Webs of hair between (baby) dreadlocks?

[purpledaze]

So I've had partial dreads for a month now, 25 of them, and I'm waiting to get my full head dreaded because I wanted to see how hard it would be to manage half of my head first. I haven't had any problems apart from that they keep getting stuck together at the roots quite badly, especially after I wash them. They get these big webs of hair between them that I have to rip, it's often painful and I worry about all the hairs i'm breaking. Is this normal? Will it calm down as they start maturing? If so would it be best to wait for my partial dreads to mature a little before dreading the rest of my head? they would be getting stuck together like crazy! Sorry for all the questions!

[Dreadlocktruth]

Aaaaah yes, that's totally normal! The dreadies will try to eat each other and you'll just have to spend a bit of time separating them each time it starts to happen. This is something that every dreadhead experiences, to some extent. A lot of people also let it happen with smaller dreads that they'd like to be bigger and so they form into what we call "congos"... that's usually what happened when you see a long dread that breaks off into a Y shape.

The best time to separate is when your locks are wet right after washing, when it'll be easier and less painful.

[ohphob]

Mine did that too, mine stopped around like 4-5 months

[purpledaze]

May 17, 2016 11:51:09 GMT Dreadlocktruth said:

Aaaaah yes, that's totally normal! The dreadies will try to eat each other and you'll just have to spend a bit of time separating them each time it starts to happen. This is something that every dreadhead experiences, to some extent. A lot of people also let it happen with smaller dreads that they'd like to be bigger and so they form into what we call "congos"... that's usually what happened when you see a long dread that breaks off into a Y shape.

The best time to separate is when your locks are wet right after washing, when it'll be easier and less painful.

Thank you, that's reassuring I'll keep that in mind, thanks for responding!

[purpledaze]

May 17, 2016 12:49:56 GMT ohphob said:

Mine did that too, mine stopped around like 4-5 months

Oh that's good to know, thank you!  

[Deleted]

Ok, so...I'll probably be like the only one to say this, to keep the partials, because I'm the only true partial dreadhead here so far on this site (ok, well pretty much) so I am biased.

but...yeah, the one perk with waiting until your partials mature to add more partials is that the old dreads will help quicken the knotting process of the new dreads!

weird thing for me, my new set of partial dreads are knotting up at the bottom end more than the root end though (well, both sets did this actually)! And you are also at one month? So, interesting to compare and contrast our experiences.

[jxbx]

purpledaze, keep in mind you don't have to split them all the way in one shot. Some will need ripping from the tip back to the root, while others may require going from the root to the tip, or a combination of both. The trick is to be patient and make sure the soon-to-be separate dreads are formed adequately enough to handle life on their own

I remember I had one of two in a split that had a weak dread to root section, maybe 4" to 5" (10 to 12cm) of really loose hair. It eventually dreaded but I recall it being rather tenuous, where I thought I would lose it, for a long time.

[purpledaze]

May 17, 2016 19:07:28 GMT jxbx said:

purpledaze , keep in mind you don't have to split them all the way in one shot. Some will need ripping from the tip back to the root, while others may require going from the root to the tip, or a combination of both. The trick is to be patient and make sure the soon-to-be separate dreads are formed adequately enough to handle life on their own

I remember I had one of two in a split that had a weak dread to root section, maybe 4" to 5" (10 to 12cm) of really loose hair. It eventually dreaded but I recall it being rather tenuous, where I thought I would lose it, for a long time.

Oh I didn't know that! I've been trying to rip them apart entirely in one shot - no wonder it was painful   I have a dreadlock that is doing the same, it only starts locking up about half way down the dread. But it's reassuring to know that it should eventually dread, thank you for responding  

[lipstic]

I'm at 2 years, and mine are still doing it. My hair really doesn't like knotting.

[twistroot]

Mine were eating each other like crazy until about month 4, then it calmed down some, and by month 8ish I really didn't need to do it much at all anymore. Hang in there!!

[purpledaze]

May 17, 2016 17:38:37 GMT @haircare said:

Ok, so...I'll probably be like the only one to say this, to keep the partials, because I'm the only true partial dreadhead here so far on this site (ok, well pretty much) so I am biased.

but...yeah, the one perk with waiting until your partials mature to add more partials is that the old dreads will help quicken the knotting process of the new dreads!

weird thing for me, my new set of partial dreads are knotting up at the bottom end more than the root end though (well, both sets did this actually)! And you are also at one month? So, interesting to compare and contrast our experiences.

Oh, really? Thank you for the advice! I've been wondering if there were any benefits of waiting for my partial dreadlocks to mature a little before adding the rest. I think I'm going to wait another month or so!
Thanks for responding 

[Deleted]

Oh, and the second benefit is the obvious one...less tangled mess to separate??..unless you are already having all of your hair tangle after washes. I will have to observe again next wash to see if the undreaded tangles again. First wash with new shampoo created ALL my hair to be one big knotty mess, last wash, just the dreading part remained knotty which is what I want (I was using leave in conditioner though for some unruly knots the first time)...today or tomorrow will find out how the next wash goes....(isn't it exciting not...KNOT! knowing what will happen next?! )

[Deleted]

Ok, purpledaze, I noticed I needed to update this, kinda for you and for myself (for the record). So I've probably done 3-4 washes since my last comment (i think including the deep clean, which I do for my older set of partials. probably not recommended until like month 4 for a new set?)

Anyway, my observation: I wondered if the washes were going to make all of my hair continue to be a knotty mess. Well, what I have been doing is finger combing and separating my UNdreaded hair first, and I have noticed that this hasn't been getting AS knotty as that first wash...which is good for me. Honestly, finger combing and separating has pretty much been enough! (but I could comb out if I wanted...i guess I do sometimes)

AND, just to further update on the neglect partials, they are knotting up just fine and I just keep separating and well I section and twist them a bit to keep the sections...but they are FINALLY like really starting to section and dread a little.

Sooo, curious if you have still been waiting, or if you have decided to add more already...

[purpledaze]

May 30, 2016 7:53:48 GMT @haircare said:

Ok, purpledaze , I noticed I needed to update this, kinda for you and for myself (for the record). So I've probably done 3-4 washes since my last comment (i think including the deep clean, which I do for my older set of partials. probably not recommended until like month 4 for a new set?)

Anyway, my observation: I wondered if the washes were going to make all of my hair continue to be a knotty mess. Well, what I have been doing is finger combing and separating my UNdreaded hair first, and I have noticed that this hasn't been getting AS knotty as that first wash...which is good for me. Honestly, finger combing and separating has pretty much been enough! (but I could comb out if I wanted...i guess I do sometimes)

AND, just to further update on the neglect partials, they are knotting up just fine and I just keep separating and well I section and twist them a bit to keep the sections...but they are FINALLY like really starting to section and dread a little.

Sooo, curious if you have still been waiting, or if you have decided to add more already...

Sorry, I only just realised you replied! I got impatient and ended up adding more, I have a full set now! But when I had the partials, my undreaded hair used to get really tangled with my dreadlocks after showering. I ended up keeping the undreaded hair in a hair elastic and holding it separate from the dreadlocks whilst washing them, which was a nightmare  
Using neglect for partials is such a good idea! I wish I'd done that, it'd be cool have some neglect dreads and to see how they turn out. 

[purpledaze]

May 19, 2016 16:37:11 GMT @haircare said:

Oh, and the second benefit is the obvious one...less tangled mess to separate??..unless you are already having all of your hair tangle after washes. I will have to observe again next wash to see if the undreaded tangles again. First wash with new shampoo created ALL my hair to be one big knotty mess, last wash, just the dreading part remained knotty which is what I want (I was using leave in conditioner though for some unruly knots the first time)...today or tomorrow will find out how the next wash goes....(isn't it exciting not...KNOT! knowing what will happen next?! )

The second benefit, definitely! Since I added more dreads, it's been so much harder to separate them. But it's been easier since my partials are a a month old so they don't get as tangled as the newer ones. Washing my hair was a nightmare with partials, so it's interesting to see how others wash theirs! I once tried to wash my undreaded hair and my dreadlocks together (I usually left the undreaded hair separate from the dreads) and mine ended up as one big knotty mess, too!