Going to a Salon or DIY at home?

i have had so many people freak out at me when i say i am planning to do dreads at home with the help of family and friends! I have researched a lot and it seems to me that with organisation and hard work doing them at home without any products is one of the better and certainly less expensive ways to do dreads, now friend told me she just payed $950 to ahem hers started! if it were me at that price i would want to be able to go in to the salon once a week for the first 12 months to have them fixed up and re-done or something!

i am curious who out there has dome dreads at home and who has gone to a salon? i am not saying ether way is wrong and i do not yet and never have had dreads so i can't judge, just very curious of success and failure stories

discuss away peeps

 

Pretty much every single person here got them done at home, a salon will not give you correct dreads and they make you come back for upkeep.... of knotted hair...... that requires no upkeep at all... cause thats what hair does.

In my case, my girlfriends sister is a qualified hair dresser, so i asked her to help me out and bought her lunch and gave her 50 euro for the trouble. Don't need wax, don't need gels or any other shit, you need a metal comb, a few hair bands and a lot of patience. a few painkillers and a pizza help a lot too

 

Yeah...people will freak out throughout your whole journey probably, don't listen to them unless they have actual knowledge/experience you trust. I would say its def not worth it to go the salon route.

 

Please read dreadlockssite.com! It has all the information you need.

 

Thanks for the advice so far! the first reply made me laugh!!

i like the panadol and pizza idea! i head offered wine and nibble to a girlfriend who is coming over this friday night to braid my hair into my dread sections so i can get used to the sections and the idea of not combing my hair and la la la i have very thick hair and am curious to see how many i end up with!! i think i want thinker dreads... then my husband and i can work on one dread at a time over a course of how ever long without the other hair getting too missed up in it all. i read this technique and thought hmmm that sounds like me, slow and controlled, as controlled as dreads can be! haha.

 

We also have all the info you need here.

See the sticky above, or follow the link here

 

Diy!

 

Reed tthat sitee..if you have the decoder ring.
And anti-nausia meds for the formatting.

 

i did mine by myself took about 2 weeks and they have
turned out just fine, they r 17 months now this pic is them 16 months

 

Thanks every one i did have a look at the other site but i also read all through the link for this site, both full of good information. especially that this site followed up with how to wash them because that was a big question i had as well

is it terrible if i just use normal shampoo? i have a new full bottle and would like to use it! haha

 

Most of the time I use normal shampoo these days. I use a cheap supermarket version of Head and Shoulders normal anti-dandruff shampoo.

I do always fit in a ACV/White vinegar soak though, generally once a week, or every two weeks to remove residues and prevent mould. As you're a newbie you might not want to do this until your dreads a more mature, you may find it's too conditioning.

As long as the shampoo you're talking about isn't in any way conditioning it's probably ok to use it. You need to stay away from products that are conditioning until your dreads are mature enough to handle it.

 

Dreadlockssite is a worthwile place to visit for someone who is starting dreads, the owner has had his natural dreadlocks for 22 years. What is with being given negative reputation for mentioning it? Hahahaha man

 

I did mine from home, it took a few days but it wasn't bad. I also do other peoples dreadlocks from my own home and it's MUCH cheaper then going to the salon & I've had years of experience. Try looking for someone in your area who can do them professionally for less then half the salon cost!

 

Ive been "doing" mine at "home" for almost three years now. F the salon, f wax, and f anyone who gets in your way!

 

Haha Knotty Unity i love it!!! i have sectioned all of my hair into braids for now and there are 30, i want thinnish dreads not too thin but definitely not thick. i ca already tell i will turn some braids into 2 dreads and others will just be one, what is a good amount to have??? strange question i know. but i am very worried I'm much more into thin for me, i don't want to do them and go aaah crap their too thick. a dread would be thicker than a braid wouldn't it??

 

you can cut fat dreads into skinny dreads and you can join skinny dreads to make fat dreads. s'all good.

 

Hey SmellyD i checked out your dread time line thread. ITS AWESOME!! i love how many pics you posted you can really see the journey you and your hair took! haha. you back combed and then mostly just let them go yeah? i skipped a few middle pages cos i wanted to see the end result!

 

I'd just like to say to anyone who reads this: I was completely unaware of the dreadlockssite / SE situation having only joined Hip Forums recently. I'm sorry. Love and light~

 

whats the dreadlocks site /se situation???

 

We're not allowed to talk about banned people or any past schisms or events that may or may not have occurred in the past.

Nothing to see here. Move a long.