I really want dreads, but...

I'm worried that because my hair is so painfully thin (ultra white-people's hair), that the dreads will look stringy/thin. anyone else have thin hair and dreads? i really want them....also, i was probably gonna do the backcombing method, so how much shorter, in inches, does this technique make your hair? say if my hair is 12 inches long, how long will the dreads be after backcombing?

 

I have very thin and fine hair and I really like the looks of my dreads. Until you try, there really is no crystal ball about how it will look.

Some say you lose about half your length... I never lost that much.

 

are you worried about ho they'll look? if so, you may need to look at the reality of the situation.

also, my hair was about 12 inches when i started and i have seen no growth for about a year. so i lost maybe about 6 inches to shrinkage.

 

it's not so much that i'm worried about how they'll look, I'm just worried that my hair is so thin, it won't dread properly, or stay dreaded, and i'll have to cut it all off and start over. that would really suck.
but I'm thinking i'll wait until my hair is a little longer then, if you really do lose about half your hair's length...i don't want dreads that stick straight up because they're too short to have any weight to them...

 

It's not so much that you "loose half" all at one time or anything. It will shrink for the first few months and then for about a year you probably won't see any growth (since your hair is still growing this = "shrinking," but the result is that the locks get fatter around, but stay about the same length)

 

^^oic...not too bad a trade-off then...

 

If you want it do it. I have really thin hair and my head knotted up just fine.

 

Ok, so we have different hair, and I didn't backcomb, but maybe this will give you an idea...

 

12 inches is not gonna stick up. the longer it is the more length that you could possibly use.
like i said, it seems that you are worried about how they will look. you better come to terms with the fact that you may not love them at first.

 

my hair was was thin and fine as you can get. My hair wouldn't never hold a curl or a style because it's so fine. But my hair dreaded just fine and my dreads are not skinny at all. It'll probably not better than you'd think.

But like vig said, you probably won't like your hair at first because any dreads take awhile to look like dreads.

 

yea, i guess on a deep level i might be concerned about how they look, but i'm not wanting the dreads for their fashion value. i've wanted dreads since i was in high school, and i've just always admired people with dreads...it's just a lifestyle change that i've been waiting for for a long time, and now that the time is getting closer and closer, I just want to make sure there's no surprises for me in stock, you know?

cool, cuz i've kind of experimented with a section of my hair in the back, and i knotted it up, just to see how easily my hair knots, and it actually did really well. it took me like 30 minutes to get that little knot out, but now at least I know my hair CAN do it...

OK, so, brand new dreads don't necessarily cause your hair to "shrink" per se, but rather once you have the dreads, the hair grows basically into itself, knotting even more, and making the dreads thicker. until, eventually, length follows suit. i think i understand now. and 12" of hair, once dreaded won't stick straight up, like i've seen pictures of some people with short dreads, and they stick out all over the place....i'm so ready to get dreads i can't even think straight! thank u guys for all ur help...i know for sure this is something i want to do, i just have to wait for the timing to be perfect for me...just wait for a message from "God"...