Curly hair
Springy curls and ringlets. 19 hairstyles on EveryHairstyle so far.
Curly hair forms spirals and ringlets. Typing charts call it type 3, from loose 3A loops to tight 3C corkscrews about the width of a pencil. Curls shrink as they dry, can be drier at the ends and frizz in damp air, but they hold volume and shape well. Many stylists cut curly hair dry, curl by curl, so they can see where each one falls.
Cutting curls
Curly hair needs room to sit. Rounded layers, as in the shag and the modern curly bob, keep curls from forming a triangle and give an even shape. Stylists leave extra length because curls shrink, often by a third or more. Thinning and razoring near the roots can cause frizz, so many curl specialists use only scissors. The broccoli haircut of the 2020s set curls on top over short sides.
Curls in style history
Ringlets, long spiral curls, were fashionable for women and children in 19th-century Europe and America, often set with rags overnight. The perm brought artificial curls to millions in the 20th century, and the Jheri curl of the 1980s gave a glossy, loose curl to coily hair. Since the 2000s many people have stopped straightening their curls, part of a wider move to wear hair in its natural texture.
Famous curly hair hairstyles
Further reading
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreNatural hair movement
A social and cultural campaign for wearing textured hair without chemical straightening.Natural · Coily and kinky hair · 1960
🇸🇩 Sudan and 4 moreDreadlocks
A hairstyle of rope-like hair strands formed by matting or twisting.Natural · Coily and kinky hair · 1970
🇺🇸 United StatesAfro
A rounded style of combed-out natural hair.Natural · Coily and kinky hair · 1960
WorldPayot
Sidelocks worn by Orthodox Jewish men based on religious law.Styled · Curly hair
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 morePerm
A chemical or thermal treatment that sets permanent waves or curls into the hair.Styled · Curly hair · 1872
🇬🇧 United KingdomVictory rolls
A 1940s women's hairstyle featuring voluminous side rolls shaped like the letter V.Styled · Straight hair · 1940
🇺🇸 United StatesFinger wave
S-shaped waves set by hand with comb and gelStyled · Straight hair · 1920
WorldKiss curl
A single lock of hair curled and flattened against the cheek or forehead.Curls · Curly hair
WorldNubian wig
A short, curly Ancient Egyptian wig mimicking Nubian tribal hair.Styled · Curly hair
WorldBig hair
A hairstyle style defined by large volume and significant space around the head.Styled · Curly hair · 1960
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSurfer hair
Tousled, sun-bleached locks from the sea.Styled · Wavy hair · 1950
WorldHair straightening
A technique to flatten and smooth hair texture using heat or chemicals.Styled · Curly hair · 1950
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Dreadlocks: Richard Mortel, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kiss curl: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Broccoli haircut: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hair straightening: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Perm: Louis Calvete, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Payot: Mark Neyman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ringlet: Margaret Sarah Carpenter, Public domain, source
- Jheri curl: Olugold, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Afro: Jason Melcher, CC BY 2.0, source
- Finger wave: Unknown author Unknown author (Either deceased family member or work f, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shag: ABC Television Network ., Public domain, source
- Nubian wig: Keith Schengili-Roberts, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Big hair: Photo by Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, source
- Surfer hair: Rachel Amarette, CC BY 2.0, source
- Natural hair movement: livepict.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source