New dreads, and dread extensions.

Alright, so I'm fairly new to dreadlocks. Mine are one week old as of today. I came into dreads a little differently than most. I woresyntheticbraid-in "dreads" for months, and kept them in for a month or so before taking them out and washing and what not. Last round of having them braided in, I left them in my hair for over two months. I noticed the sections I had my synthetic dreads braided in started to dread at the roots, maybe about 1/2" or a little bit more in some places. I decided to take that as a perfectopportunityto dread my real hair. I did so using entirely twist-and-rip. My hair is very thin-textured, silky, and straight and I found back-combing wasn't working, and I'm not into the whole 'stabbing your dreads with a tiny metal hook' thing either. Twist and rip worked well, they're pretty 'compact' for baby dreads. I can pick any spot in a dread and try to pull it apart or something and they won't budge. They'rereallyfuzzy, especially after my first wash (on day 4 of having them) but I like the fuzz.

Thing is, my hair messed up from years of layering. Some of my dreads reached the bottom of my rib cage, others (more like the entire top of my head) were only about 3 inches long. Like a dread mullet, sigh. I had about 6 long dreads, and the top of my head wasporcupinespikes sticking straight up. I made a huge jump and dreaded a left over bag of synthetic hair and attached it to the bottom of my dreads. They look okay, held up very well in the first wash, but I don't like the idea of having synthetic hair in my dreads. The plan is to keep that junk in until I can buy real human hair and dread that.

My question is- when buying human hair to dread and add to your dreads, does it have to be top of the line human hair (which is damn well expensive) or can you cheap out and buy lower quality human hair, since all you're going to do is turn it into a bunch of knots? Will dread extensions hinder the dreading process of your dreads? Will it damage your dreads? And, well... Do people in the 'dread world' look down on people who cheat the length of their dreads? I mean I'm not adding extensions to make my dreads down to my waist, I'm just adding a few inches to a handful of them to make my hair more even and less insane looking.

Thanks.

updated by @mew: 01/13/15 09:40:45PM

do u think someone elses hair will feel more real then synthetic? your only going to hate that too and wabt to chop it off just leave it the lengtrh they are they will shrink and even up more anyway...long dreads shrink more so in a few months they will be more even anyway

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Like Soaring Eagle said, the longer the hair, the more the shrinkage as they become mature dreads. Mine started at almost my waist and went up to my shoulders, so your hair will start to even itself out somewhat. If you want your dreads just as a hairstyle, then go ahead and do dread extensions to get your length. There is a member on here who has experience with that, Schnookieputz, you can send her a question to assist you with them. You will never experience what others have on here without growing your own. It is a long process where we actually also grow from within and learn about patience and strength and to be humble.

Your twist & rip sections may be done to tight if they don't budge. Like Justin said, they need to loosen and sometimes fall out in order to go on their maturing dread journey. The will knot, loop and zig zag, slowly working they way up higher, fattening and maturing as they go. With extensions on the ends, I am not sure how that would work because the ends would be held into place, hindering the movement of the strands.

You really should be washing your hair 2-3 times a week to keep it clean. Whatever you decide to do, it is your hair, but the journey to real dreads is an experience not to be missed.....peace