Sister Locs vs Traditional Locs: What's The Difference?
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Deciding to start locs can be a deeply personal decision and commitment. Choosing which type of locs to pursue can be even more taxing. So let’s give you a hand. In this blog, you’ll learn about sister locs vs traditional locs and their differences so you can make the right decision for you.
Understanding Traditional Locs
Traditional dread locs represent one of the oldest natural hair styling techniques, particularly celebrated within African and African diaspora communities.
Through various techniques, including coiling, twisting, or "palm rolling" sections of hair until the hair locks together over time.
The resulting locs typically range from pencil-width to thumb-width in diameter, creating a distinctive and powerful appearance.
One of the most appealing aspects of traditional locs is their versatility in terms of formation methods – they can be started using two-strand twists, backcombing, or even natural matting.
While traditional locs can be achieved with various hair textures, they are particularly well-suited for coily and kinky hair types, as these textures naturally support the locking process.
What Are Sister Locs Anyway?
Sister locs takes the traditional process and adds structure, a unique approach, and a designated style.
They represent a more modern approach to locked hair, developed and trademarked by Dr. JoAnne Cornwell in 1993.
Sisterlocks are notably thinner than traditional locs – approximately the width of a pencil lead – and are created using a specialized tool and meticulous parting technique.
The installation process is highly technical, requiring 20-40 hours of work by a certified Sister locs consultant. This precision and expertise result in a remarkably uniform, refined appearance that offers extensive styling versatility due to the locks' small size.
Sister locs are particularly well-suited for finer hair textures and require professional maintenance every 4-6 weeks by a certified consultant for re-tightening.
While more structured in terms of installation and maintenance requirements, Sisterlocks offers a sophisticated alternative that combines the beauty of locked hair with contemporary precision and style.
The 4 Major Differences To Consider
As a person with locs for almost two decades, there are a few fundamental considerations about Sister Locs and Traditional Locs I think you should use to decide between the two:
- Aesthetics and Lifestyle
- Installation Process
- Washing and Maintenance Routines
- Versatility and Styling
1. Aesthetics and Lifestyle
Often when we are looking at foregoing loose natural styles in favor of locs, we are looking for a lower maintenance option to support a major life change. For some, it is about motherhood and/or career, access to hairdressers and the list goes on. The lifestyle you lead is also key to discerning which kind of locs will work best for you:
Are you working, retired, or self-employed?
If you are working, you might want to consider the smaller look and versatility of Sister Locs, which often give the appearance of very small braids or loose natural curls that can be easily manipulated into office-appropriate styles. Not that Traditional Locs can’t be neat or appropriately styled BUT manipulation is much easier with smaller-sized locs.
Traditional Locs can be bolder and bigger. They are very recognizable as locs and can sometimes be viewed negatively in traditionally corporate and front-facing customer service jobs. That has been changing in the U.S. and other Western countries over the last five years, but it is still an uphill battle.
If you’re retired or self-employed, you have more flexibility to be expressive with your hair, and the larger size of Traditional Locs offers a faster and more relaxed maintenance schedule (see below).
How much disposable income and time do you have to put toward your hair?
Sister Locs are created through a patented method that is performed by a trained and licensed Sister Loc practitioner. As such, installation and maintenance of locs can require much more money and time than that required for the upkeep of Traditional Locs.
Do you live in a big city or a small town?
It’s easier to maintain Sister Locs in a big city as there are likely to be more Black hair salons and licensed practitioners in big urban centers. However, with Traditional Locs, if you live in a less urban area, it would be easier if you needed to maintain your locs yourself.
2. Installation Process
All Loc installations are NOT created equally. The processes can be very different in terms of time and methods:
Sister Loc Installation
It can take days! Sister Locs require a very specific grid pattern and interlocking method, which results in hundreds of tiny locs. Therefore, depending on the length and density of your hair, the process can take anywhere from 1 to 3 days.
Traditional Loc Installation
Depending on the loc size you choose, the length of your hair, and your preferred locking method, the establishment of traditional locs will take between 2 to 6 hours. More or less given your preferences but certainly no more than one full working day.
3. Washing and Maintenance Routines
Ultimately, one’s loc washing routine comes down to personal preference. There are a few stark differences between Sister Loc wearers and Traditional Loc wearers that can influence said preference:
Sister Locs Hair Washing
Because Sister Locs are installed/established by Sister Loc practitioners, Sister Loc wearers usually adhere to a strict maintenance schedule that is outlined by their loctician. Most often this would require retie/ tightening and washing every 6 to 8 weeks. Due to the small size of Sister Locs, long periods of no maintenance can lead to matting and tangling at the root which could be quite damaging to the health of the hair.
Traditional Locs Hair Care
With Traditional Locs hair care, you can be more flexible with your maintenance and washing schedules based on your convenience, lifestyle, and neatness preferences. For me, I maintain my locs at home and prefer not to retwist them often. Therefore, I wash and separate them once a month. I don’t use many products so there is little to no build-up and retwist maybe once every three months. I know other traditional loc wearers that wash and retwist as often as once a week because they use products that cause build-up OR some who wash monthly and retwist yearly. There is much more flexibility.
4. Versatility + Styling
If this is your first set of locs, you may be concerned about styling and versatility as it pertains to transitioning from loose natural to loc'd natural.
Although I believe that any size or style of loc can be manipulated into styles, Sister locs certainly offer styling versatility that is more aligned with that of loose natural hair. The locs are extremely small in most cases and easily formed into popular loose natural styles.
On the other hand, based on thickness and length, Traditional locs require more creativity to achieve certain styles.
Making the choice
“How I grew to believe Black hair has power, genius, and magic in it, defying gravity and limitation.” —Michaela Angela Davis
The magic of locs is undeniable.
It is a hairstyle that exemplifies the strength, power, and diversity of Blackness. We are not a monolith and our hair—even our locs—isn’t either. Locs are deeply personal.
Whether you choose Sister Locs or Traditional Locs the choice should be based on what fits your lifestyle, environment, and schedule. I hope you’ve gathered enough intel here to make an informed decision about which of these two types of locs best suit you.