Tired of spending hours retwisting your locs when you could be doing literally anything else? I was shocked to discover that a c15 Stunning Loc Retwist Hairstyles (2026 Guide)
Looking for fresh ways to style your locs after a retwist? You’re in the right place! A fresh retwist gives you the perfect foundation for stunning hairstyles that can last for weeks. Whether you’re heading to work, a special event, or just want to switch up your everyday look, these 15 loc retwist hairstyles will keep you looking fabulous while your roots stay neat and maintained.
After years of experimenting with different styles following my retwists, I’ve discovered looks that are both practical and gorgeous. From elegant updos to casual everyday styles, this guide covers hairstyles for every occasion and skill level. Let’s explore these beautiful options that will help you make the most of your freshly retwisted locs!
High Top Bun
The high top bun is my go-to style right after a fresh retwist. This classic look showcases your newly tightened roots while creating an elegant silhouette that works for both casual and formal occasions.
Why this style works post-retwist
Fresh retwists create the perfect sleekness at your roots, making it easier to gather your locs smoothly without bumps or lumps. The tight roots hold the bun securely in place without requiring excessive tension that could damage your locs.
How to create the high top bun
Start by gathering all your locs at the crown of your head. Use a loc-friendly hair tie or band to secure them into a ponytail, being careful not to pull too tightly at the edges. Twist the ponytail around the base to form a bun shape, then secure with bobby pins or another hair tie. For a polished finish, smooth any flyaways with a light oil or edge control.
Styling variations
You can create a sleek, ballerina-style bun for formal events or a messier, textured bun for casual outings. Some people prefer to leave a few locs hanging around the face for a softer look. Adding accessories like decorative pins, scarves, or headbands can completely transform this simple style.
Side-Swept Ponytail
The side-swept ponytail brings asymmetrical elegance to your freshly retwisted locs. This style draws attention to your facial features while showing off the definition of your retwisted roots.
Creating the perfect side sweep
Brush or smooth all your locs to one side of your head, positioning the ponytail just behind your ear or at the nape of your neck. Secure with a hair tie, ensuring the base sits flat against your head. The freshness of your retwist allows the locs to lay smoothly without frizz, creating clean lines.
Dressing it up or down
For everyday wear, keep the ponytail simple and let it hang naturally. For special occasions, consider curling the ends of your locs with flexi rods or adding decorative cuffs and beads throughout the ponytail. You can also wrap a section of locs around the hair tie to conceal it for a more polished appearance.
Crown Braid
Crown braids transform your locs into a regal halo that circles your head. This romantic style is perfect for weddings, photoshoots, or any time you want to feel like royalty.
Best timing for crown braids
Immediately after a retwist is ideal for crown braids because your locs are most pliable and smooth. The neat roots create clean sections that make braiding easier and more defined.
Creating your crown
Part your locs down the middle from front to back. Starting at one side near your temple, begin braiding your locs along your hairline, incorporating new locs as you work around your head. Continue the braid around the back and bring it full circle to meet where you started. Tuck the end underneath the braid and secure with bobby pins.
Styling options
You can create a single thick braid for a bold statement or two thinner braids that meet at the back. Some people prefer to leave the ends hanging for a bohemian vibe, while others tuck everything in for a clean, finished look.
Space Buns
Fun and youthful, space buns bring a playful energy to your post-retwist look. This style has become increasingly popular and works beautifully with locs of various lengths.
Creating space buns
Part your locs straight down the middle from front to back. Gather the locs on each side into high ponytails, positioned symmetrically on either side of your head. Twist each ponytail into a bun and secure with hair ties or pins. The fresh retwist ensures your roots stay smooth and neat while the buns add volume and personality.
Placement variations
Position the buns high on your head for a more dramatic, editorial look, or lower toward the sides for a subtler style. You can make them tight and compact or loose and textured depending on your preference.
Adding flair
Wrap colorful scarves around the base of each bun, add metallic cuffs to a few locs before bunning, or incorporate hair jewelry for extra sparkle. This versatile style allows for endless creativity.
High Bun with Middle Part
Sophisticated and timeless, the high bun with a middle part creates a polished look that’s perfect for professional settings or formal events.
Achieving the sleek middle part
Use a rat-tail comb to create a precise part down the center of your head, from your hairline to the nape of your neck. Your fresh retwist makes this easier as the defined roots create natural separation. Smooth each side back with your hands or a soft brush.
Forming the low bun
Gather all your locs at the nape of your neck and secure with a hair tie. Twist the locs around the base to create a neat bun, keeping it low and centered. Secure with bobby pins and smooth any edges with a light styling product.
Professional polish
This style works exceptionally well in corporate environments, interviews, or any situation requiring a refined appearance. The symmetry of the middle part combined with the low bun creates an understated elegance that never goes out of style.
Half-Up, Half-Down Style
The half-up, half-down style offers the best of both worlds—showing off your length while keeping locs away from your face. This versatile look transitions easily from day to night.
Creating the perfect half-up
Section the top half of your locs from ear to ear across the crown of your head. Gather this top section and secure it with a hair tie, positioning it wherever feels comfortable—high on the crown for more lift, or lower for a relaxed vibe. Leave the remaining locs flowing freely down your back.
Top knot variation
Instead of leaving the top section as a ponytail, twist it into a small bun or knot. This adds visual interest and keeps more hair secured away from your face.
Accessorizing the style
The half-up section provides the perfect opportunity for decorative elements. Add a statement hair clip, wrap the base with a colorful scarf, or weave in loc jewelry. Your fresh retwist creates a smooth canvas that makes accessories stand out beautifully.
Twisted Updo
An intricate twisted updo showcases the artistry possible with locs while keeping everything elegantly contained. This style is perfect for weddings, galas, or any special occasion.
Building the twisted updo
Divide your locs into several sections. Take each section and twist it before pinning it up and around your head in an artistic arrangement. The freshly retwisted roots make it easier to manipulate the locs into intricate patterns without fighting against frizz or new growth.
Design possibilities
Create a low twisted bun at the nape, arrange twists in a swirl pattern across the back of your head, or build height with vertically stacked twists. The design options are limited only by your imagination and the length of your locs.
Securing the style
Use plenty of bobby pins that match your hair color, placing them strategically to hold each twist in position. A light mist of holding spray can help maintain the style throughout your event.
Faux Hawk
Bold and edgy, the faux hawk brings dramatic flair to your freshly retwisted locs. This style makes a statement and works particularly well for concerts, parties, or anytime you want to stand out.
Creating the faux hawk shape
Part your locs on both sides, creating a wide strip down the center of your head from front to back. Pin or secure the side sections flat against your head. Lift the center section upward, creating height and volume along the mohawk line. Secure with pins or elastics to maintain the lifted shape.
Height and volume techniques
For maximum drama, backcomb or tease the center section before styling it upward. You can also twist sections together before lifting them to create interesting texture. Fresh retwists provide the stability needed to hold this dramatic shape.
Styling the sides
Keep the side sections sleek and flat for maximum contrast with the lifted center, or add decorative elements like braiding or loc cuffs to the pinned sections for additional detail.
Braided Ponytail
Combining braids with a ponytail creates texture and visual interest while keeping your locs neatly contained. This style is both practical and beautiful.
Creating the braided ponytail
Gather your locs into a ponytail at your desired height—high, mid, or low depending on preference. Once secured, divide the ponytail into sections and braid each section. You can create one large braid, multiple smaller braids, or even intricate patterns within the ponytail.
Braid variations
A single thick braid creates a bold, clean look, while multiple thinner braids add intricate detail and movement. You can also combine braiding techniques—use a cornrow pattern at the base leading into the ponytail, then switch to regular braiding within the ponytail itself.
Post-retwist advantages
Fresh retwists make braiding easier as the locs separate cleanly and maintain their definition throughout the braiding process. The neat roots also ensure your ponytail sits smooth and polished at the base.
Loc Mohawk with Shaved Sides
For those with shaved or very short sides, the loc mohawk creates striking contrast and showcases your freshly retwisted center strip beautifully.
Styling the mohawk strip
Your retwisted locs run down the center of your head while the sides remain closely cut. Style the center locs upward and back, creating height and drama. You can leave them loose and flowing back, twist them into intricate patterns, or even create a braided mohawk design.
Maintaining the look
This style requires regular retwists to keep the mohawk section looking fresh and defined. The contrast between the maintained locs and clean sides creates a bold, intentional aesthetic that turns heads.
Versatility within the style
Despite the bold overall look, you can style your mohawk locs in various ways—slicked back for a sleeker appearance, spiked up for maximum edge, or even styled to one side for asymmetrical interest.
Wrapped Low Bun
The wrapped low bun adds sophistication through a simple detail that conceals the hair tie with your own locs.
Creating the wrapped effect
Pull your locs into a low bun at the nape of your neck and secure with a hair tie. Take one or two locs from the bun and wrap them around the base, completely covering the hair tie. Secure the wrapped locs with a small bobby pin tucked underneath where it won’t be visible.
Why post-retwist timing matters
Fresh retwists create uniform, neat locs that wrap smoothly around the base without bumps or irregularities. The clean roots ensure the overall bun sits flush against your head for a polished finish.
Enhancing the style
Add loc jewelry or cuffs to the locs in the bun for extra visual interest, or keep it simple and elegant for professional or formal settings. The wrapped base always adds a touch of refinement.
Pinned Loc Curls
Creating curls in your locs and pinning them up produces a romantic, vintage-inspired style perfect for special occasions.
Curling freshly retwisted locs
Use flexi rods, perm rods, or even straws to curl sections of your locs. The fresh retwist provides a smooth base that takes to curling more uniformly. Allow the curls to set completely—overnight is ideal.
Pinning the curled locs
Once you’ve removed the rods and have beautiful curls, begin pinning sections up and around your head in an artistic arrangement. Create a low, curled updo at the nape, pin curls around the crown while leaving some flowing, or arrange them in a side-swept style.
Curl longevity
Curls in locs can last several days or even weeks with proper care. Your fresh retwist provides the defined base that helps curls maintain their shape longer without unraveling.
Basket Weave Updo
The basket weave technique creates an intricate pattern that resembles woven fabric, producing a stunning updo that showcases the artistry of loc styling.
Creating the basket weave
This advanced technique involves weaving locs over and under each other in a specific pattern that creates a woven appearance. Section your locs and begin weaving them together, securing with pins as you work. The pattern builds upon itself, creating a textured, dimensional updo.
Best candidates for this style
This style works best with longer locs that have enough length to weave and manipulate. Fresh retwists provide the clean, separated locs needed to create distinct weaving patterns without locs blending together.
Showcasing the pattern
Position the basket weave where it will be most visible—across the back of the head, on one side, or even across the crown. The intricate detail deserves to be seen and appreciated.
French Braided Low Bun
Combining a Ftrench braid with a low bun creates an elegant asymmetrical style that’s both romantic and practical.
Creating the style
Part all your locs to one side. Beginning at the part, create a braid that travels along your hairline from one side of your head around to the other, incorporating locs as you go (similar to a Dutch or French braid technique). When you reach the opposite side, gather all remaining locs including the braid into a low bun at the nape of your neck.
Fresh retwist benefits
The neat, defined roots from your recent retwist create clean sections for braiding and ensure the overall style sits smooth without bumpy areas or frizz interrupting the elegant lines.
Occasion versatility
This style works beautifully for weddings (your own or as a guest), date nights, professional events, or any time you want an elevated look that’s still practical and comfortable.
Loc Ponytail with Jewelry
A simple ponytail becomes extraordinary when you add loc jewelry strategically throughout. This style celebrates your locs as art while keeping them neatly contained.
Selecting loc jewelry
Loc jewelry comes in countless styles—metal cuffs, decorative beads, shells, wooden elements, and more. Choose pieces that reflect your personal style and the occasion. Gold or silver cuffs create elegance, while colorful beads bring playful energy.
Placement strategies
For a cohesive look, place jewelry evenly throughout the ponytail, spacing pieces at regular intervals. Alternatively, cluster jewelry at the base of the ponytail for concentrated sparkle, or place a single statement piece on one loc for minimalist impact.
Post-retwist showcase
Fresh retwists create the perfect canvas for jewelry as each loc is cleanly defined and separated. The neat roots mean attention naturally draws to the decorative elements you’ve added, making them stand out beautifully.
Care considerations
Remove jewelry before sleeping to prevent it from causing stress on your locs. Choose pieces with smooth interiors that won’t snag or damage your hair.
Conclusion
These 15 stunning loc retwist hairstyles prove that fresh retwists open up a world of styling possibilities. From the classic elegance of a low bun to the bold statement of a faux hawk, there’s a style here for every personality, occasion, and skill level.
The beauty of styling freshly retwisted locs lies in their versatility and the clean foundation they provide. Neat roots make any style look more polished and intentional, while well-maintained locs hold styles longer without falling apart or losing definition. Whether you’re heading to the office, attending a wedding, or just running weekend errands, you now have a repertoire of looks to choose from.
Remember that your loc journey is unique, and what works for someone else might not work for you. Experiment with these styles to discover which ones suit your face shape, loc length, and lifestyle best. Some styles require more time and skill, while others come together in minutes—choose what fits your schedule and comfort level.
Don’t be afraid to put your own spin on these hairstyles. Add accessories that express your personality, adjust placements to flatter your features, and combine elements from different styles to create something entirely your own. The goal is to feel confident and beautiful in your locs.
Most importantly, enjoy the creative process. Styling your locs should be fun, not stressful. With practice, even the more complex updos will become easier, and you’ll develop your own techniques and shortcuts. Your freshly retwisted locs are a beautiful canvas—these 15 hairstyles are just the beginning of what you can create!