Starting locs is one of the most rewarding hair journeys you can go on — but like any journey, it helps to know the road before you hit it.

One of the first things I tell every client who sits in my chair is this: your locs have a life cycle, and each stage has a personality. When you understand what your hair is doing and why, the process stops feeling frustrating and starts feeling like progress.

Let me walk you through all three stages of locs so you know exactly what to expect — and what your hair actually needs from you at each one.

What Are Baby Locs? (And Why They Come Undone)

The baby stage is exactly what it sounds like — your locs are newborns. They don't quite know what to do yet, and honestly, they're figuring it out one wash at a time.

If you started with comb coils, you'll likely notice that every time you wash your hair during this stage, the coils may come loose or get a little messy. That's not a problem. That's not a sign something went wrong. That's just the baby stage doing what it does.

This is also the stage people sometimes call the "ugly phase" — and I want to push back on that completely. There is nothing ugly about this stage. It's a beautiful stage that's just misunderstood. Your hair is building the foundation for everything that comes next, and that takes time.

The most important thing you can do in the baby stage is stay the course.

The Teenage Loc Stage: Frizz, Growth, and Guiding Your Locs

You'll know you've entered the teenage stage when your hair stops coming completely undone after washing. That's your first major milestone — celebrate it.

But just like an actual teenager, your hair looks like it's almost there... and it's not quite there yet. It needs guidance.

During this stage, your locs are bigger, puffier, and there's noticeably more frizz. The hair has started to mat and intertwine — which means it's locking. That's good. But it still needs direction, especially at the ends.

This is the stage where I see a lot of locticians make a critical mistake: they'll re-twist only at the root and leave the ends alone. That's not enough. During the teenage stage, you have to re-twist at the root and work toward the ends, because you're literally teaching the hair how to coil. You're guiding it into the shape it needs to hold. Double clipping after re-twisting is essential here — it keeps the hair in place so it can train properly.

If this step gets skipped or rushed, the ends stay loose, the loc won't form cleanly, and the frizz lingers longer than it should. Your loctician matters a lot in this stage.

Mature Locs: What Fully Locked Hair Actually Looks Like

This is what everyone's working toward. In the mature stage, your locs are solidified, more firm, and they finally look like what you envisioned when you started. The frizz settles. The shape comes in. The locs feel like yours.

This is your hair at its most mature — and it was worth every stage it took to get there.

How Long Does It Take for Locs to Lock?

This is one of the most common questions I hear, and the honest answer is: it depends on your hair texture. Here's a general timeline:

• Baby stage: A few months up to a year
• Teenage stage: A few months up to a year
• Mature stage: A few months from the teenage stage

From start to finish, a full loc journey can take up to two years — and the finer the hair, the longer it may take. That's not a flaw in the process. That's just how hair works.

Understanding this timeline before you start is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. It replaces frustration with context. And context makes everything easier to move through.

Keeping your locs clean throughout every stage is the foundation of a healthy loc journey. The Dr Locs Pre-Cleanse was formulated to remove buildup without disrupting your locs — no matter what stage you're in. [Shop Pre-Cleanse →]