i must have dreadlocks!! (Boston, Huntington: salons, purchase, live in)

[groovinichigo]

and... i'm in boston. does anyone.. ANYONE have ANY leads on places to go in boston to get dreads? i'll take anything.

thanks =)

[WannaGoHome]

if you want dreads, grow them and maintain them the natural way. stop brushing and let it go. or twist them yourself, trim off the frizz, and use beeswax if you're into the neat type. I grew up in a family with strong views on dreads and i'll keep them to myself. But I will say that those that are grown with purpose and are natural are always the nicest.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by WannaGoHome

if you want dreads, grow them and maintain them the natural way. stop brushing and let it go. or twist them yourself, trim off the frizz, and use beeswax if you're into the neat type. I grew up in a family with strong views on dreads and i'll keep them to myself. But I will say that those that are grown with purpose and are natural are always the nicest.

I agree w/ just doing them yourself. dreads can be easily started w/ two strand twists. well, easily, if you have kinky, natural hair (I really shouldn't assume you're black!). if you're hair isn't very kinky and can't hold a twist, you can try comb coils or backcombing. if you're hair is super straight (ie, you're white or Asian), than you may want to backcomb your hair. you can also start locs from small braids (no extensions) or you can just go freeform and just stop combing your hair, but it takes a while if you do it freeform and the locs won't be at all uniform

regardless of which of the above methods you use, avoid using a lot of products. DON'T use shea butter!! that stuff does not wash out easily! pure shea butter will ruin your dread, and petroleum is even worse (a lot of the locking waxes on the shelf of a typical beauty shop is mostly petroleum. the stuff you can get through websites devoted to locking tend to have too much shea butter, or is pure shea butter w/ a bit of oils, and over time, this stuff will build up in your locs). a bit of shea butter is ok, just not the main ingredient. I could go on about locking your own hair, but I suggest you check out sites like nappturality (again, I'm assuming you're black, but that site has a lot of good loc info that may be helpful for straight hair).

if you really want to go the salon route, make sure you go to one specializing in natural hair styles and locs. the first time I got my locs, I went to a salon that mainly did relaxers. the lady there lied and said she could do locs then proceeded to twist my hair w/ some foul looking brown/black gel (beware the black gel!!). I had to wash it out and wasted $100 in the process. there are a few salons that specialize in latching (using a latch hook to create locs), and if you have some serious cash to spend, there are a few Sisterlocs places in Boston (Sisterlocs are SUPER thin latched locs, but it's VERY expensive to get them installed, think over $500-$1k). I don't have my Boston info any more since I moved before re-starting my locs (I vaguely remember there being a salon off of Blue Hill Ave in Dorchester, but can't remember for sure. there is a salon near Mission Hill, right here S. Huntington turns into Huntington that does braids and I think they do locs as well), but you can google for the info or check out nappturality

[fnord]

Be very cautious about going the salon route. I have super-straight hair and got dreadlocks done at a salon about 4 years ago. They specialized in doing dreads and had hundreds of pictures of happy victims. Part of the dreading process included putting some sort of chemical in my hair wrapped with pipe cleaner - at the time I was ignorant and had no idea.

Two years passed and my hair had not grown in length AT ALL. It just got thicker and thicker, not longer and it was a mess. I finally decided to comb out the dreadies - it took a full 77 hours and I lost about 1/3 of my hair. The end result was a frizzy, damaged mess and I had to cut about 4 inches off.

If you want to go for it, first think about why you are doing it - I felt like an idiot after a while because dreadlocks, historically, aren't a fashion statement but rather a spiritual representation in Indian and Caribbean cultures. I am not either one of those. Also get used to incessant requests to purchase or sell pot. It's annoying.

If you do it, do it yourself and have a friend help you - you'll need it. NO CHEMICALS.

[WannaGoHome]

Originally Posted by fnord

Be very cautious about going the salon route. I have super-straight hair and got dreadlocks done at a salon about 4 years ago. They specialized in doing dreads and had hundreds of pictures of happy victims. Part of the dreading process included putting some sort of chemical in my hair wrapped with pipe cleaner - at the time I was ignorant and had no idea.

Two years passed and my hair had not grown in length AT ALL. It just got thicker and thicker, not longer and it was a mess. I finally decided to comb out the dreadies - it took a full 77 hours and I lost about 1/3 of my hair. The end result was a frizzy, damaged mess and I had to cut about 4 inches off.

If you want to go for it, first think about why you are doing it - I felt like an idiot after a while because dreadlocks, historically, aren't a fashion statement but rather a spiritual representation in Indian and Caribbean cultures. I am not either one of those. Also get used to incessant requests to purchase or sell pot. It's annoying.

If you do it, do it yourself and have a friend help you - you'll need it. NO CHEMICALS.

Beautiful post. Especially the part I highlighted. :-)

[chantzypantzy]

try the all natural way it takes long but its worht the wait and knwing of real dreads and never brush them out u losse sooo much hair

[Merrida]

Originally Posted by groovinichigo

and... i'm in boston. does anyone.. ANYONE have ANY leads on places to go in boston to get dreads? i'll take anything.

thanks =)

I am also looking to get dreads. I am WHITE with very thin hair....it's fine, soft, and ugh, it's also thin. I've seen some miracle work done through Sabrina's in Cali, and she could make someone with thin, fine, (not much) hair, and make it come out looking natural and thick/er. That's what I'm looking for because we white women don't age as well. IMO, that is. And I'm looking to thicken it up, but I don't want the extensions you typically find white people gravitating to. I'm looking to create dreads, but with such fine and thin hair, I can't do them naturally by myself. I have some skill in how they're made, but as I said, I'd look awful and probably bald if I just used my own hair. I live in the Boston area, and am having a hard time finding a salon who can do this or will do this on a white woman. I'm hoping to get some replies that can lead me in the right direction.

[miu]

Originally Posted by Merrida

I am also looking to get dreads. I am WHITE with very thin hair....it's fine, soft, and ugh, it's also thin. I've seen some miracle work done through Sabrina's in Cali, and she could make someone with thin, fine, (not much) hair, and make it come out looking natural and thick/er. That's what I'm looking for because we white women don't age as well. IMO, that is. And I'm looking to thicken it up, but I don't want the extensions you typically find white people gravitating to. I'm looking to create dreads, but with such fine and thin hair, I can't do them naturally by myself. I have some skill in how they're made, but as I said, I'd look awful and probably bald if I just used my own hair. I live in the Boston area, and am having a hard time finding a salon who can do this or will do this on a white woman. I'm hoping to get some replies that can lead me in the right direction.

If your hair is that thin, soft (and I'm guessing straight) and you are an older woman (47 according to your profile), then I can understand how most salons might be reluctant to work on your hair. If your hair is too thin and soft, then you might have hair that easily develops split ends and breaks away. Having dreads would stress your hair and the added weight might pull your hair out of its roots.

You might want to consider options of wearing a wig, fun hats or scarves. Tina Turner's fabulous hair is all wigs. Her real hair is cut short. Maybe someone can make you a human hair wig of dreadlocks.