The best curly cuts

‘Fashionable hair’ used to mean flat, sleek, and stick-straight. But more women – celebrities included – are embracing their natural (read: wavy or curly) texture instead of fighting it.

The best curly cuts

Pixie cut

Forget everything you’ve heard about curls and short cuts. Halle Berry’s tough-but-feminine crop works on nearly any texture, and isn’t as high-maintenance as you’d think. Ask your stylist for a graduated pixie style. ‘You don’t want a precision cut,’ says Morgan Willhite, creative director at Ouidad. ‘It should be longer on top to show off the texture and choppiness.’ Let it dry naturally and use a frizz-control product to give the top separation and shine. Just be sure before you cut it all off: ‘When your hair is that short, you can’t hide behind it,’ Willhite says.

Afro

This is not your mother’s afro. Solange Knowles’s is an update on the iconic ’70s style. ‘It’s a refreshing silhouette that not many women dare to try,’ says Lorraine Massey, co-owner of Devachan Salon. This works better on coarse, tight textures than loose curls because you need the volume to get the fullness. ‘This is a modern, precision afro,’ says Willhite. ‘It’s a teardrop shape: round at the top and tapered at the ears to hug the jawline and give it more shape.’ And while this style best complements a round or square face (long face shapes tend to be exacerbated by the silhouette), it doesn’t have many other rules – just make sure it’s properly hydrated with a leave-in conditioner so that it has a healthy sheen.

LOB

Long bobs aren’t just for women with straight strands. Proof: Vanessa Hudgens’s sexy shoulder-grazing bob. Ask for a wedge cut; short layers in the back and long, face-framing layers in the front create an interesting angle. Bonus: The long layers can slim a round face. ‘And because the layers are long in front, you won’t have difficulty with curls bouncing up around the face and not blending,’ says Willhite. Just don’t let the back run wild.

The best curly cuts

Curly shag

Because this is about controlled chaos, it’s best for women with a curly texture, like Rihanna. ‘People often think using a razor is a total no-no with curly hair,’ says Willhite. ‘But when you want to achieve a piece-y, shaggy look like this – which is fuller towards the roots and wispier at the ends – a razor is the best strategy.’ To avoid letting this style get frizzy, skip this look if you fall into the overly coarse or unruly hair-texture category.

Tight curls and steep layers

Attention all curly-hair types: This is your cut. And don’t be afraid to go big, like Beyoncé does. ‘Getting it big with a diffuser is what’s fun about it,’ says Willhite. Ask for long and wispy (not blunt) layers using a slide-cutting technique. ‘If you put too many layers at the top, it will get too curly – you want it to be softer around the face,’ she says. Use a hydrating product like leave-in conditioner, and when hair is dry, go over random pieces with a curling iron.

Long, loose waves

Sarah Jessica Parker is practically the poster child for curly hair. And with good reason: Her polished waves are both smooth and bouncy. With fine hair and wavy to medium curls, it will be straighter at the roots and have more texture toward the ends. Apply a leave-in conditioner with a frizz-controlling serum while hair is still damp.

Written by Alexandria Owens, this article originally appeared on Allure.

Images: PRPhotos.com

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