Help! Update. Pictures. Advice Please.
Dread Maintenance
You have a lot a great info given to you there. Definitely wash just as much as you did before (except probably not 7days a week tho). I typically wash mine every other day, but on days when I have to wash on days back to back, I really love how they feel.. They really do dread up faster when you keep them clean.
I am constantly separating my dreads. Every day, several times a day. Maybe I obsess too much, but I check them everytime I think about it. Sometimes while driving and stuck in traffic!
Lastly, don't use the aloe vera while your hair is in the early stages. It can cause your newly forming sections to loosen. It will tame frizzies, but it is really only advised for established, mature dreads.
One other piece of advice given often on here, no re-twisting on your loose ends. They just loosen back up and the "process" has to begin again. Trust me. I am kicking myself for doing mine. The sections that I did re-twisting/ripping are the last to start to knot.
Lastly, if you every get to the point when you feel that they aren't working for you, unless you want a shaved head--just know that you don't have to cut them off! They can be combed out, and you are back to your undreaded hair!