So you started your locs. Congratulations, seriously. That first step is bigger than people give it credit for and you should be proud of yourself for actually doing it.
But now you are a few weeks in and something feels… off.
Your hair does not look the way it did when you left the salon. The neat little coils or twists you started with are starting to look fuzzy. Some of them look like they are unraveling. Others look like they are just sitting on your head doing absolutely nothing. You are washing your face in the mirror every morning and just staring at your hair wondering if you made a mistake.
You did not make a mistake. You just entered the ugly stage.
And if you want to understand why this happens and what is actually going on with your hair during this phase, I talked about the science behind locking in my last post, A Beginner’s Guide to Starting Locs. If you have not read it yet, go check it out first because it gives a lot of context for everything we are about to get into here.
But today we are going specifically into the ugly stage. What it is, why it happens, how long it lasts, and most importantly how to push through it without losing your mind.
I have been a loc technician for years and I can tell you that the ugly stage is the number one reason people give up on their locs too early. Not because their hair was not going to turn out beautiful. But because nobody sat them down and told them the truth about what the middle of the journey actually looks like.
People see the before and the after. They see the fresh starter locs and they see the long, gorgeous, mature locs. But nobody really shows you the messy middle. And when you are living in that messy middle, it feels very personal. Like your hair specifically is the problem.
It is not. Every single person who has ever had locs went through this. Every. Single. One.
The ugly stage, sometimes called the budding stage, is the phase in your loc journey where your hair is in the process of locking but is not fully locked yet.
It usually starts somewhere between one month and three months after you begin your locs and can last anywhere from a few months to almost a year depending on your hair texture and the method you used to start.
During this stage your hair is literally going through a transformation at the strand level. The individual hairs inside each section are tangling around each other, interlocking, and forming what will eventually become a solid, mature loc.
But while that is happening on the inside, the outside can look all kinds of ways.
This is the part I want to be really specific about because I think when people know what to expect, it becomes a lot less scary.
Your locs might look frizzy: The outer hairs that are not yet locked into the center of the loc will start to stick out and create a fuzzy halo around each loc. This is completely normal. It actually means your hair is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
Your locs might look shorter: As your hair locks, it shrinks. This is especially true for people with tighter curl patterns like 4C hair.
You might feel like your hair is going backwards in length and that can be really discouraging. But what is actually happening is that the strands are compressing and condensing as they lock together. Length will come back and then some.
Your locs might look uneven: Some locs will lock faster than others. This is normal too. Hair texture is not perfectly consistent all over your head, so some sections will budge quickly and others will take their time. Do not try to force the slower ones to catch up.
Your locs might look like they are unraveling: Especially if you started with two strand twists or coils, there will be moments where the base of your loc looks completely loose while the ends look like they are locking. This is just the process happening in stages. Keep your retwist appointments and trust it.
How Long Does the Ugly Stage Actually Last
Okay so I know this is the question everybody wants answered and I am going to be straight with you because that is what this blog is for.
There is no exact timeline. I know that is not what you want to hear but it is the truth.
For most people with medium to coarse natural hair the ugly stage lasts somewhere between three months and six months. For people with finer or looser curl patterns it can last a bit longer because the hair takes more time to grip and lock. For people with very coarse or tightly coiled hair the process can move faster.
The Factors That Affect How Long It Takes
A few things will influence how quickly you move through this stage.
Your hair texture is the biggest one. Tighter curl patterns tend to lock faster because the coils naturally grip each other more easily. Looser textures take longer because the strands are smoother and need more time to interlock.
How you started your locs matters too. Two strand twists generally lock faster than coils. Interlocking tends to create a tighter base from the beginning. The method your loctician used will have a direct impact on your timeline.
How well you are maintaining your locs during this phase also plays a big role. Are you keeping your retwist appointments? Are you washing your hair regularly with a residue free shampoo? Are you avoiding heavy products that can slow down the locking process? All of these things either speed up or slow down how quickly you move through the ugly stage.
And honestly, your mindset affects things too. I know that sounds strange but hear me out. The clients who panic during this stage are the ones who start over-manipulating their locs. Touching them too much, trying to re-do them at home between appointments, wrapping them too tight at night. All of that can actually set the locking process back. Stress less, touch less, and let your hair do its thing.
The Things That Will Make the Ugly Stage Harder Than It Needs to Be
Let me just be direct here because some of these are really common and I see them constantly.
Comparing Your Journey to Someone Else’s
This is the big one. Social media is both a blessing and a curse for people in the ugly stage. On one hand it is great for inspiration and community. On the other hand it is very easy to find yourself looking at someone’s six month locs and feeling bad about your own three month locs without realising that their hair texture is completely different from yours, they might have started with a different method, and they are only showing you their best angles anyway.
Your journey is your journey. It will not look exactly like anyone else’s and it is not supposed to.
Constantly re-doing your locs at home is another one. I understand the urge. Your new growth is coming in and things look a little messy and you just want to tidy it up. But re-twisting your locs too frequently, especially without proper technique, can actually prevent them from locking properly. It can also put too much tension on your roots which over time can cause thinning. Stick to your professional appointments and leave them alone in between.
Using the wrong products will also slow you down more than you realise. Anything heavy and creamy, anything with a lot of oils, and absolutely anything with wax should stay far away from your locs during this stage. Buildup is your enemy right now. Use a light, residue free spritz to keep your scalp moisturised and that is genuinely all you need.
How to Actually Push Through It
Okay so now the part you really came here for. Because knowing what the ugly stage is does not automatically make it easy to deal with. So let me give you some practical things that actually help.
1. Take Monthly Progress Pictures
I cannot stress this enough. Take a picture of your locs every single month from the same angle in the same lighting.
Because when you are living inside the journey every single day, you genuinely cannot see the progress that is happening.
But when you put month one next to month four side by side, the difference will blow your mind. It is one of the most encouraging things you can do for yourself during this phase.
2. Find your loc community
Even if that is online groups, Pinterest boards, YouTube channels, or even just one friend who also has locs, having people around you who understand the process makes a massive difference.
When you are having a bad hair day and you want to just cut everything off, having someone who gets it say “girl I went through the same thing, keep going” is everything.
3. Keep your appointments
This is not the time to start skipping your loctician. Your professional maintenance appointments during the ugly stage are what keep things on track.
Your loctician can see things about your locs that you cannot see yourself and they can catch any issues before they become real problems.
Plus there is something about sitting in that chair and having someone work on your hair that just resets your confidence every time.
4. Remind yourself why you started
On the really hard days, go back to that first feeling. The reason you decided to do this may be freedom, identity, wanting to stop manipulating your hair, loving the way locs look, whatever it was for you, go back there.
Write it down somewhere if you have to. Because the ugly stage is temporary but your locs are going to be long term and the end result is absolutely worth it.
When You Come Out the Other Side
Here is what I want you to hold onto throughout this whole process.
The ugly stage ends. It always ends. And when it does, when your locs start to really lock and bud and you can feel them getting firmer and more defined, there is this moment where it all clicks.
Where you look in the mirror and you can actually see what your hair is becoming. And that feeling is honestly one of the best things to witness, both for the people going through it and for me as the person who gets to sit with them through the whole journey.
I have had clients come back to me after pushing through the ugly stage and they are just glowing. Not just because their hair looks better, but because they trusted themselves and they kept going and they proved to themselves that they could do it.
That is going to be you.
So if you are in it right now, hang in there. Take your pictures, keep your appointments, stay off the heavy products, and stop comparing your chapter three to someone else’s chapter ten.
You are growing something beautiful. It just needs a little time.
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