Yes, you can start dreads from braids, BUT they will always kind of look like braids. Now if you don't mind that, then by all means go for it, but people often braid their hair and leave it expecting that one day they will have nice fat Marley locks, but that rarely is the case. Your dread braids will always look very thin and kinky like braids, which can be a very cool look, just different. And definitely get a good shampoo like our Shampoo Bar which has NO conditioners in it and a high concentration of tea tree and peppermint oils in it - you want to keep washing your scalp to prevent problems like oily buildup that leads to bad dandruff and smelly hair. Washing your scalp will not prevent the development of dreads and in many cases will help the process along by drying the hair out so it's not so greasy and more tangly.