Can you get dreads done by a hairstylist or at a salon? - Dreadlocks FAQ's

A hair stylist or loctician that is familiar with dreadlocking in your hair type can put your hair in a state that, with some work and patience, can become dreads. The best  natural dreading method I know if is the one that I explain on this site. If you can verify that the stylist intends to do what is recommend in the Making Dreadlocks Section there is an excellent chance you'll be happy with their work.  Salon methods for making dreads vary a lot from salon to salon. Some of them simply won't work in your hair type and others will just as good as if you followed our instructions to the "T". Before going to a Salon to find out about their services you should review our instructions so you know what questions to ask. Always be sure to see lots of before and after pics and verify they are familiar with your hair. In short, if you have straight or curly caucasian hair twists will not work.

Many salons do what's called a dread perm. They wrap your hair on curler like rods and use a chemical solution to convince the hair its going to dread. The downsides to dread perms are price, unnecessary hair damage if it's done improperly and simple fact that you still have to learn how to properly maintain them or they will simply grow out. Dread perms often cost between $200 and $300. They weaken the hair as all perms do, which can cause breakage later on, especially if you should decide to bleach it later. 

Salons can also add pre-dreaded, synthetic hair extensions to the hair you already have. Of course your have to return to have the extensions moved up as your hair grows. They can not however make mature dreads in a single sitting, phatty locks take time. All these methods work, don't knock'em, I'm just a fan of natural and I'm not into having to pay somebody  to maintain my dreads. The bottom line is this, if you want "instant" dreads probably are not for you. It's not just a hair style, its a life style : )

The best use of a salon is to go there and find a friendly hair stylist, who, after reading through the instructions for dreading, can help you dread your hair. You'll have to pay them, probably $25-$30 an hour for her help, but you can be sure the sections will be nice and straight. A lot of people take the dread kit by the salon a day or two in advance so the stylist can check out the products, visit our website for tips and tricks and even give us a call and ask us some questions if they need to.