These are the two things you should make your decision by

If the dreads get really long they can pull on the scalp if they get really long which can make you loose more hair.

Another way to look at it is that you will get to keep the hair longer, because the dreads will hold the hairs together.

It's really a give take situation, but I have never heard of anyone's hair follicles being damaged because of have dreads, it's just a warning that needs to thrown out there just in case anything did happen.

Yep, dreads do grow; they grow at the same speed your normal hair grows. Even though it seems like they are growing slower because the hair has to spiral and twist and knot. So it seems like dreads are growing ¼ the amount that normal hair grows. The hair does not grow into the dread unless the roots of the dread are locked up. So it is very important to lock the hair at the root, you can use the clockwise rubbing method to do this.

It's not really a good idea, because the dread will start to unravel because the hair that was holding the knots together before is gone. You will have to wait for the tip to lock up again and it's just a pain in the arse. But if you are going to do it the best way to cut it is like a flower, cut it at an angle, and put a rubber band at the tip.

How do I make my hair grow faster?

There are a couple herbs you can take to make your hair grow fast
1. Horsetail- the is the most effective one
2. Salmon oil
3. Vitamin E

Scalp massages also help hair grow fast