One of the most debated topics online is which are the best haircuts for curly hair. I wasn’t surprised when someone submitted this question to my Good Hair Q&A series I ran recently, and while I’m a little bit nervous to tackle it, I do have some tips that I wanted to share with you.
First up though, I want to explain that I am not a hairdresser; I am a person with curly hair who has been to many hairdressers over the years and has seen and tried lots of different techniques.
I have many great friends who are hairdressers and I have enormous respect for the industry.
Here’s what I think are the best haircut techniques and styles for curly and wavy hair, plus some popular ways to cut curly hair that I think you should avoid at all costs.
And if you’re looking for more curly hair tips and tutorials, you’ll love my 30 Days of Curly Hairstyles.
Check out my video talking about haircuts for curly hair below or keep reading for more tips.
The best haircuts for curly hair
Click here if you can’t see the video below.
Tips for a great curly haircut
1. You don’t always need to see a curly specialist
Yes, there are different standards that hairdressers are trained to, and while seeing a curly hair specialist can help, it doesn’t always necessarily guarantee that you’re going to get a great haircut.
Many curly training skills seem to be a little outdated. So going to see a hairdresser who takes the time to listen to you and understand your hair is far more valuable than a particular specialist.
2. Wet cuts versus dry cuts
In the hairdressing industry, it’s pretty standard to do cut hair when it’s wet. There is a movement amongst curly girls to prefer a dry haircut. This is where they cut your hair curl by curl. It does have some advantages, but it also has some disadvantages.
Personally I prefer wet cuts because they end up more even and give me versatility. And because in dry cuts my curls are never the same, I always end up with something uneven.
Depending on your curl shape, this will be very different for you and you might prefer dry cuts.
3. DevaCuts
This style of curly hair is called a DevaCut was started from the Deva chain of salons in New York. This was also formalised by Lorraine Massey in her book Curly Girl. This technique is a dry cut, where they cut curl by curl, examining your hair as they go.
The benefit of this cut is it’s less likely that you’ll end up with a haircut that’s too short because it takes into consideration the way the way that curls ‘shrink’ once they dry.
However, if you have way more heavy hair like I do and your curls can change from day to day, this type of cut produces a very uneven result. It can be quite a time-consuming process and the stylist will charge more for this type of appointment.
4. Ouidad style
The Ouidad school of hairstyling (pronounced ‘wee-dad’) has a kind of hybrid haircut theory. They start with a wet cut, slicing into the curls to shape your hair. Then they dry cut and do a recheck and cut again when it’s finally dry.
Many hairdressers I know follow this style of technique – or at least along those lines, whether your hair is curly or straight. Cutting it wet and then, once its dry, rechecking to make sure that its even seems to make the most sense.
I don’t see this technique mentioned as much online, though I think it gets a more versatile haircut that can suits lots of different types of curls – and hair types in general.
5. One thing to avoid: thinning scissors
If you’ve ever seen these scissors at salon or had them near your hair, you know immediately why I’m saying no to thinning scissors.
Very popular in the ‘80s for that Farrah Fawcett flick, these are not the kind of scissors that you want to thin out curly hair. These scissors have one blade that’s a regular scissor blade and a comb-like blade on the other side. They cut out half the hair as they go through.
While they will thin out your hair, they will also leave it looking very fine on the ends, which can make your hair look thin and stringy.
6. The ‘unicorn cut’
I’ve seen this mentioned a lot on YouTube recently and a lot of curly girls in the forum talk about giving themselves a home haircut by doing a ‘unicorn cut’.
I don’t really want to go into it because I don’t want to encourage you to do it, but briefly this is what you do: roughly put all your hair up into a ponytail on top of your head and then cut straight across.
The idea of this technique is to create a shag haircut where all of the layers are the same length. Most of the time though, it’s very difficult to cut your own hair evenly – or even someone else’s if you’re not a trained hairdresser.
What you’ll end up with will be something that looks more like a mullet. Try this one at your own risk.
And an extra final note on home haircuts:
There’s a reason why hairdressing scissors cost hundreds of dollars. They’re incredibly sharp and they’re a precision instrument.
Don’t think you can do a home haircut or trim your own split ends at home with a regular pair of scissors. You’ll more likely create more split ends using scissors that aren’t incredibly sharp.
Blunt scissors cause a blunt edge on your hair strands, which will in turn lead to more split ends.
In Australia, hairdressers do three to four years of apprenticeship training, so don’t discredit their work by trying to do it yourself at home via a YouTube Video.
My Haircut
I’m actually in need of a haircut at the moment as it’s been at least four months since I had a trim. It’s been growing out really well because I’ve had some long layers cut into it, and a few shoulder- and face-framing layers.
In the past I’ve also had what’s called a V-cut where my hair is trimmed into a sort of V-shape at the back. I’ve also had a version of that called a U-cut, which has a more rounded edge.
These haircuts both suit longer curly hair because they allow more layers to include more curls around the sides. A V-shape or U-shape cut can look good on curly hair, but do note it can really thin out your hair, which is why I’ve gone back to more of a long layered style.
I prefer having more volume this way. And the longer layers are easier for me to style and braid.
I hope this helps you understand what the best haircuts for curly hair are and, as always, I recommend taking photos to your hairdresser. Check out this post to see why.
I’d love to know what your favourite way is to have your curly hair cut. Tell me in the comments below!
PS. If you want to see more curly hair videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here.
PPS. Want to learn more about styling your curly hair? Check out my 30 Days of Curly Hairstyles here.
Amy says
The only times I’ve ever been truly happy with my hair is when I cut it myself. I do the unicorn technique and then pull both sides of my hair around the front to cut off the longest layer- gets rid of that weir V shape you get. Then I gently blend the layers at the side of my face. its even and my curls really bounce. It nice straight too but I very rarely straighten my hair.
Ana G says
Finding someone to cut curly hair is so hard! I am 52 yrs old and have found 1 person in my whole life that I actually Loved! The way she cut my hair. She moved in to another city, I take two pictures of me with that cut one with the cut with straight hair the other with it in a curly style. I am so disappointed. This last one cut off my length, no layers at all and I look like Dora the explorer.
Angela says
The same thing happened to me. I’m 55 with curly hair and love to wear it curly and straight. The last gal butchered it. It took me over a year to grow out from the last gal who butchered it. My gal moved as well and have been searching ever since. Joining the Dora the Explorer club.
Rhonda says
I am soooo with you! I have come out looking like rosanne rosanne o Donna from Saturday night live! It shouldn’t be this hard.
Vic says
I’ve never been completely happy when i’ve had curly haircuts, except perhaps the first time. The only issue is on the rare occasion i’ve straightened my hair after a curly haircut it’s so uneven – and there are times I need to straighten my hair.
Where do you get your hair cut? It’s such a lovely cut. I’m in Melbourne and wondered if you can recommend anyone?
Cil says
The main problem with hair cuts is find someone. I am 45 and only at 44 found someone. She is trained in the dry cut technique and gave a wonderful cut the first time I went there. The first cut that has ever be what I wanted.
Then, I don’t know if she was in a bad day, but the second time I cut my hair with her I ended up with a Darth Vader helmet. That is why a lot of people prefer to do it. At least, if you messes up you didn’t pay for it.
Paberls says
Hi, I am going to be moving to a place where I can’t find anyone who seems to be a curly hair specialist. Dry cuts are totally out the window (and I don’t think they suit me anyway) so I do plan to go to a regular stylist, any tips for what instructions to give them? I don’t think showing them a picture of a curly haircut would make a difference because I doubt they have an understanding of how the hair will curl once dry. I’m having bad split ends so I am in desperate need of getting a cut. Any advice would be appreciated!
Kerissa says
I have very thick long curly hair. Half of my head is shaved because it keeps me cool so I can wear it down at all. It’s so thick you cannot tell it’s shaved when I wear it down. My question I guess is whether or not I should cut it short. I feel like it’s a hassle to have down and it can be wild and unmanagable. I was thinking of doing a long A line cut. I love the length but feel I need a cut so I can wear it down. It’s up 90 percent of the time which pulls my curls so it doesn’t look good down once it’s been up til the next wash.
Kathy La Grouw says
Like you – I have very thick curly hair that was once so lustrous but now I’m older is dry and straw like so it spends most of its time up. I have also considered a short style but have been warned by hairdressers that it could go straight up (I’d hate that as it would be even bigger) and I’d probably spend more time styling and cutting. As I never use heat in my curly hair it doesn’t need to be cut too often and still looks good when freshly washed, scrunched and air dried.
Sam says
Hello! My hair is super thick and wavy. It used to be all the way down to my butt but like you I had it either in a (crazy large and ugly) messy bun that pulled on my scalp and straightened the first half of my hair or in a braid. My hair was also really dry at the ends and I would get a giant knot at the base of my neck that took 15 minutes just to try to comb out in the shower. I decided to donate my hair and go shorter. Even though I don’t like the current cut the hair donation studio gave me, I am loving the ease of the new shorter style and not having to have it up or have knots all through my hair!
I’ll grow it out a bit to fix the thinning they did (they didn’t ask if it was ok to thin it) and then get it cut in a different style.
Tania says
Hello??Your hair is so beautiful!! I’ve been watching your videos for 4+years now. Yay-you’re AWESOME!
Yes, a Deva cut works for me, but it’s so very.hard to do it yourself and I trust no one! 😉 However, at the moment, my hair is a complete mess as I have been under SO MUCH stress in the past 10 months! (I lost 5 family members, the most recent one being my mother ????) Now I don’t know what to do as it’s beyond (AND I DO keep cutting my – a-away bits off!) the point of no return and like straw! ?Help?!? wish I could send you pic…
Thank you, Tania xo
Hair Romance says
oh Tania, I’m so sorry to hear about your family and your mother, that’s so hard. Of course that stress is going to affect you and your hair. I would recommend doing daily gentle head massages, this will help your hair but it’s also important to relieve some tension for you as well. Getting your hair to recover just takes some time but it will happen. Leave the haircuts for now, focus on daily head massages and once a week do a deep conditioning mask. You can style your hair up in a twist&pin hairstyle if you’re not happy with how it looks out right now. You’ll start to see and feel the effects before too long. Please let me know how you go xx
Giselle says
I had the unfortunate experience that someone cut my hair with thinning scissors and yes it ruined my curls.
any suggestions on how to recover your curls from thinning scissors?
Hair Romance says
sorry to hear! 🙁 but your hair will recover and it takes time to grow back. If you can handle going shorter, getting a fresh cut can help. Otherwise, do regular gentle head massages to help your hair grow faster xx
Carolyn says
I agree. I’m thinking the Deva thing is over hyped. I think there’s merit, but some attention to detail& sense goes a long way too. I’m not sure where my fine hair should be cut wet or dry anymore, add I’m not 100% happy currently with the dry. I think my layers are uneven. So I’m going to have to grow a little& search again. Lovely meeting you St. Carindale btw Christina! Your hair was looking lovely! ?
Hair Romance says
Thanks Carolyn! And it was so lovely meeting you, thanks for coming to see me xx