Small dreads

[nimue]

Hi! I am just beginning my journey and i have many questions. My question right nkw is how small is to small? I am using the back combing and crocheting method and i have fine straight hair. I really like the look of small dreads. I currently have 2 rows on the nape of my neck (starting at the bottom) and have only 7 dreads does that sound about right? Im sectioning them in 1 inch squares. I know everyone will have different results i just dont want to end up with like only like 20 or 30 total dreads. Thanks in advance.

[Dreadlocktruth]

That sounds like a good amount if I'm picturing the area right. The thing to remember is that the size of the sectioning will be the maximum size that the dread can grow to (and usually a little smaller).

[james]

On average most folk seem to have between 30-50 dreads. But we have members with over 100 and they look fantastic and don't seem to be too thin. If you end up with under 20 then they are probably going to be a little too thick for you but it's all a matter of preference.
But it sounds just fine what you are doing.

[willowbranches]

This is really going to be largely dependent on how thick your hair is. I have ~130 skinny dreads sectioned at scalp between 1/2" and 3/4"; they all started at roughly the size of a pencil and after three years are thickening up to be around the size of a sharpie marker if not slightly larger. My hair, when it was loose, in a ponytail had a diameter of about 1.5 inches. So not the thickest in the world but quite above average.

Skinny dreads can be very weak, not necessarily because they are thin but because the surface area is much larger relative to the inner mass, and the surface takes a lot of abuse, so over time all those hairs on the outside will experience breakages and brittleness that works its way inwards and can eventually lead to dread snap. so I wouldn't recommend dreads much thinner than pencil diameter starting.

Theoretically then, if your hair is half the thickness of mine as a for instance and you are doing roughly 1" sections to achieve pencil-thickness, you could expect to end up with something in the range of half the dreads I have: ~50 - 65 at the outside. Of course there are other variables involved--your hair may be thicker in some areas than others (the upper 1/3 of my head is just as thick as the lower 2/3), your head and therefore the square inchage of hair may be larger or smaller, etc, but as a frame of reference at least I hope this helps.

[Dreadlocktruth]

Wowser, 130! Sometimes when I count my dreads I get mixed up and have to start over and I only have 28.. it must be tense counting a head of that many 😂