1 month old dreads kinda doing their own thing. I have no idea how to tighten the roots

Hello fellow dread heads. I have had my hair dreaded for about 1 month now and its doing whatever these things feel like. In the back of my head they are getting loose probably from sleeping on my back or constantly putting my dreads in a pony tail and in hats. anyone who can give me some advice would be appreciated otherwise I'll just be doing what I have been doing and thats pretty much nothing with them. well here they are I introduce to you my dreads. say hi, introduce yourself, feel them, love them, take them all in, taste them...no NEVER taste them! well anyways here is my relationship with my dreads. Back view messy awesome

Front view "who do you think you are dreads? Doing whatever you like?"

Lastly side view. Can you say dreadful? haha!

updated by @tiedyedsoul: 02/15/15 12:31:28PM

roots dont need tightening. do you "maintain" them? if so, quit! it will only slow progress

Well, your only 1 month in. That's nothing in the grand scheme of things. They should get looser before they tighten. Some may even come completely apart when you wash. That's fine. It should happen.

Whatever side you sleep on tends to knot up fastest. So once they start to mature, you will see that, if yo u leep on your back, those will mature faster than on your sides.

There is nothing at all you should do about your roots. Baby locks tend to have between 1-3 inches of straight hair at the root. As they mature, that shrinks to about 1/4 - 1 inch of straight hair.

Anything you do to your roots will only damage your locks and thin them out. The loose/straight hair down there is what tangles and snags onto new growth. It helps maintain a strong base for your locks and covers your scalp, protecting it from UV light

do absolutely nothing to tighten the roots except wait another 8-13 months they need to be loose till nearly mature anything that forces theroots to tighten damages the roots

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I dont do anything to them now. I did twist and rip them in the beginning. now in the back there is about an inch of loose hair with a dread just chilling out away from the scalp.

oh cool beans, I learned so much today. I'll just let them be then and try to stay patient with them.

thats cool. as someone who did twist and rip too, i can tell you the chances are at leeast 75% of them will fall out and redread as they wish. but this is a good thing! watching natural progression is fun!

also, the loose hair at the root helps them not stick out off your head. they lay more naturally. after a while, you will notice you cant stick your fingers through the roots anyymore. it will be tangly and it feels cool lol

oh awesome! that makes a lot of sense because my one side my dreads are tighter. They stick out all the time I have to flatten them down with a hat or bandanna.

KnotLady said:

also, the loose hair at the root helps them not stick out off your head. they lay more naturally. after a while, you will notice you cant stick your fingers through the roots anyymore. it will be tangly and it feels cool lol

Its good to leave the roots alone. I don't think they can be tightened, well, they can, but its damage not dreadlocks. When the rest of the dread is dreadlock then the knots work back toward the scalp. That is my experience. Its just a time thing.

peace