Attaching Dreadlocks to a Dread Band

Hi there :)

Hi Ben!

I was wondering if you could help me!

I'll give it my best shot!

I would really love to try dreads, as I think they're ace.

Me, too. :-)

However at the moment my hair is really short, and I mean short!

The first time I put dreads in, my hair was probably 3-4" long. This means that it is possible to put dreads in fairly short hair. Unless you have an absolute buzz cut, it would probably take as long for you to receive the dreads as it would for your hair to grow long enough to put them in. Depending on how many dread orders we have already qued before an order comes in it can take up to 6 weeks to receive the dreads. Generally we try to get orders out within 2-4 weeks but we always state 6 weeks just in case we need the time to purchase and receive a particular hair color and/or if we are just swamped with orders (which happens fairly regularly). The good in all that is that you need the time to let your hair grow to put dreads in and it sounds like within 2-6 weeks your hair will probably be long enough for some

dreads.

I was advised that, as it's a rather drastic change from how my hair normally is it could be worth trying a dreadlock wig. I thought this was a good idea so brought one from eBay it its really not that good at all and doesn't give the impression of real dreads I was hoping for.

I'm not surprised. In fact, I wouldn't think a dreadlock wig would work that well. Dread falls attached to ponytails is adorable... but totally different in the overall end resulting look.

My suggestion would be to just order the dreads and assume that if your hair isn't long enough by the time the dreadlocks arrive it'll be long enough within 4 weeks time.

You could try to sew dreads onto a dread band (basically a headband or scarf). So, you would take the scarf and literally sew the dreads onto the inside of the scarf. This should not hurt the dreads. I've had people buy dreads from us before who have used them for this purpose. The scarf would pretty much go to your hairline. The dreads would be attached to the underside of the scarf giving the illusion of real dreads. Use a larger scarf. One layer would most likely not give the impression of 'real dreads'. A regular bandana would most likely be too small.

If attaching the dreads to the dread band worked well enough then you could conceivably use it until your hair is long enough for the dreads to attach directly.

Is it possible to get a wig that looks real? I'm after nothing fancy, just a

realistic looking wig that would make it look like I have proper dreads so I can see how it looks - if that doesn't sound too crazy!

Doesn't sound crazy at all. :-) The 'dreads attached to the dread band' would be my only suggestion beyond waiting the few weeks for the hair length to be workable.

If it is possible, I was looking at something about just below shoulder length, and how much would this cost?

I would suggest double-ended, 24-36" (when bent 12-28") dreads for a dread band. Double-ended dreads would be easier to attach to the dread band and look smoother under the band. Double-ended dreads will also work fine once your hair is long enough to use them. You will be able to use the same dreads for your wig and hair so there will not be an additional cost to you once your hair is long enough. I'll send an invoice.

Thanks in advance for all your help, and the blog is great :)

My pleasure! And, thank you for the blog kudos!

Ben

Best,

Christine