Splitting larger baby dreads into smaller ones

I just had my hair dreaded. Yay! So far I'm pretty happy with the initial results, I think they will grow into dreads I can live with. I have pretty thick hair and lots of it, and asked for 3/4th inch sections. I ended up without 65 dreads more or less. Just to give you an idea of the size, I guess.

There are 2 though, that seem like they will be a little too big for my taste in the end when they are mature. I'd rather too small than too big. Right now all my dreads are loose and fluffy so they do have a lot of tightening up to do. The backcombing wasn't extremely tight, so they are almost more palmrolled than they are backcombed. Which means... I *think* I could separate those 2 into 4 (granted, not without a lot of pain and possibly some snipping in the middle, but if it means smaller dreads I will be fine with that).

My question is, is this a bad idea? Or would it be fine since they are only a couple of days old? I just don't want to mess them up or make them worse. Is there some kind of construction for backcombed/palmrolled dreads that I don't know about that would somehow destroy the dreads if I try to split them and rip them and then re-roll everyday? They are VERY LONG dreads. The 2 I want to separate come down to below my bra strap in the back. Backcombing those is not an option anymore cuz that WOULD mess them up worse I think. So I'd only be able to palmroll them back into shape after separating them.

Thanks

 

Since it is only the initial stages, and it is only two dreads you want to fix. I would suggest coming them out and having them re-sectioned into the size you want, then back combed.

 

I am not sure if it is possible to comb them out at this point. :-S My hair knotted up pretty good.

 

It is definitely possible, it will be somewhat slow, but doable. Water it down, and brush gently.

Watch this video of a dude brushing out 16month old dreads off (what a waste :/ though he does leave the back)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUcNGMEaOYI&feature=user

 

I would not think brushing them out would be completely necessary. Depending on how tight the dreads are to begin with, ripping might be the best choice. The actual ripping can be just as painful as combing, though. You just have to remember that you won't re - backcomb after ripping. In fact, the ripping would probably create more knots, anyway.
Well, if you do choose to rip, sonner is better than later. They will only get tighter in time. Also, if you have a few stubborn hairs that won't rip, don't cut them. Only use something like a nail clipper. If you cut them with scissors you might end up losing the dread. Another thing to keep in mind would be that the keratin protein hair is made up of is weaker when wet. Might want to get 'em wet if it's too difficult to rip them dry.

 

Don't cut, I tried that too. I ended up with a skinnier dread on my head, and a sad cut off dread in my hand.

 

i had this like a week after i first backcombed... i just ripped the big dread into two...

 

Well, I tested splitting into 2 a dread in the back and bottom of my set of dreads. It wasn't particularly a big dread, but I picked it because of location and also it had a BIG lump that I knew I would not like when it was mature. So I figured if I messed them up, at least it was one I wasn't particularly fond of. It was a lot easier to comb out that I thought, I wasn't going to comb it out to start with, just rip in two and palmroll again, BUT it came undone enough I went ahead and finished it off by combing it out. Anyway, I did it, washed it really good and let it dry completely, then attempted to re-backcomb them back. It went well but NOW I'm worried they are too skinny, LOL. Plus, they look different than the rest of my dreads and are longer, so they kinda stick out. The reason they look different is because they were created in a completely different way than the others (someone else did my others for me). I'm wondering if they will "catch up" to the others in time?

There's still the 2 on the top of my head that I want to split, that are too big. However, seeing how this went with the test dread looking so different, I'm kind of afraid to try anything. Ack!

Is it possible to mess a dread up if you just RIP it in two while it's still fairly new? This was my main fear in the test dread, and why I did it so carefully, which I think is a big part of why it ended up looking like it doesn't belong.

 

I was looking up how to split dreads and I am in the same boat as you, but I just got my dreads July 28th.
I had three locks that came out nearly twice as big as the others and my friend pulled them apart using a kitchen knife and her fingers lol

How are your dreadlocks coming along? What maintenance suggestions could you give me for the first month, since you are a month ahead of me? I have 12inch locks and about 60 of them!

Alexandra

 

2008 thread.

FTR she'll be about two years ahead of you.

 

I had a similar issue when mine were new. The last dread the lady did was real shit and sort of in a straight line then a squared of section of hair, so it was this big barely together dread that was splitting like crazy. All I had to do was cut a few strands keeping them together and now they are two nice friendly babies.