My dreads are currently around 9 months old now, and I am firmly implanted in the crazy zig-zag stage. Pretty much every one of my dreads has acquired huge bumps, lumps and zig-zags at the base of the root, though the rest of the dread remains relatively straight.
Some have tightened / hardened towards the middles, whilst others remain as dreads to the untrained eye, but simply a cluster of slightly matted straight hairs upon closer inspection (if I wanted to I could probably pull apart the tips and my dreads would 'split' up the body a good few inches. I'd say pretty much all of them still have a good 2-3 inches of undreaded tips.
Given prior to attempting dreads I was always told (and always thought it was logical to believe) that my hair type meant it would be nigh on impossible for me to grow dreads in the first place. This progress, whilst perhaps a bit slow, makes me really excited for the future when they really mature in another year or so - especially since I have never used wax. I usually wash my hair once or twice a week, and follow the BS & ACV wash when I can be bothered / when I remember / when my hair is particularly oily or dirty. The rest of the time I usually just do a hot and cold rinse.
Whislt I am firmly embracing the patient approach, and I am not expecting miracles within 6 months (never mind overnight!), I wonder if you great dready folk could share your experiences as to how long it took you to shift between the zig-zag phase and onto the shrinking stage?
My hair has always been fine and thin, and I was amazed at how much more hair I seemingly had after backcombing. Also, I did not seem to experience any sort of shrinking / loss of length at all after the backcombing, and none to date. If the shrinking contributes to dreads getting fatter then I will have some rather meaty beasts towards the back of my head which are already a 2-3 inches in thickness!
I have loved reading everything on this site on pretty much a daily basis, and the FAQs / featured discussions were a massive inspiration in helping me overcome all the initial worries / concerns I had. It really is great for new dreadheads to see the same information and advice is provided repeatedly, patiently and honestly on this site by those with the experience, and I for one can't thank you all enough!
updated by @cymru-dreadbeat: 01/13/15 09:01:48PM
