One of the most common things I hear from new dread clients is that they weren’t quite sure what to expect after their installation. The first year of dreadlocks is a journey of change - and knowing what’s coming makes it much easier to trust the process rather than panic at it.

A little preparation before your appointment makes a real difference to how smoothly the session goes - and in the case of installations, to how well your dreads form and lock over time.

Dreadlocks are lower maintenance than many people expect - but they do have their own particular needs. Understanding how to care for them well from the start makes a significant difference to how they develop over time.

Dreadlocks are living things. They grow, shift, and change over time — and like anything living, they benefit from occasional attention. That’s what maintenance is for.

Creating dreadlocks is not a quick process. Done well, it’s methodical, considered, and deeply attentive to the individual hair in front of you. Here’s what the process actually looks like.

Dreadlocks exist on a spectrum. At one end, perfectly uniform cylinders, identical in size, neat and symmetrical. At the other, something that looks like it grew from the person wearing it - varied, characterful, alive.