What happened by washing them is they became tighter and more dreaded, and not so puffy and soft - which is what is supposed to happen! Washing them is a good thing, helping them get tighter and more together like real dreadlocks, so they may seem thinner and not so fat now... but that is what is supposed to happen. And the good thing is that once they are finished 'shrinking' and getting as tight as they can over the next 6 months or so, they will start getting fat again. You see, your hair, when dreaded, never falls out of your head - it just stays in the locks and makes them bigger. So wash them more often to make this shrinking happen faster (and to keep your hair and scalp healthy), sit in the sun for them to dry, and this will help to speed the process up a bit and help them on their way to fatness again!