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Butterfly Locs Styles: Short, Boho and Half Up

By Tyca · October 26, 2026 · 2,099 words

Most people picture butterfly locs one way: long, dark, and hanging straight down. That is one version. The same wrap technique gives you a chin length bob, a honey blonde boho set with curls spilling out, or a half up look that stays out of your face at work and comes down for the weekend.

The styles that get booked most are short locs at bob to shoulder length, boho sets that mix in curls and color, and half up styles built on a medium length set. The length and the loc size decide which ones you can do, so choose those first and the styling follows. All of them start with the same butterfly locs install.

Pick the length and loc size first

Every style on this page is a combination of three choices: how long, how thick, and how many. Decide those at booking and the styling takes care of itself. A short set cannot do a high bun. A waist length set cannot do a neat bob. Medium locs at mid back length can do almost everything.

1. Bob, chin to jaw: the quickest install, the lightest set, and the hardest to put up.
2. Shoulder: still light, still quick, and long enough for a low ponytail or a half up clip.
3. Mid back: the most flexible length. Buns, high ponytails, half up, space buns, all work.
4. Waist: the dramatic one. Heavier, longer in the chair, and best worn down or in a single loose braid.

Loc size runs from small to jumbo. Small locs look fuller and move more, but every loc is another wrap, so the install is longer. Medium is the default for a reason. Jumbo locs install fastest and make a strong statement at bob and shoulder length, where the weight is not a problem.

Short butterfly locs: the bob and the shoulder cut

Short butterfly locs are the style I recommend for a first set. They are light, they install in less time, and the loops read clearly because there is less length pulling them straight. A butterfly locs bob at chin length with medium to jumbo locs is the look that gets the most compliments per hour in the chair.

The blunt bob

Locs cut to the same length at the jaw, with a middle part or a slight side part. The ends are wrapped closed so they do not fray, and the loops along each loc give it the texture a straight bob would not have. Hair jewelry, a few gold cuffs or rings near the roots, finishes it without any extra styling.

The shoulder set

Shoulder length with medium locs is the everyday version. It tucks behind the ear, it fits under a hat, and it is long enough to gather into a low ponytail or half up clip. This is the length I steer clients toward when they want the style for work and are not sure how they feel about long hair in their face.

Short sets also take color best, because the loops are close to the face and lighter hair at the ends frames it. A dark base with caramel ends on a bob is a classic.

One thing to know about short sets: the ends matter more. On a long set the eye goes to the length. On a bob the eye goes to the line at the jaw, so the ends need to be wrapped closed and cut even, and any loc that is wrapped looser than its neighbor shows. That is a reason to go with the braid and wrap method for a bob rather than crochet, because the wrap can be adjusted loc by loc as the line comes together.

Boho butterfly locs: curls, color and a fuller texture

Boho butterfly locs add loose curly strands between and along the locs, so the set looks fuller and softer and the ends move like curls instead of locs. It is the most photographed version of the style and the one brides and vacation clients ask for most.

The curls are added during the install. Curly hair, usually a water wave or a deep wave in the same color family, is braided into the base so it hangs beside the loc, or it is worked into the wrap so it spills from the loops. More curl means more movement and more frizz to manage; a few curls per loc is enough for the look.

Boho color

Boho sets are where two tone and highlight effects shine. The locs can be a natural dark shade with the curls in honey, auburn or blonde, so the color reads in the movement rather than as a block. A full blonde boho set on a deep skin tone is a statement, and an ombre from dark root to light end gives a natural grow out.

Who the boho version suits

Anyone going somewhere with a camera. Weddings, birthdays, trips. It is also the version that softens a strong jaw or a wide forehead, because the curls break up the lines of the locs. The trade off is upkeep: curls need a little mousse and a scarf at night or they fuzz by week three. The texture difference between boho locs and butterfly locs is the whole subject of butterfly locs vs boho faux locs.

Half up styles: the everyday answer

Half up is the style that gets a medium or long set through a work week. The top half is gathered into a bun, a knot or a clip, the bottom half hangs, and your face is clear. It takes two minutes in the morning and comes down for the evening.

Half up bun

Gather the top section from temple to temple, twist it, wrap it into a bun at the crown, and secure with a soft scrunchie or a long bobby pin pushed through the base. Do not use a thin elastic; it cuts into the wrap. Pull a loc or two loose at the front to keep it soft.

Half up with a clip

The fastest version. Gather the same top section and hold it with a claw clip. The clip should be large and the teeth wide, because locs are thick. This is the style for the days you are running late.

Half up with braids

Two or three locs from each side braided back and joined at the crown. It keeps the hairline clean, shows off the parts, and adds a detail to a set that is otherwise worn down. It also holds for days under a scarf.

Half up styles pull slightly at the hairline, so loosen them at night and never sleep in a tight one. If the front feels tight after an hour, the gather is too high or too firm.

Updos, ponytails and buns for medium and long sets

Medium and long locs can go all the way up. The styles below work on a mid back set with medium locs and on most waist length sets, though a very heavy set is more comfortable in a low style.

• High ponytail. Gather at the crown, secure with a wide fabric band, and wrap one loc around the base to cover it. The loops in the locs give the ponytail volume a smooth faux loc would not.
• Low bun. The most comfortable option for a heavy set and the most polished. Twist at the nape and pin.
• Space buns. Two high buns, one on each side. Fun on a shoulder or mid back set, and a good way to keep the locs off the neck in summer.
• Crown wrap. A thick braid of locs across the front, with the rest down or up. It reads as an updo from the front and takes five minutes.
• Single side braid. All the locs loosely braided over one shoulder. The easiest long style for travel.

Every updo on a locs set should be loose. Locs are thicker than hair, so a style that feels snug on hair feels tight on locs. Secure with fabric bands, long pins and wide clips, never thin elastics or small claw clips that bend the wrap.

If a style is going to stay in for a full day, build it in the morning on locs that have been smoothed with a little mousse and tied under a scarf for ten minutes. The roots lie flat, the loops stay defined, and the updo photographs clean from the back. Take it down before bed, shake the locs out, and put the scarf back on. A set that is put up and taken down daily looks better at week six than one that lived in a bun.

Parting and hairline details

The part is the part people forget to decide, and it is the detail that makes a set look custom. Middle parts suit most faces and keep the two halves even for half up styles. A deep side part on a long set gives you a sweep across the forehead and more volume on one side. Zigzag and triangle parts at the front add a visible design when the locs are worn up.

At the hairline, I keep the front sections slightly larger and the base braids looser than the rest, so there is no tension on the edges. The first row of locs can be wrapped a little lighter so they frame the face without weight. If you like baby hair laid, do it with a light edge control and a scarf; heavy gel on top of water wave hair turns white when it dries.

A clean part also makes the grow out look intentional for longer. Six weeks in, a sharp middle part with mousse on the roots still looks fresh from the front. A set with no real part shows the grow out everywhere at once.

Which style for which occasion

Match the set to the calendar. A style you love for a weekend event might be a chore for eight weeks of mornings, and a set that is practical for work might feel plain for a wedding.

If you are between two, choose the shorter and lighter one. Length can be added with the next set, and a set that is too heavy for your neck or your edges gets taken out early no matter how good it looks.

Keeping the style fresh between installs

Every style on this page lasts longer with the same three habits: a satin scarf at night, mousse on the roots when frizz shows, and a scalp cleanse that does not soak the locs. The full care routine, washing, drying and frizz control, is in butterfly locs: what they are and how long they last.

For updos, take them down at night rather than sleeping in them. Locs that spend a week in a high ponytail develop a bend at the band and loosen at the root faster. Rotate between down, half up and up across the week, and the set wears evenly.

At six to eight weeks the root grow out will start to show no matter what you do. That is the moment to book the take down and, if you want to stay in the style, the next butterfly locs set in a new length or color.

Book your butterfly locs style in Springfield Gardens

I am Tyca, and I install every style on this page at the Tyca Beaute studio, 146-20 232nd St in Springfield Gardens, Queens, by appointment only. Tell me the length, the loc size and the style you have in mind when you book so I can tell you how much hair to buy and block the right time. The studio is open Wednesday and Thursday 9am to 7pm, Friday and Saturday 9am to 8pm, and Sunday 9am to 5pm.

Book online at the booking page with a 20% deposit, or call (973) 963-7449. If you want glam to go with the locs for an event, the makeup menu is on the makeup services page and the two can be booked together.

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