As much as we like to think that our hair is something we have a semblance of control over in our whirlwind of a life, that’s not a blessing we’ve been able to achieve very easily. The best way to get ahead of your hair is to go with a great hairstyle that complements your features, such as face shape and hair type. So, you’ve got an oval face and curly hair? Good—we happen to have some tips about what hairstyles look best and will make your life easier. When thinking about what cuts will look good with your curly hair, it’s important to find inspiration that reflects your own curl pattern: the width and shape of your curls. Luckily for you, an oval face does the rest of the work. Since your face is roughly a 3:2 length-to-width ratio and your cheekbones are your widest point, there’s a balanced blank slate that helps out curly and straight hair alike. Face-framing layers and bangs are our favorite go-tos for oval faces, and that goes for curly hair too. It’s all about enhancing the curl, instead of weighing it down. So, whether you want a short or long style and bangs or no bangs, here are some of the best hairstyles for your oval face–curly hair combo.
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Transition Pixie
This longer pixie cut—a crop cut—looks great with curls because they’re able to let the oval face shine. The curls brush away from the face in a way that accentuates the face and looks effortlessly stylish. Keeping the hair short around the face and, specifically, the ears is the trick to maintaining a fresh-looking cut.
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Tousled Pixie
You can do a super-short pixie with an oval face and curly hair because your 3:2 length-to-width face ratio helps balance the shortness and lets the natural movement of your curls do the styling. And styling this cut is super easy—simply add product and let your hair air-dry.
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Full Bangs
Full bangs are not flattering for all faces, but luckily oval faces make the look pretty easy to pull off (again, thanks to the 3:2 ratio). Full bangs require the tiniest bit of extra styling, but they look too cute to pass up—and letting your curls go natural with these bangs gives some major personality.
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Face-Framing Lob
Longer face-framing layers work in many ways to make a haircut look great and keep it easy to style. For oval faces, long layers add a little definition. Layers also keep curly hair from looking weighed down. Put them together with a lob-length cut, and you’ve got a low-maintenance, trendy look.
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Top-Heavy with a Middle Part
If you have a smaller, more compact curl pattern, this style is a flattering cut that works for an oval face (it would be too much width on a round face, for instance). The haircut is the thickest and widest around the cheekbones, which are the widest part of an oval face, and the hair gets tamer towards the bottom. The shape comes completely from well-placed layers that hit right at the cheekbones.
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Thick Shag-Esque Bob
A shag-inspired cut doesn’t work for everyone, but with an oval face and natural curl, this cut has the potential to be your new signature ‘do. It looks perfectly textured and effortless.
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Stacked Bob
A stacked bob is tricky for most, but it works for oval faces and frames them in a chic way. Curly hair gives it some lift and volume that it often lacks with straight hair. You’ll need some product, such as a light curling cream, to enhance those curls and ensure smoothness.
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Long, All-Natural, & Major Volume
If all else fails, go natural! You’ve got curly hair, and you should flaunt it. This style just has a few long layers to help give more volume, and we think a nice curling cream would do major things to help encourage your curl pattern to go wild.
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Choppy Bob
A cropped chin-length bob sports waves that look both elegant and casual. A sleek middle part balances this choppy cut. This cut works for diamond and heart face shapes as well.
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Shoulder-Length with Side-Swept Bangs
A deep side part, especially with side-swept bangs, looks great on an oval face (it can be tricky for very round or angular faces). The deep part works with the balanced oval shape, and if you have curly hair, it looks full of life and movement. We love how this cut hits right at the top of the shoulders in order to keep it light.
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Layered Long-Length
You can keep your curly hair longer if you want without worrying about it looking lifeless. Do keep in mind that layers are your best friend for a longer-length curly hairstyle, though. You need layers throughout with extra attention to face-framing layers towards the front.
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Textured Bob with Bangs
Soft layers add volume to curly hair in this textured bob. The shaping does all the work in this low-maintenance cut, so there’s little styling needed. Add interest with short, piecey bangs.
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Stacked Side-Part
We’ll never get over this classic Carrie Bradshaw look—she knows how to rock curly hair. This short phase was one of our favorites, as it’s slightly stacked and features a heavy side part (that only faces that are longer than wide can handle with curls like this). Her face ventures into oblong, rather than oval, but it will have the same effect on both face shapes.
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Long Layers
Make waves with breezy, beachy hair. Long, loose curls frame the face, and layers control the hair’s volume. A side part works for the oval face shape and layered curls.
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Shoulder-Length with Long Fringe
Long fringe gives these shoulder-length layers a shag style. For a polished look, use a flat iron on the bangs and hold with a mist of hairspray.
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Wavy Bob
Layering frames the face and boosts the natural wave in your hair. To style wavy hair, twist or scrunch sections of your hair while it is still damp, or use the diffuser attachment on your hair dryer to keep the natural curl and prevent frizz.
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Shaggy Bob
Add fullness where your oval face gets the thinnest. This shaggy ‘do gets fuller around the jawline thanks to its choppy layers. Create a piecey look with a curling iron, and use hairspray to keep thick curls in place.
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Curly Bangs
No need to shy away from bangs if you have curly hair. The trick is not to cut them straight across or blunt and to keep face shape in mind—narrow bangs lengthen a wider face, and wider bangs balance a long or narrow face. Boost natural curls, and add definition and bounce with a curling iron all over.
