soft the the semi-dreads I have formed are not very tight and just kind of.....half assed? but still very much on their way to being dreads.

So my questions...

At the bottom of my babies my hair is still about an inch of unknotted hair, Will the ends of my dreads dread on their own if left un touched or will the middle dread better than the ends? Is there something I can do to help the bottoms along?

My roots? Do I need to touch these? Use a technique? Or do anything to them? Or if left alone to dread on their own will they?

Is it okay if here on out if I just washed my hair properly with natural soap and occasionally used a sea salt spray and did nothing else? Do I need to be consistently TnR my hair or doing anything to it or can I just sit back and wait out my dread journey from here on out?

New to the dread world so any advice is much appreciated. Thank you.

updated by @mel-m: 01/13/15 09:19:08PM

I've only had my TnR dreads for a few weeks but I will share what I know.

1. Don't TnR again unless you are making new dreads. From what I've experienced there's no point. Your hair will decide how much it will hold. According to this site a few inches of loose hair at roots and tips is normal.

Which means...

2. No special techniques for the roots. Just leave them be. The middles will seem to be dreading first but you'll notice action at the roots with looping and such before you know it. My roots are loose but crazy and knotting up a lot. The loose hair is getting the benefit of a lot of movement and movement = knots = dreads.

3. The ends will dread further just like the roots but as far as my hair goes that's taking a little longer. There are techniques for blunting tips but I have no experience with those.

People with more dread experience can give you better long term advice but for the most part "Less is more" is the approach most of us take.

As long as your shampoo is truly residue free it should be good to use. I really, really, really, recommend using the Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar rinses. I've only recently started using the rinses but I think I'll no longer be using Dr. Bronners soap on my hair anymore. My hair has never felt better.

Good luck. I hope you get the responses you are looking for.

Thanks so much! Right now I'm using Dr. Bonners Bar Soap but I'm going to try some other washing methods later on down the road, for right now I'm just gonna stick with Dr. Bonner

I have no experience with bar soaps but I think I read that they can be a little hard on new dreads but If you're being gentle I can't see it being too detrimental. My TnR babies can handle quite a lot of stress it seems.

If it is a concern that the bar is making your dreads come out perhaps you can grate the soap and make a liquid soap out of that for each wash...Idunno. Just an idea.

And you are very welcome.