Do I really need to worry about loose roots?

[MirandaJoy]

Hey Dreadheads. This week marks the beginning of my "real" dread journey (if you don't count the partials that I formed back in May that got disintegrated.) I'm so excited about them. I used twist and rip to make them. The roots are a bit loose, but the sections are holding together well. I have no intention of crocheting my dreads unless I really have to. Do I really need to do anything to my loose roots?

[willowbranches]

Nope, all you really need to do is wash your hair and keep your sections separated to the desired extent, any continued fussing/manipulation won't really enhance your progress and may in fact hinder it. When I had loose roots I did on a few add rubberbands briefly, say 3 inches from the scalp, to allow a buildup of knots from hair fall, but on others I didn't and they all came out the same. Probably the only real benefit of that was helping the sections stay defined, resulting in less tearing during separation because those ones would get eaten less.

[jxbx]

The roots will always be loose a certain distance from your scalp. Even when T&R'd close to the root in the beginning, they would eventually separate to a "comfortable" distance. Too tight it hurts the scalp so it's seemingly by design

[MirandaJoy]

Ok, good. I've seen so many videos of people fussing over their roots and I'm just not wanting to do that. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing my dreads a disservice by neglecting my roots

[olivebreath]

Ive actually been battling the roots getting to tight. Definitely want some wiggle room for them to flop around. I see people getting maintenance done on them and the aftermath to me just looks so uncomfortable. Yowch

[Deleted]

hmm, hope I didn't confuse you Mirandajoy! Those using the natural method, with the towel rub need to kindof focus on the roots, because that's how we get our sections. But like the others have said, for t&r, you don't have to worry. Actually, by leaving them, you won't get them sticking straight out of your head as much (they will lay down naturally).