Oh and 7. - Bloody wax! Im trying so hard to get it all out of my dreads, I dont think I used too much but I notice after Ive washed them, then palm rolling Im finding my hands feel a little 'tacky' which I guess is the wax. Will it all come out? Only if I have to take them out Im not sure Id put them back in again, it took so long and I had no help, Id be really discouraged.

1. Wax - HOT HOT HOT water...and this may still take some time to get it all out...but really hot washes will eventually get it out, also try Vinegar rinses...

2. Loops. Find some cotton thread that matches your hair colour (or alternatively, it can be any colour if you wanna later cover it up with a bead or something)...thread a regular swing needle, double the thread over for strength and knot it off. secure the thread to the actual loop, then insert needle into the dread, pulling the loop back inside the dread, sew back and forth a few times til it's secure...it's just a matter of pulling the loop back-in...and like I said, you can cover it up with a bead to hide the thread, but if you do a good job, and you've used a matching thread, you generally can't even see the repair...I've got a number that I've done that way, all have worked brilliantly :))

3. Palm Rolling. As far as I'm concerned, with relatively new dreads, it's more important to concentrate on the lengths of the dreads than the tips or roots...they can be worked-on later, when the length are already dreading-up...that's how I've always done it.

4. Lumpiness. Well, it firstly depends on your hair type...curlier hair tends to produce slightly lumpier dreads from what I've experienced...My hair is dead-straight, so my dreads are straight as arrows (bar the occasional loop)...So yeah, may be your hair type causing the lumpiness, but keep palm-rolling, nice and hard, to ensure the hairs kinda "stretch-out" and this may help.

5. Shampoos. I'm a keen advocate of Dreadhead, but apparently it's not for everyone...I think it's a matter of trial and error to see what your scalp/dreads prefer, what works best for you personally...but you are certainly better off sticking with non-residue shampoos!!! Everyone's hair and scalp is different and responds differently to different shampoos...a lot of people love Knotty Boy Bar Soap, but it gave me the world's worst dandruff ever...and most of the others I've tried have done likewise, or simply caused damage to my dreads...my dreads like dreadhead and respond well to it...I'd recommend testing out a few and seeing what happens.

6. "Im convinced my dreads arent 'proper' and theyre going to come out any minute. Dont ask me why ;) "

LOL I think that's pretty natural...I'm currently on my third set of dreads, and every time I've had newbies, I have always had similar worries and stresses about my dreads...that they're not working, and they look horrible etc etc...but persevere and keep asking advice from ppl in the know...eventually they'll be stunning! :D

7. Complete Idiot's Guide to Dreads...LOL hey that's why we're here! In all my years with dreads, I have tried pretty much everything on my dreads...practically every method recommended...and I can tell you, there's a lot of misinformation out there...you'll d well just sticking on tribe, asking fellow dreadheads...we've all got experience, have spent time working-out little tricks and tips...and we're always happy to help with advice :)