Update

I called two salons yesterday about my dreads.  One offered to "fix" them for $50.  Then I asked what they meant by "fix."  Turns out they would just cut off all the loose hair and roll the dreads really well with a lot of a product.  While that would make them look better for a week or so, it isn't a permanent solution.  Goodness only knows what they would do about the tips.

Salon number two sounded a bit more legit about their dreads, but, based on my over the phone description, say it would probably cost $150-$200.  This is money i would be willing to pay if I thought it would be a permanent, or at least long-term, solution.  I purchased a mini-crochet hook, the most highly recommended method of dread maintenance, yesterday morning.  Last night, after hauling yet another load of my crap up to my new apartment, I settled in to see if I could even make headway against the dreads on my own, or at least figure out if they were repairable at all.  I sat right on the counter in my pjs and got up close and personal with the mirror, that crochet hook, and my poor, ailing dreads.  Friends, I couldn't fix even a hair, not one.  The knots of my dreads, once so tight and compact, are migrating out the unraveling dreads, and the remaining dread is shrinking.  As the knots weaken, hair is liberating itself from the dreads like crazy, and there is more loose hair every day.  I am thinking that even with salon help, my dreads my be doomed.  I think if I really want dreads, good dreads, these are already lost.  I'd need to pick them out and start over, which is what some people have already started recommending.

First, I'd like to offer a sincere apology to all my friends who helped put the dreads in.  I feel like I've failed you and let you down after all your hard work.  I promise not to ask you for help taking them out, or to put them in again some day if I decide I want to try again.  My hair and I will have to muddle through without bothering you for a while.  Thank you for all your hard work and sacrifice so that I could try this, I wish I could give you the return in your investment you deserve.

What I would do differently if I ever do this again:

1. Have longer hair.  Short dreads are possible, but harder.  They take a lot more maintenance, and a little unraveling is a much bigger problem.  Longer dreads lock up faster and stay better. There's also more you can do with them, instead of just put a headband on everyday.  I couldn't wait for my hair to be long, and thought I could deal with the issues that come with short dreads.  I was wrong.

2.  Bigger sections.  I love my tiny, tiny dreads, but I think that's probably part of the problem as well.  Larger dreads lock up faster and stay better as well.  I still don't want big, fatty dreads, but I think I would go larger than what I have now.  I thought I could deal with the issues that come with tiny, short dreads in straight, stubborn hair; I was wrong.

3.  Decide that if I really want dreads so desperately and so badly, then I'd better save up for them.  Instead of trespassing on the goodness of my friends, I should save up the $500 or so to get salon dreads, which might include a road trip to a good salon.  I should also budget for maintenance appointments for the first year or so probably.  Basically, I should make sure I want dreads instead of a trip to Europe or a new computer or my own apartment.  I thought I could deal with doing it the cheap, homemade way with short, skinny dreads. I was wrong.

I've started breaking the news to my students.  The dreads are making their farewell tour.  When I have time to pick them out in the next week or two, I will.