I think I'm calling it quits

I'm at about 9 and half months, and from about 4 months, there has been absolutely no progress or change. If anything, the knots at the end of my hair are too heavy for any knots to allow themselves to form closer to the root. I'm really considering brushing my hair out. I'm not sure if I'll try again. It's been really frustrating. I washed 2-3 times a week, left my hair alone, never ran my hands through it and tried my best. I used vicki's sea salt and shampoo. I was really hoping my hair would dread neglect. If I do decide to do them again, I might go tnr or get them started by crochet and chop off the crocheted part as they grow. Any last advice I can get from everyone?

updated by @alter: 10/22/18 03:01:39AM

If you do comb them out I'd recommend what I did which was TnR but I went natural for a few months to let the hair section itself and then TnR'd those sections rather than starting with an unnatural grid.

As for cutting off the TnR'd bits you won't need to because as the hair dreads those textures disappear and they just look like normal dreads.


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stick with it check out ixchelles dreads hers took a very long time to dread but the end result  was epic.. the longer they take the more you appreciate them in the end

if yu do start over by all means tnr..do not crochet!

but i would just wait it out thy wil get tere in the end

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

should i decide to comb them out, what would be the best process for that? should I soak my hair in conditioner for a certain amount of time and have at it or try to under the knots from the root by hand to try to break the least amount of hair?

this is my most recent 9m and 3w. Not even close compared to others who have gone this long

updated by @alter: 10/23/18 05:17:50AM

Just for a point of reference for you. I had my hair crocheted and combed the crochets out in January. After that I went natural for 6 months but didn't see any progress so after the 6 month period I Twist and Ripped my hair using the sections that had formed naturally during the 6 months of going natural. They were basically just like separate strands they hadn't begun locking up at all I haven't counted but there is probably 20 or so. I'm actually glad I did it this way because the shape and size of the sections are quite random rather than starting with a perfect grid that most people do. About a month or so after I did the TnR I got some of Vicky's Dreadlocks Shampoo which made a hell of a difference.

So now I'm about 10 months in from when I first combed out the crochets and about 4 months since I Twist and Ripped and these photos are from now.

As for cutting off the Twist and Ripped bits as you said before here's some close ups of a couple so you can see they just look like normal dreads.

As for combing them out when I combed out the crochets I stopped using dreadlock shampoo and used my wife's normal shampoo and conditioner for 2 weeks to soften my hair up before I started to comb them out. From then on it took me 2 weeks to comb them all out in which time I carried on with normal shampoo and conditioner. From when I combed the last one out I went back to dreadlock shampoo.

I don't think you will necessarily need to do this as your hair is still really loose where as mine were really tight from the crochet. One thing though is I would look for a wooden comb. I actually already had a beard comb which I used. Maybe just pick 1 dread and see what you can do with a comb and some soft combing, not too hard so as not to break the hairs. Maybe give that a go for 10 minutes and see the progress. Then another 10 minutes and then another. If it seems to be going OK then keep on with it but I would definitely do 1 at a time rather than a bit of all of them to find out you are damaging the hair too much.

Hope this can help you in some way. Any questions just give me a shout.

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if theres truly no progress (which i see thick dreads forming) then theres nothing to comb out just tnr the existing sections

if theres anything to comb out you have definite progress  and you wilt simply be destroying many months of progress to tnr with no guarantees they will progress any faster

but to comb out yes use lots of conditioner a  brush or comb and do it slow and gente

if theres really no knotting simple finger combing would do

if you can't run your fingers through it and detangle it then you are already dreading nicely

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

is there any advice on sectioning and how to keep tnr from coming undone? When I first tried, I went tnr, then after they came undone, I brushed whatever I had and went neglect

@femalepheromones is there a certain way you sleep/shower so that they don't come undone? The area of your hair that's dreaded for me, just simply wont dread.

let it come undone it will dread right back  up

dont towel dry thats it towel drying can undo months of progress in seconds

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

A couple came undone at some point and I just TnR'd them again. I wash three times a week with Vicky's dreadlock shampoo and try not to get my hair wet other than those 3 times. If I'm not washing it when I shower or bath I tie it all up on top of my head out of the way to keep it dry. After I wash I tip my head forward so all my hair falls forward and then ay the towel out across my head and just push it against my hair for a few seconds. I don't rub or move the towel just press it so it soaks of the main part of the water. Then I tip my head back so all my hair goes back and do the same again. That's it, then I just leave it to fully dry on it's own. I always make sure I have enough time for it to dry afterwards otherwise I won't bother washing, for instance if I'm going to be going out or to bed soon.

As for sleeping I don't do anything. Just go to bed like I always have done. I don't tie my hair up or wear a hat or a sock or use a special pillow or anything. Just put my head down on the pillow. I don't purposely move my hair away from the pillow either so on one side my hair is between my head/face and the pillow.

I keep my hair tied up all day at work but only loosely so there is still some freedom of movement at the roots so it's not being held tightly in place but I never wear any hats or anything. I've also never used any of the tightening sprays or whatever other products there are like that. Just the shampoo and that's it.

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I'm on Twitter @FemalePheromone
and Instagram @FemalePheromones