I decided to write this post because I wanted to inform the newbie’s on what to considered when getting sisterlocks, and avoid the lost of time and money that is involve in getting sisterlocks, especially if you still not sure if you want sisterlocks or not. Each dreadlock technique has its own disadvantage, but as a sisterlocks wearer, I will list sisterlocks (brotherlocks) disadvantages.

Point I
Cost - If you can't afford them. Don't get them. It doesn’t matter if you going to use your income tax to foot the bill for the initial install. If you can't afford them to beginning with, on a month to month bases, then don't get them. Who better to know their own finances than you. I call on you to be the responsibility party for controlling your own pocketbook. Budget and find out if you can afford sisterlocks and don't waste your income tax and money period, especially if you know you can't afford it in a long run. If you like wearing weave or braids please check out this post to see if you truly can’t afford sisterlocks.


Note: You can maintain your own sisterlocks after your locks has settled, but Point III comes into play. If either of Point I, Point II, and Point III comes into play  then don't bother getting sisterlocks. Also I know thing can happens, and you may have been able to afford it in the beginning, but due to job loss etc, you can't afford sisterlocks now. Point III still applies to you and if you feel that way, don't get sisterlocks.


Point II
Maintenance - This coincide inside with the "Cost". If you can't afford the cost to maintain your sisterlocks, please don't bother getting sisterlocks. You are paying for the time of the Consultant and they truly deserve the money that they are being paid. It takes a lot of work to retighten sisterlocks as well as to install them (14-18 hours split between days). FYI...sisterlocks are not completely maintenance free. It requires a commitment of 4-6 weeks of retighten.


If you were a DIYER and believe Sisterlocks is the solution to your detangling and maintenance hog of your current natural hair routine, please don't get sisterlocks. Sisterlocks is not a miracle cure. Sisterlocks will have you committed to someone to maintain your sisterlocks in the beginning. I hear comments like this a lot "This take me back to getting relaxers (perms)". If that statement applies to you and you feel that way, then you will have a problem with someone maintaining your hair for 6 months tops.You are going to be with your consultant for a couple of month until your sisterlocks is settle.


Point III
Patience - I can't stress enough how much patience you need for sisterlocks. Sisterlocks are not INSTANT dreads. If you don't have patience, and you don’t want to be bother with the time it takes for your sisterlocks to mature, don’t bother getting sisterlocks. Especially if Point I & II is in the pictures. Also If you don't have patience now, then you WILL NOT have the patience to maintain your own sisterlocks, which ranges from 300 - 600 on average. Maintaining your own sisterlocks is a lot more time consuming, than any other dreadlock technique. I'm talking about 4-8 hours, depending on the size of your locks, and the amount of growth you have.


Note: I'm perfectly happy with someone maintaining my hair but one day I will learn how to maintain my own sisterlocks because I don't ever want to be stuck without having my hair retighten due to some incident that is beyond my control.


Point IV
Time - If you lead a VERY busy life. Sisterlocks require 2.5 - 6 hours of your life every 4 - 6 weeks. Save yourself the trouble if you can't fit the maintenance of sisterlocks in your schedule. I hear people say that they just don't like the amount of time it takes to retighten sisterlocks and they feel that it is a waste of time. If that sound like you, don’t get sisterlocks, especially if you don’t want to take the time to do your own research, as well as finding the right consultant, and taking the time to ask question, and making sure you getting the right product. There are too many horror stories of sister that didn’t get true sisterlocks, or consultant being sloppy with their works, and that should be something that you learn from.


If any of the above Point applies to you. Don't get sisterlocks. Also for the non sisterlocks wearer, please don't mock or say negative comments about people who have sisterlocks. I hear it and I read it and it’s sad that we as African American can't be nice to one another. Just like we have different shades, we also have different hair style, pattern, and locks, and we need to appreciate the differences and move on. I don't think I'm better then you just because I have sisterlocks. I just happen to choose sisterlocks because I love the look and I’m willing to commit to the time and money it takes to achieve long healthy small locks.


This post was not meant to upset you or alienate you. I showing tough love to avoid money being wasted because someone didn't do enough research to figure out what is involve with getting sisterlocks. None of my point is new. All this information is available via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Google. There is TON of blogs that discuss these types of issues. Save yourself the trouble, and learn about these issues before getting sisterlocks. All the blogger out there that are talking about their sisterlocks experience are there for a reason, and that is to help you make the right decision/choice. If you are considering sisterlocks, think hard on it. Much love and I really hope this post made your sisterlocks decision a whole lot easier.


FYI if I didn't scare you off on getting sisterlocks, please visit this post, about what you should know before getting sisterlocks. I will do a post about the advantage of sisterlocks in the future. So keep watch and keep researching.

Now this only applies to ladies who likes to have different hairstyle every month, which for the most part requires human or synthetic hair. Meaning you are not interested in the natural hair route (which I would recommend because that is where the true saving are).

The numbers below are base on styling my hair in the past. Now there are many factors that can come into play with these numbers. If you do your own hair, or if you don't style your own hair every month, then these number will not mean anything to you. This is just a rough idea of the cost of styling my hair in the past. Remember, these numbers may or may not apply to you at all.

My numbers below does not include the upfront cost of sisterlocks, because quick frankly, if you want something, you save for it, and sisterlocks is something you need to save for. So you need to consider sisterlocks as a onetime investment and a life time of SAVINGS.

Hair Style	Cost (Installation vs Retighten)	Hair Cost (Human Hair & Synthetic Hair)	Total
Weaves: (example: Updo, Wavy Curls, LaceFront)	$60 - $80	$16 - $35 per pkg (my big head on average needs 3)	*$108 - $185 (1 Month)
Braids: (example: Cornrows, Braids, Micros, Dreads	$60 - $200	**$2 - ***$35	$84 - 305 ( 2-3 Month)
Sisterlocks/Brotherlocks (Large to Micro)	$60 - $150 (average)	N/A	$60 - $150 (1 Month)

Hair Style	End of Year Cost
Weaves	$1296 - $2220
Braids	$504 - $1830 (2 month cycle) $336 - $1220 (3 month cycle)
Sisterlocks/Brotherlocks	$720 - $1800

Where does the savings comes in?

Well that is really up to you. If you saying to yourself, wow I'm spending too much on my natural hair as well, then you can limit the styling option you do every month. If you really want sisterlocks, but don't want to spend allot of money every month, then you may want to consider the brotherlocks version. The brotherlocks versions of sisterlocks are much bigger, so it takes less time to retighten and install. Make sure to compare the cost of your current hair maintenance to the size of sisterlocks you want. I suggest keeping a diary of the cost of styling your hair for a year (salon, weave, products, and etc), and see if that will average out a saving for you. Don't just plain out say the concept of getting sisterlocks is too expensive, at the end of the day, it may not be so.

Did I save when I converted to sisterlocks? The answer is yes!

Now these numbers are on the low scale. The cost of getting my hair done on a yearly base would roughly be around $2,220 and above. I never let my hair breath and I'm very lucky I didn't permanently damage my hair. My total saving cost is $660 a year (give or take).

In conclusion: Sisterlocks can have a monthly cost of $0 if you do your own retighten.

Note: I didn't include the perms or hair treatment in between. I add * above to explain how I came up with the numbers below.

* To get these numbers, I timed the cost of hair, times the packages amount. I remember 3 hair packages was my total amount, since I love thick hair. Some people may use less or more.

**Now when I use to wear regular braids, the $2 packages, which was the cheapest one I could get, I would still needed a total of 12 packages. So 2x12 will cost you $24 without taxes.

*** When I use to wear micros (which damages my frontier hair line after a long run) I use to buy 3 packages of human hair (wavy). So 3 x $35 will give you $105 without taxes.

Your hair is so nice, what is it?

I have Sisterlocks on my hair. My sizes range from micro (around the edges) to small .

Note: Sisterlocks range from micro to large (Sisterlocks & Brotherlocks). Micro is currently not recommended, and it is not done all over...just around the edges.

So how much did it cost to install?

Most consultant charge per hours and that is what you need to be aware of. The installation cost for me was 35 dollars per hours (three days, 8 hours each day).

Note: The smaller the locks, the longer the time it takes to retighten as well as to install.

How much does it cost to maintain it?

Since I stay with the same consultant that installed it; she charges me 20 dollars an hour which include a wash. I go for retighten every 4-5 weeks. Time range between 4 1/2-5 hours.

Note: If you choose the micro sisterlocks version, you have to keep a tight maintenance schedule to avoid longer retighten time as well as breakages.

Do you like it that small? What are the disadvantages of having it that small?

Yes I like my locks this small. Hhaving them this small give me so many options and possibility as far as hair style is concern. The disadvantage of having them this small is the retighten time. Another disadvantage is that if I ever decide to retighten my locks, it will take me a whole week to do so. The last disadvantage is the cost. As you know, most consultant charge per hour, so the smaller the lock, the costlier it will be to retighten. This cost could be eliminated by doing it yourself but I don't plan to be a DIYer unless I have too. FYI...I spend way more money doing my hair in weaves, braids, etc then I do now.

So do your locks snap or break easily?

After my first year being sisterlocks, I notice I was experience hair thinning. This cause me to lose a dozen locks so far. My hair is growing back in that area, but the thinning was really bad, and I still have more lock to lose before I can say I’m done with lost lock due to hair thinning.

Note: Dreads locs & Sisterlocks do snap and break, but there are many reasons on why that happens. The most common reasons for lost locks are heavy pressure on the root of the hair or pulling on the locs itself. Other cause of loc snapping or breaking could range from stress related to hormonal imbalance. Sisterlocks can grow as long as regular dreads.