nstama asked: Hey! I've been looking through your blog and it's really helping me so thank you! I've been considering dreads for a long time and I feel like I'm finally ready. I just have two questions one being how to properly backcomb. I mean, I know what backcombing is and what it does but I feel like I don't really know how to go about starting without completely ruining my hair or doing it wrong. Also if my hair is around 20-25 inches long how long would you expect my dreads to be after backcombing?

I explain the backcombing process pretty thoroughly in this post, but if you need me to further clarify something I said, just drop me another line with a more specific question & I’ll do my best to explain better :)

As for length, this varies somewhat by your hair’s type/texture & how well you backcomb it, but the general rule of thumb is you’ll lose about 1/3rd of your visible length initially. It may shrink more as your hair locks up.