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Illinois | Style

My Favorite Curly Hairstyles

Jessa Kimble Student Contributor, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

As a girl with naturally curly hair, coming to love and accept my curls has been a journey. However, I can safely say that I love my natural curls and after joining the curly bang gang I have had so much fun experimenting with styling my curly hair. Springtime brings so many fun new ways to style your hair, but as curly hair girls know it also brings the struggle to combat frizz with the emerging humidity. 

Half-up-half-down with a claw clip

This is hands down my go-to hairstyle starting on day two curls. I love that this hairstyle allows my curls to still get shown off especially the day after wash day but also keeps my hair out of my face. The addition of a claw clip to your half-up half-down adds personality and allows you to change up the types and colors of your clips depending on your own personal style. This same look can also be done with a hair tie and looks just as good. 

messy bun

As a girl who gets overstimulated with having my hair in my face a messy bun is another one of my go-to styles. Especially as the warmer humid weather creates more frizz in my hair, a messy bun allows me to style my curls in another way. This hairstyle never fails to get me compliments, and I think looks especially good with curly hair since it already gives off messy vibes since curly hair isn’t perfect and that’s the beauty of it. 

style with a headband/bandana

With the adjustment to curly bangs, this has become one of my new favorite hairstyles. It allows me to show off my bangs while also pulling back my hair from my face in a different style of a half-up-half-down style. I think headbands and bandanas are such fun way to add personality and embrace the spring vibes through your hairstyles. 

Pulled back with cute little clips

This is another variation of a half-up hairstyle with claw clips that I love with a slight change in the size and type of clips I use. Personally, I love to do this hairstyle with little butterfly clips that I have. I think this adds something fun and different to one of my typical go-to hairstyles. This style can also easily be personalized depending on your outfit, from butterfly clips to other shapes or even your basic barrettes this hairstyle is perfect for anyone. 

slick back with a messy bun

Lastly, my favorite curly hair spin-off of the viral slick back bun. I think this look fits good with curly hair when pairing a slick back with a messy bun. This look can be used in a half-up half-down style as well which can help to show off more of your curls on days when you just want some hair pulled off your face. 

Jessa Kimble

Illinois '26

Hi! I am a senior majoring in social work. In my free time I love reading, baking, hanging out with family and friends, going to cute coffee shops to get coffee or matcha, I absolutely love crafting and journaling, and I love being outside and going on hot girl walks! I love scrolling on Pinterest and creating cute Pinterest boards to help inspire me and my creativity. I love going shopping and getting to explore my own fashion and am a huge believer of “I feel good if I like my outfit.” I love hosting dinner parties and planning fun social activities with my friends.