Lets compare again shall we...

Good morning! My previous post I talked about finally finally getting a muxh needed a retighten but I did want to show you guys a picture of my hair from December 2013 to now February 2014.... i knew I wasnt crazy thats a lot of growth! Lol.

Retighten and growth

Hey guys I finally got my hair rerighten after 11 weeks sort of... I got close to 80% complete. I went to a trainee in norfolk va... super sweet lady. Her name is rosemary.... but my hair def grew... she is not as fast as my other consultant.  But I was not upset mainly bc I was going on close to 3 months without a retighten so it would take anyone longer.... this however took a lot longer than expected.... I came in around 2:15pm. I still had some stuff in my hair and she washed my hair again separated and began retighten.i finally got  tired and decided to call it a night. That was a 11pm. Yikes... but she did a fantastic job on my hair..  just because it took her this long to do my hair doesn't mean it will take her that long to do yours... once again she is very professional she works at a salon and she also sells sisterlocks products. Very nice woman.... so def give her a call if you are looking for a trainee consultant. Below are pictures of my sisterlocks that she did. Also check out the hair growth... hang time...

Im on youtube!

Check me out. Well i have been on for a while..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx_qEEOMHNg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Are sisterlocks cheaper?

The age old question is are sisterlocks cheaper? Does one save more money with sisterlocks than with loose natural or permed hair. Many argue that you save money with sisterlocks. 

I say yes and no its all about location and the consultant/trainee. I think it also depends on where you live. I started out with 7.5-8inches of natural hair. I was only charged $575 for my install which included a wash and style. My consultant also included 2 free washes between my first retighten just to make sure our sl were still doing well and styled my hair after my install... Afterward our follow up visit that was included in my price 4 weeks later she did a flat fee of $65 every retighten which included a wash and style. She was pretty fast so all of her clients got out in under 3.5 hours.. And if you wanted to just come in for a style and wash that was just $20.

Now, when I moved to va maintaing sl is expensive. ppl were charging $20-30 an hour and it usually takes ppl 4 plus hours to retighten my SL in va. When i was in Missouri i was use to my 2.5-3 hours retighten.... i had a trainee maintaining my sisterlocks for about 1 year and she charged a flat fee of $100. Which I could dig. But it was a far cry from my flat fee of $65... so that was an $35 increase. But I was not upset with the price. I would would rather have a flat fee then a surprise fee every month.

Now when she decided she did not want to do sisterlocks anymore I had to search again and what I found again was alarming. The prices yet again ppl in va charge a flat fee of $100 for the first 3 hours then charge $20-$50 an hour after that first 3 hour. Or they charge $20-$30 an hour and the retighten can try take up 4-6 hours.. yikes... So right there I am paying anywhere from $100- $180 a month. And no style and wash was included. So that too adds up.

I think it depends on what city/state you are in that you save money. For me, i have to go every 4 weeks. Plus my hair is very dense. So in va im paying close to $1200-1800 a year while in mo I was paying  $780 a year and that included a wash and style. So basically I had a min of 12 different styles and washes...

So where a person lives will def determine if you save money... i am 2 years in and still have my sisterlocks but location will def determine how much money you will pay and microbraids/Senegalese twist are $200-$250 in virginia.

Now lets talk about loose natural hair... now when I was a loose natural I was paying about $25 every 2-4 weeks to get my loose natural hair washed and styled. Some natural hair styles were $65. For a while i was a producr junkie and i was buying everything that said natural. Lord knows how much money i forked up for miss jessie, kinky curly curling custard, oyin handmade, shea mositure, conditorers, etc. Etc. The list goes on and on. Lol.or I got Senegalese twists for half the year... when I was a relaxed sista my sew ins would cost $200 but I had to also pay for the hair and a perm was $65 every 6 weeks and a wrap with my real hair was $30 every 2 weeks. So you get the picture...

OH AND PS... I have been told in virginia that that if I wanted to start my install in va with 7.5-8inches the starting fee of an install with 3inches was $675 and every inch was an additional fee so I would have been looking at over $1000+ dollars just for an install. Also my sisterlocks are smaller than the average size small which I absolutely love and many ppl in va said they would have charged me more for my size. So ppl say they consider all of my sisterlocks to be small or micro size sisterlocks. .. some even told me that they would not have installed this small sisterlocks in my head. But one thing is for sure everyone says great things about my sisterlocks when they see them.   They always say "whoever started your sisterlocks did an outstanding job and whoever was maintaining them did a great job too and the price you got them for was amazing." I will say at the time during my install my consultant at the time said she would be going up on install prices bc my hair is super doper thick. But Missouri is still cheaper and I am sure a lot of other states are cheaper than others when it comes to prices for install and prices for retighten.

Now reading this you might ask do you regret getting sisterlocks.... the answer is no, I do not regret getting sisterlocks... I still love my sisterlocks but I just wanted to give you guys a glimpse into prices at a different angle. This is also just my experience some people may pay way less than I pay for a retighten or way more. But just because I love my sisterlocks does not mean you will love sisterlocks.. its def about choice and what I will say is this. Despite me having some money troubles right now my hair still look presentable and I can still get up and go and go about my day and I do not have to worry about doing my hair everyday.  So that is one blessing that I do not have to worry about.
Thanks for reading until next time...
NaturalNikkiDST

Oh and PPS... Before you guys write and ask it I am not a do it yourselfer. Lol.. I dont even like washing my own hair that feels like a chore/punishment within itsself lol. My arms get tired just from washing my hair. Seriously. I have a lot of hair.(700 sl to be exact) I will always be team pay somebody to do my hair. Some consultant or trainee will always be getting money from me. Lol.

Week 11...

The only thing about starting a new job is the wait... also the sad thing about attending an hbcu for graduate school is the wait as well. Waiting to get paid kindof sucks especially when you have bills to pay and hair that needs to be done. But im remaining fruitful and flavorful and faithful... but the wonderful thing is I have a job that can pay my bills and have a roof over my head and food in my belly... but below are some pictures of what it looks likes for me to go almost 11 weeks without a reti(my last retighten was 12/6/2013)....sn. last night I washed my hair and did an acv rinse on my hair. That helped with my hair feeling all tangled up. These past 8 weeks I have been rocking a high ponytail that I achieved with a loc tie. Im still getting  compliments on my hair even though I know I need a retighten.  Lol. So I guess it doesn't look as bad as I think.... but anyway. Happy holidays and stay warm. Until next time!

Approaching week 10

Hey guys it's me again... still havent gone in for a retighten yet. I know I know... I will approach week 10 this upcoming Friday, February 14,2014. I am praying that I get paid sooner rather than later. But going to school at an hbcu can sometimes be a bummer. But I start a new job this week and I am happy and blessed about that. Even though I am close to 3 months without a retighten my hair still looks desent.  I have had it in a ponytail. I have been washing my hair twice a month. I plan on washing it tomorrow morning. I dont put anything in my hair but water. I let my consultant know that I was facing some financial hard times so I had to cancel our February appointment. Hopefully I can get in soon maybe next week and get this retighten. But just wanted to give you guys an update.

One thing that is definitely certain is that whenever I do go in for this retighten my hair will have def grown alot. Probably at least 1.5... I read somewhere that a person's hair grows at least 1/2 an inch a month and I am approaching almost 3 months. You know what's crazy... I asked some other brothers and sisters that have sisterlocks and brothers how long have they went without a retighten and was their grid still maintain when they finally went in... I had one lady who waited 6 months. She actually sent me before and after pictures. That consultant was the bomb dot com bc you could not even tell she missed all of those appointments. Her grinders still in tact. I know waiting for a long time does create more work for consultant however. But the average appears to be 3-4 months. No one wants to go that long without a retighten but sometimes things called "life" def get in the way. But that is my update for the day.

Hopefully my next update will be I have finally gotten my retighten. Also guys say a prayer for me. I am unsure if you guys are spirtural and religious people. But these past 2-3 months have been something else. Pray for clarity, guidance, and def more opportunities to come my way. But thank you guys so much for reading.Until next time...