What Tools Do I Need to Become a Loctician? A Starter Kit From 26 Years in the Salon

By Ann-Marie Christell, Seienstyle

A question I hear all the time

My name is Ann-Marie Christell, and I have been a professional loctician for over 26 years. I am also a loctician teacher, and one of the questions I am asked most often by people who feel drawn to this work is this: what tools do I need to become a loctician?

Sometimes the question comes with excitement. Often there is a little worry underneath it. Will I need to spend a fortune before I even know if this is for me? Will I buy the wrong things?

I understand that worry, because I have lived it.

What I learned the hard way

When I started, there was almost no information about dreadlocks anywhere. No YouTube, no online courses, no one to ask. I bought tools that broke within weeks. I used tools that made my hands bleed. I spent money on things that made the work harder rather than easier, and some of them were quietly hurting my body without me realizing it.

Over 26 years, I have tested more tools than I can count. What I have learned is that you need far less than you might think to begin. But what you do buy matters enormously. The right tools protect your hands, your back and your clients. The wrong ones slowly wear you down.

The tools I would buy again tomorrow

If I were starting over today, this is what my first kit would hold.

A mannequin head comes first. Before you ever work on a client, you need a place to practice, a place where your hands can learn this work again and again until the movements begin to live in your muscle memory. On a mannequin head you can make mistakes without anyone sitting in your chair. You can section, create, undo and begin again as many times as you need. Every hour you spend there is an hour your future clients will feel in the confidence of your hands.

Then good crochet hooks. They are the heart of your toolkit. A good hook makes the work gentler and more precise. A poor one snags the hair, slips in your hand, and puts strain on your fingers and wrist that builds up over months and years. The right hooks last a long time. I use mine for one to two years, cleaning them between every appointment and every client. It is not a tool you replace every month, so choosing well once is far better than choosing cheaply many times.

A simple, well-made comb is next. You will reach for it in almost every appointment, because clean, even sections are the foundation of beautiful dreadlocks.

Then string. In the Seienstyle process, a fine string is tied at the root of each dreadlock. It keeps each section in place and teaches the hair from the very first day where it is meant to grow together. This is part of why dreadlocks made with the Seienstyle process begin to mature within two to three months, without the long awkward stage so many people expect. A few different colours let you match it to different hair.

Hair pins, small and always needed, keep the hair you are not working on neatly out of the way, so you can give your full attention to one section at a time.

As you begin to offer more services, you will want some synthetic hair and human hair for extensions. You do not need a large supply. A little is enough to practice with and learn how different hair behaves.

And finally, a comfortable chair for your client. In the beginning, a regular chair works well, perhaps with a cushion. A dreadlock appointment can last many hours, so comfort is not a luxury. It is part of how your client experiences you.

Why the right tools protect your body

Being a loctician is one of the most physically demanding professions in the hair world. You spend long hours repeating the same small, precise movements. Your tools are an extension of your hands, and your hands are the instrument of your whole career.

Tools that break, or that force your hands and body into strain, do not only waste money. They make it harder to do beautiful work, and harder to keep doing this work for many years. Choosing tools that respect your body is one of the kindest things you can do for your future self.

Over time, as your practice grows, the same thinking extends to your furniture. A height-adjustable client chair, a saddle stool for yourself and good lighting all help you keep your back straight and your shoulders relaxed through a full day. You do not need them on day one. But it is worth knowing they belong to the picture.

So, what tools do you need to become a loctician?

Less than you think, chosen with more care than you might expect. A mannequin head, good crochet hooks, a comb, string, hair pins, a little hair for extensions and a comfortable chair. Buy them well, look after them, and they will carry you for a long time.

To make this easier, I have put together a free tool guide with all the tools I actually use in my salon every day, the ones that have proven themselves to me over 26 years. There are versions for four different parts of the world, so you can find them easily wherever you live.

Download the free tool guide here

If you are still at the very beginning and wondering whether this path is truly for you, my free ebook Becoming a Loctician is a gentle place to start. It walks you through what this work really asks of you, what it gives back, and how the Seienstyle process approaches it.

Read the free ebook Becoming a Loctician here

And if you have questions about tools or about becoming a loctician, email me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you.

With love,

Ann-Marie