time & love. don't expect things to happen right away, just wait & wonderful things WILL happen, it can take some time, for some of us a long while but it will happen & it will be great! just live & forget about them & they will do what they need to
your hair should be free to move around (that's how it knots) as much as possible. but that doesn't mean you can never wear it up, just when you do put it up loosely & try using your dreads to tie them up or a wider banded tie. too tight ties too often could lead to weak spots & breakage.
yes look at me! 
there are a few others that had it take several months or near a year to start anything as well. some of us just need plenty of time. it can be frustrating at times, but you just have to relax & let it go. forget about your hair for a while, they will do what they need to without your worry. go on with your life, & then one day you'll get a compliment from a stranger or catch a glimpse of yourself & they will have come a very long way. check out my timeline, slowly but surely beautiful things will happen <3
what are you washing with & how are you washing & drying? sometimes these things can make a difference as well.
soaring eagle said:
u got 1 dread..stick it out the rest will follow soon
look at ixchel
hers were just sections like yours for 8 months then 1 day she had a dread and a month later a whole head of dreads
your on the way just stick with it and eventualy you'll have many more
1. don't twist at all 2. it varies greatly for everyone, your journey is your own. you can check the timelines for hair types similar for yours to see how long it took them, but it still will be different for you. 3. what are you washing with? 4. with baby dreads most people wash every few days then once mature about once a week 5. it has to shrink to knot. think of a rope if you tie knots in it it must get shorter, same with your dreads. they will shrink up while knotting & then grow grow grow!
i've known some people that have used it without complaints, but in my experience there were better options. you could give it a go & see how it works for you
Vanessa Ashley said:
Good to know! I had heard that wool was good. Glad I've been using the cotton then! (as I can't seem to find my hemp
... )
i have a video with a few different ways to wrap on my page. i avoid wool because wool will felt & shrink (can strangle your dreadies or get felted into the knotting hair) plus it can start to smell badly quickly. most use embroidery thread or hemp but i've heard ppl having issues with those as well. cotton seems like it might be a good option.
Vanessa Ashley said:
As for the wrapping make sure you do the criscross that way the locks can move around as they need to to lock. I normally use cotton string, but I've heard that wool is better. take a long piece and fold it, make a knot at the top, I normally do it near the root, about an inch down, knot once and then one more. Then just criscross XXXXXXX down to where you want it. then I normally knot it a few times. You can always check youtube. There are some good vids on there for decorating your locks!
Renee Stewart said:Thank you so much for the support and advice. It is nice to hear someone else has re-done their ends and not suffered for it. I will try not to do it so much! They actually do fall out, though! I am really not doing this just to look the same in a year. I also did it so that I would NOT have to mess with my hair all the time! I was sick to death of curling, blowing dry, fluffing, spraying, etc. and still not being happy with the way my hair looked. It is so fine it would fall flat in an hour anyway! I have loved dreads for a few years and finally decided to go for it. I already tried your advice of putting some beads in - I hope that helps. Seems like a good idea. I also need to look up how to wrap dreads, because I've been wanting to do that, too, and it might help, or at least keep me from messing with the wrapped ones, ha ha! If you don't mind, please do let me know how the locking spray works; I was thinking of buying some too. Thanks again for taking the time to listen, understand, and help out!
Vanessa Ashley said:apart from the dandruff, I have almost all the same things going on. I do re tnr the ends as well... I had let them be for a week or so, but they were almost completely undoing. I found that if I redid them they did lock up. for me personally. I only leave the ACV for like second then wash it out. I found that this way my hair doesn't get too silky. I use tea tree in the BS wash, and lavander in the ACV. I have been lucky not to have dandruff or too much itching. But I have very oily hair... Sometimes I even BS twice if needed. Second one leave on less time and use less water.I am waiting to get my locking shampoo (liquid) and the locking spray... I'll let you know if it seems to help, once I get them! all the best!
I too have been obsessing, but do try to remember to just let them be! I have noticed that the majority of the ones that are loosening at the roots have been re-locking, slowly but surely. But re-tnring the ends hasn't seemed to keep them from locking better or worse. I about a month and 1/2 in.... Also I have found the ones that have beads in them don't seem to loosen up. try putting some beads in them.
i don't have dandruff advice but if you search through the forums there are a lot of posts with suggestions there.
as far as loose in between hairs & loose ends. leave them be. they will take care of themselves given time. the more you tnr the ends the more hair you are breaking & the longer they will take because any knotting they may have done you are messing with. just let them go & relax.
check out henna for hair for more information on henna color, it gives the basics of henna & even a photo gallery of mixes so you can see the different results on different hair (& i always order my henna from them too)
it is very conditioning, i did mine prior to dreading & although my progress probably would have been slow because of my hair type I do think it was much slower because of the henna, if you look at my photos most of what was colored with henna is still mostly unknotted, it's my new (undyed) growth that has dreaded.
if you do do it i'd wait until you dreads are mostly knotted (possibly mature) & don't squeeze the paste into your dreads, just paint the outside & be sure to rinse rinse rinse!
a ribbon or scrap of fabric to tie them up or back, use them to tie themselves up. youtube is great for dread updo ideas
whenever you want (just be sure to keep moving them if you don't want them to get stuck!) & i use a string through the hole & put my dread into it & pull it through, or once they are more solid you can just stick the tip through.
