Hello there, TnR is NOT real dreads.... when u do TnR you only decide for yourself where u want the sections of your future dreads to be.... Then when u leave these TnR'ed sections alone for months, they loosen up after a few washes and start knotting up to form dreadlocks. you only do this and leave them alone. doing it again means u are resetting ur progress (if any) again to day 1... these TnRed sections HAVE to loosen up in order to form dreadlocks. so it is completely normal.
Glad to know that u wanna start natural now. the best part about this method is there are NO steps involved. when u stop combing ur hair, u start the natural method. Yes your hair will look very messy for the initial part, but slowly as time goes by your scalp will automatically separate itself into sections which will later keep maturing into dreads. this may take a few months but it will surely be a great journey and u will be fascinated to experience the changes in ur hair every week and every month. as the sections form themselves all u have to do is to keep a check on them in case if any of ur sections are combining with other sections to form really fat dreads. if they are combining, u have to rip them apart gently and that is the only maintenace u ever have to do. keep washing your hair 2-3 times a week. just wash n go!!! no combing, no styling, nothing.. just accept whatever your hair does and trust them cos u will have beautiful natural dreads which u will be proud of one day. you can read the 'DREADUCATION, DREADING METHODS, DREADLOCKS MAINTENANCE' pages for any further doubts. good luck