← Hairstyles · Curly hair

Best men's hairstyles for curly hair.

Got curly hair? Work with it. These cuts are picked to suit curly hair, with the products and routine to keep them looking sharp.

Every cut below is shown as an AI-generated reference render, not a photograph.

Medium upkeep · Medium length

Curly Top with Taper

This cut keeps your natural curls full on top while the sides are shortened with scissors instead of clippers.

High upkeep · Short length

Faux Hawk Fade

The faux hawk fade keeps a strip of longer hair down the middle of your head and fades the sides short.

Medium upkeep · Medium length

Medium Curly Layers

Medium curly layers keep your natural curl at around four to six inches, with layers cut in to remove bulk and let each curl form its own shape.

High upkeep · Short length

Mid Fade Haircut

A mid fade is a fade that starts at the temple, roughly halfway up the side of your head, and blends down towards the ear.

High upkeep · Medium length

Pompadour Fade Haircut

A pompadour fade pairs a high-volume top swept up and back with sides faded down to short or skin length.

Low upkeep · Medium length

Shag

The shag is a medium-length cut built from choppy layers, shortest near the crown and longest at the back, with a soft fringe at the front.

Low upkeep · Short length

Textured Crop

A textured crop is a short haircut with a choppy, uneven top worn forward as a small fringe.

Most curly-hair problems are not curl problems. They are the result of treating curly hair like straight hair that misbehaves — combing it dry, shampooing it daily, and cutting it wet. Change those three things and the same head of hair looks completely different.

Curls also carry shrinkage: hair that measures six inches when stretched can sit at three when dry. Every length decision on this page assumes that.

Why these cuts work on curly hair

Layers to control bulk. Uncut curly hair grows outwards before it grows down, which produces the triangle shape everyone is trying to avoid. Layers remove interior weight so the curl falls instead of stacking.

A taper or fade on the sides. This is what makes the Curly Top with Taper, the Mid Fade and the Faux Hawk work: tight sides give the curl on top a clean edge and stop the width.

Enough length on top for the curl to form. Curl needs roughly two inches before it makes a full loop. Cut shorter than that and you get fluff, not curl — the single most common bad curly haircut.

Ask your barber to cut your hair dry, curl by curl. Wet curly hair stretches to a length it will never have again once dry, which is why so many curly cuts look right in the chair and wrong the next morning.

Products: moisture first, hold second

Curly hair is drier than straight hair by structure — the natural oils from your scalp have to travel around every bend to reach the ends, and mostly they don't. Frizz is usually dehydration, not humidity alone.

A leave-in conditioner. The foundation. Applied to soaking-wet hair, not damp. This is the product that decides whether you have curls or frizz.

A curl cream, or a gel over the cream for firmer definition. Cream defines, gel holds. In Indian humidity, a light gel layer on top is what stops the curl collapsing by afternoon.

Shampoo two or three times a week, not daily. Daily shampooing strips exactly the oils curly hair is already short of. Rinse and condition on the other days.

The routine that actually holds

Work entirely on soaking-wet hair, straight out of the shower. Rake the leave-in through with your fingers, then the cream, then scrunch upwards towards the scalp — scrunching is what forms the curl clumps.

Then leave it alone. Every touch while it dries breaks the clump and creates frizz. Air-dry if you have the time, or use a diffuser on low heat and low speed. If you have used gel, the hair will dry with a slight crunch; break that shell by scrunching once it is fully dry and the curl underneath stays defined.

Dry your hair with a cotton t-shirt rather than a towel. Towel loops catch and lift the cuticle, and that is a large part of the frizz most men blame on the weather.

What ruins curly hair

Brushing or combing dry hair. This is the biggest one. It shatters every curl clump into frizz. Detangle only when wet and loaded with conditioner, with fingers or a wide-tooth comb.

Rubbing with a towel. Squeeze, don't rub, and use a cotton tee.

A wet haircut. Wet curls hang long and cut short. Insist on dry cutting.

Touching it while it dries. Hard to resist, and it undoes the whole routine.

Face shape still sets the outline. Read how to identify your face shape, then match it with the texture advice here.

Frequently asked questions

How should men style curly hair?

Apply a leave-in conditioner and a curl cream to soaking-wet hair straight out of the shower, rake them through with your fingers, then scrunch upwards to form the curl clumps. Let it dry undisturbed — air-dry or diffuse on low heat. Touching curls while they dry is what creates frizz, and dry brushing destroys the definition entirely.

Which haircut suits curly hair for men?

Cuts with layers to remove interior bulk and a taper or fade on the sides: a curly top with taper, mid fade, textured crop or medium curly layers all work. Keep at least two inches on top so the curl can form a full loop — shorter than that gives you fluff rather than curl.

How often should men with curly hair wash it?

Two or three times a week rather than daily. Curly hair is structurally drier because scalp oils struggle to travel down a coiled strand, and daily shampooing removes what little reaches the ends. On non-wash days, rinse with water and use conditioner.

Browse every cut above, or see all men's hairstyles by face shape and hair type.