Hey guys, I'm super excited about starting dreads and I'm really happy with how it's going! one thing is though I'm worried about how much my hair will shrink. I have a couple of twist and rip dreads that didn't shrink much only like a couple of inches, how much will it shrink going the natural way? and when did you guys start to see major shrinking? just so I can be prepared for it lol.
thanks 
i'm at 11 months and i really haven't had much shrinkage. i think when you go natural it takes longer to shrink because it takes longer to knot. during that time you hair is still growing so you might not notice much loss of length. when i started last september my hair was just below my shoulders and now most of it is down to the middle of my back. i have some shorter ones here and there but nothing drastic. i was actually looking forward to the shrinking because i wanted shorter hair during the summer. i guess it will just happen when it happens.
thanks for the help! I've just seen some insane pictures of peoples shrinkage and stuff :P I suppose also it depends on the persons hair
Heather said:
i'm at 11 months and i really haven't had much shrinkage. i think when you go natural it takes longer to shrink because it takes longer to knot. during that time you hair is still growing so you might not notice much loss of length. when i started last september my hair was just below my shoulders and now most of it is down to the middle of my back. i have some shorter ones here and there but nothing drastic. i was actually looking forward to the shrinking because i wanted shorter hair during the summer. i guess it will just happen when it happens.
generaly the longer it is to start the more drasticly it shrinks
natural is less noticable ofcourse
it can shrink at 3 months..or 8..or 13..
sometimes it doesnt seem to at all then in 1-2 months u lose 1/2 to 3/4 of the length quickly
it varies a ton
I did very loose TnR on August 10th. I have very coarse spiral curly hair and mine has been shrinking like crazy! If you look at my back view at 4-days compared to my back view at 17 days it is a major change. I started using Dr. Bronners Tea Tree Soap (very diluted) after the 4th day and that is when it started shrinking like crazy. I know it's a good thing, but I do hope I don't end up with a dread "bob" ; ) I understand it HAS to shrink to dread, but we are still girls and I think it's normal to worry about it a bit.
thanks for the reply guys! and yes Kathleen that's exactly how I feel! I still want to feel like a girl haha. I understand that it's just what I have to go through though
yea when u go natural its more usual for shrinkage and growth rates to cancle eachother out
tnr/bc u can lose 1/2 the 1st day then 1/2 of that as it drreads so its much more visible and drastic
