There are several kinds of braids done including the top half of the hair with and without beads, and then the full head of hair where the top is close to the scalp and then there are 10-12 smaller braids left flowing down the back of the head.
In Vero they charged us something like $5-8/braid and I remember the total being around $90 for two girls with half heads of braids. The Beach Club was full service salon and each girl's full head of braids cost $108. It was an outrageous amount to pay, but we had a rather rough week weather wise which reduced our time in the parks and we had a pin trading bag stolen in the MK......so this was to make up for that. I honestly didn't have time to make calls to places outside the world. I'm sure it's cheaper off-site.
The process itself took 60-90 minutes, but that was because they did the full head at my daughter's request. The top half of the head of braids would have only taken 45 minutes to an hour.
Last fall the braids lasted a good month or more and came out very easily. I expect that we'll get close to that out of these. These braids were really done very well and the pattern the stylists made while making the braids is really pretty. My older daughter's stylist has the braids going sideways across her forehead...which is really different.
This was a special treat for them. I've already told them not to expect the same next April. If they want it done then, they'll have to pay for it out of their own $$$. We'll see what happens.