Yes, you can let your braids turn into dreadlocks. And yes, it will work, but these are some things you should expect and know about before you choose this method.

1. The dreads will not be as thick as they would if you were to use another method such as backcombing. When you backcomb the dreads the hair is teased up and down and across and every direction, so it makes a thick dread because the hair is scattered everywhere. But when you let the braid turn into a dread the hairs will be side by side, so the dread will be a lot thinner. This doesn't mean that you can't have thin dreads if you use the backcombing method, because you can, it's just another way to have thin dreads.

2. The dreads will probably have a lot of loops, lumps, and bumps. The hair is side by side, so nothing is holding them in one place, so one side of the braid my pop out of the dread and cause a big loop or bump.

3. The dreads will probably never look smooth. I'm not saying all dreads formed this way will by wavy and lumpy and loopy, you may have dreads that have formed this way and they look great, good for you, but most people who make dreads this way will have a big problem. You will be able to see where the hair is braided, because the only way to cover up the braided part is to have the loose hairs knot and dread over the braid, and you probably don't have enough loose hairs to cover the entire braid.

A dread perm is when a salon puts all these chemicals on your hair, (fries your hair) and then they just twist the hair, put wax and rubber bands on it and eventually the hair will dread.

I don't recommend them, because it ruins your hair, makes it brittle, and break, but if you want one you should talk to the hair police they do them and they have tours.

I personally think this is a painful time consuming way to make dreads. Not to mention it is not very effective.

It depends on which method you use. Check out the methods section in FAQ Part 2 to find more information about the method you want to use.