Sara and Her Dreads Getting Some TLC

July 3, 2013 | Shikote

Sara came to Grateful Dreads for some dreads maintenance. She’s had her hair dreaded for seven years and had never been for any maintenance. She let them form naturally and grooms them with her special wool gloves. She loves her hair very much and so do all of her friends! Her hair is so long and healthy, and Sara is full of wonderful experience and happiness! I really enjoyed this day!

20130618_141010 — Incredibly long, natural dreadlocks!

20130618_141018 (2) — The tightening process: I tightened her dreads at their roots and pulled in any loose hairs.

20130618_193009 — Sara’s dreads are out!

Sara really looks amazing! Her dreads are loved by many! They’re all freshly cleaned, separated, tucked in, reformed, and healthy. Happy dreadlocks!

What a fun day filled with love and friendship! We had many visitors which made it even more lovely! Sara it was so nice to spend the day with you! Thanks for coming in and thank you to her two scouts!!! Chaeley and Allison! We did it! Sara I’m so happy I was a part of this rejuvenating experience!!!

“Desire” Unfinished

July 1, 2013 | Shikote

I call this collection Desire, and it remains unfinished…

Please enjoy these beautiful photos taken last fall!

Hair, Make up, and concept all by Sandy for Grateful Dreads. The models are Gabi Giachierri and Suki Sachs. The photos are a collaboration of photographers for Grateful Dreads. Posting older editorial work is interesting because styles change so quickly! Still, these beautiful photos are timeless!

Gorgeous Hair!

June 17, 2013 | Shikote

This salon really really has the coolest clients! It’s been a fun week full of amazing hairstyles and wonderful people!!

Here are the pics:

Josh has amazing dreads and style to match!

Deonta's new dreadlocks! — Deonta’s new dreadlocks!

She is totally rad! I love her new platinum!! — Kaitlyn is totally rad! I love her new platinum!!

Her curls look beautiful with her new cut!

David's hair is really getting long! His hair is entirely interlocked. — David’s hair is really getting long! His hair is entirely interlocked.

Long locks rolled up in a hat from the Virgin Islands

Happy people and amazing hair!

Looking Good at Grateful Dreads!

June 10, 2013 | Shikote

It’s been an exceptional week full of great-looking clients and enjoyable company. These are some pics of the all-stars of Grateful Dreads!

Erik’s new dreads! I love that he shaves the bottom of his hair with the dreads!!

Fresh medium-sized dreads! These took almost 4 hours.

Ciarra is probably the most fashionable person in Ann Arbor. Her curly hair is getting longer!

Ebonie’s hair is really looking nice! She made this visor to fit her dreadlocks, a great idea for hats!

Allie had her first curly cut! This is just the beginning!!!!!

Thank you to all of the new people who’ve come through for specialty work! And thank you so much to those of you who return. Good times at the shop!

The Gardens at Grateful Dreads

June 10, 2013 | Shikote

The outdoor waiting area at Grateful Dreads

This huge Hydrangea is getting ready to bloom!

Beauty and Success at Grateful Dreads

June 9, 2013 | Shikote

June 5th, the weather was beautiful! And what an eventful day at Grateful Dreads! Some of my favorite people were in the salon today, and there was so much action at one point, we all just had to pause at the success of this wonderful salon!

John and Ellie. Ellie grows organic food!

John’s superhero photo spread in Hour Magazine. He is a hometown hero for his exquisite cooking and artisanal use of fresh foods. Congrats John! I love this photo of you!!

Laura came to Grateful Dreads for a trim and some color. I’m so happy with her new shade!

Happy, bouncey, curly!

The Peony Garden in Nichols Arboretum is in full bloom, so we finished the evening there!

We are surrounded by beauty!

Happy Birthday to Grateful Dreads!

June 9, 2013 | Shikote

June 1st was Grateful Dreads’ one year anniversary! Happy Birthday Grateful Dreads!!

Sara and her beautiful boys. They've all had haircuts at Grateful Dreads! — Sara and her beautiful boys. Sara came for a cut in the morning. Now they’ve all had haircuts at Grateful Dreads!

Debbie is an art teacher about 90 minutes away. She put in her dreads three years ago and was so happy to find a place to have them touched up!

For Grateful Dreads' one year anniversary I took my family out for Bibimbop at Kosmo across the street. — For Grateful Dreads’ one year anniversary my family and I went for Bibimbop at Kosmo across the street!

Thank you Karen! And thanks to everyone who’s visited Grateful Dreads this year! Happy One Year Anniversary Grateful Dreads!!!!!!

AJ’s Dreads!

June 5, 2013 | Shikote

AJ is a really cool, really unique guy! It’s very suiting that he would choose dreadlocks for a hairstyle. AJ grew his hair for three years because, after researching what it takes to have dreads, he knew he’d need the extra length. AJ and I first talked over a year ago (before Grateful Dreads!) about putting in dreads. When the time came, he found this webpage and came to see me again! Our consultation was fun! The dreads session was totally awesome! AJ’s dreads took about 7 hours. We decided to tuck in his ends right away which I don’t usually do. I’d done it before with extensions, and it was okay. So I sent him home with important instructions to palm roll, palm roll, and palm roll those new dreads!!

Almost done! Look at the difference in length! We decided to tuck in his ends right away which took most of his length.

AJ's dreads. Success! — AJ looks happy with his new dreads!

Thanks so much AJ! I really had a good time. You are so knowledgable on so many cool things. I hope everyone else loves your dreads as much as we do!

Beautiful Curls and Tight Dreads!

June 5, 2013 | Shikote

The weather has been beautiful these past couple days! Spring is in full swing, and the heat of summer is on its way. I love the summer outfits and hairstyles that people wear this time of year! These are some pics of the wonderful beings who spend time at Grateful Dreads.

A faithful client, Patrick, brought his long-time friend Gabriella for a curly haircut. Her hair was almost all one length. She wanted something cute with fun style, so we got to work! A cut and some deep conditioning yeilded this absolutely beautiful, fun haircut!

Gabriella after a nice shape up on her beautiful curly/wavy hair! — Gabriella after a nice shape up on her beautiful curly hair!

You may recognize Sara from her wedding photos on this website. She’s now expecting a bouncey baby boy! Congratulations Sara!

Sara's hot ma purple hair! — Sara’s hot ma purple hair!

Hunter! She's happy because her dreads look great after almost a month. — Hunter! She’s happy because her dreads look great after almost a month.

Hunter's dreads from the back. They are just over 3 weeks old. — Hunter’s dreads from the back. They are just over 3 weeks old.

Nevan's looks great with dreads! These took about 7 hours. — Nevan looks great with dreads! These took about 7 hours.

He had tried everything to get dreads, so there are a lot of happy people out there knowing they're in to stay! — He had tried everything to get dreads, so there are a lot of happy people out there knowing they’re in to stay!

Shikote watches the squirrels :) — Shikote watches the squirrels 🙂

Special thank you to the faithful friends of Grateful Dreads! Happy Spring!

Springtime!

June 4, 2013 | Shikote

The salon has been so busy I couldn’t be more thankful! So many amazing faces have passed through Grateful Dreads the past few weeks. This is an extra long post with a lot of great pics:

Alex came in for a major change. Her hair was really long, and she was bored with it. We came up with this cool wavy do! I love it, and the cut really shows your personality!

Sarath came for a specialized cut. We decided to take off some length and give her hair some very light layering around her face!

Carlee came for a touch up after almost a month.

Blonde dreads after almost four weeks. She takes good care of them!

Jake's dreads are well over a year now. They're getting so long! He really looks like a rock star! — Jake’s dreads are well over a year now. They’re getting so long! He really looks like a rock star!

Jake's dreads in a ponytail — Jake’s dreads in a ponytail

Lauren and Dan came for Lauren's new dreads. We have a lot in common personally and enjoyed the time in the shop. Lauren's got lots of tiny little dreads! These took me 7 hours to put in. — Lauren and Dan came for Lauren’s new dreads. We have a lot in common personally and enjoyed the time in the shop. Lauren’s got lots of tiny little dreads! These took me 7 hours to put in.

I did this cute updo with Lauren's new dreads! — I did this cute updo with Lauren’s new dreads!

Ryan's fresh locks! — Ryan’s fresh locks!

New dreads. These were pre-sectioned and are going to be HUGE!!! I love big blonde dreads!!

Kyesha's cute curly cut! — Kyesha’s cute curly cut!

Madeline's pretty hair up in a bun! — Madeline’s pretty hair up in a bun!

Abbie comes to Grateful Dreads to help out with bigger jobs. She does her dreads herself!!

Josh chilling out while he waits for his friend. Abbie tightened his dreads while I worked on Yvonne’s long locks!

Tiffany's long hair BEFORE she cut it off to donate. — Tiffany’s long hair BEFORE she cut it off to donate.

This is what Jay looks like after a dreads session at Grateful Dreads!

Hannah's hair looks so curly with her new cut! — Hannah’s hair looks so curly with her new cut!

Rori is very beautiful. I love her hair and gave her a cute curly cut!

Evidence of a fun haircut! Isabelle and her gang were here and gone so fast I didn’t get to snap any pics!

Jamie came to Grateful Dreads for some touch ups to her dreadlocks. She has an apple farm in Michigan. I love her smile, and her dreads look so full and healthy!

James did his dreads himself! He just got out of the woods after a couple weeks, so he came in for a touch up. I have some cool tracking pics for you James!

Caroline straightens her curly hair. You may recognize her from some pics on this page. She came for some deep conditioning and a trim. Her hair is getting long!!

Daphne's hair is getting long! — Daphne’s hair is getting long! She’s an OG at Grateful Dreads.

Thanks so much to everyone who’s passed through. I don’t get pics of everyone, but I appreciate all of you so much! We have fun!

Camille and Skylan

May 31, 2013 | Shikote

Camille and I have so many connections! The dreads, the babies, the baby wearing! Her name!! These pics are of her and her little girl Skylan on their farewell visit to Grateful Dreads. Camille was in Ann Arbor for a very short time and is now on her way back home to the West Coast.

I’ll miss you both!

Sydney’s Dread Removal

May 31, 2013 | Shikote

Dread Removal. It’s quite the process! The key to taking out dreads is to replace them with a totally cute hairstyle!

Sydney and her beautiful dreads! One year and nine months old.

I cut off most of her dreads. There is a point on dreads where, if you look closely, you can see when the matting changes. I left as much length as we could without killing our hands from the comb-out process.

The three of us got to work combing out Sydney’s dreads. I think it took around 5 hours from start to finish.

Sydney’s new totally hip and beautiful curly haircut! Complete with double dreads rat tail!!

Love! You look beautiful Sydney!

Emily’s Dreadlocks, At Last!

May 31, 2013 | Shikote

Look at Emily’s beautiful red curly hair! She loves it so much and has wanted dreads for a long time. They really fit her personality and lifestyle. She’s got so much hair!! Emily’s dreads look amazing brand new and will continue to become more and more beatiful with time!

Emily and her long, curly, red hair BEFORE

We left out some of her hair in the front and left the ends loose to show off her beautiful natural curls!

Thank you so much Emily!

Riley Dominique

May 7, 2013 | Shikote

These are two beautiful pictures of Riley from her photoshoot the day after her visit to Grateful Dreads!

Photos taken by Scottie Magro for Seeds Studio, Metro Detroit

Riley’s Visit to Grateful Dreads

May 7, 2013 | Shikote

Riley came to Grateful Dreads with her mom, Jade, who is my good friend from high school. I was so excited to get this call! “Riley has dreads, and she has some photos coming up!” Hahahaha!! This is what life is all about!! I worked on Riley’s hair while Jade went and played at the Farmers’ Market!

Riley 🙂 Her hair actually looks very beautiful down, but we wanted to play around with it!

Riley’s dreads are so artistic! They’re full of wraps and vintage beads. She added some extensions herself as she put her dreads in, and I showed her how to add more!

465129_10201058797891159_399771763_o — Jade sent me this picture of our fairie babies playing in the fairie tree. So cute!!!!!

Scott’s New Dreads!

May 7, 2013 | Shikote

Scott came to Grateful Dreads for a consultation about a month ago. He wanted dreads and had been growing his hair out for three years to get them! He wasn’t sure how it would go because people told him that his straight hair wouldn’t go into dreads. During our consultation I assured him his hair could, in fact, be dreaded! This past Saturday he came walking down the driveway for his appointment, and we got to work!

Scott’s long, smooth hair before dreadlocks

Scott and Jane under the dreadlock tree!

Thanks to both of you! I am so happy to be a part of this accomplishment, and I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with you!

Happy Spring!