This post originally appeared on our sister site, CurlyNikki.com and references CurlyNikki community members. We loved these ideas so much, we wanted to bring them to the NaturallyCurly audience as well! Way to graduate, curlies!

natural hairstyles for graduation

Curly hair that fits under a cap!
graduation hairstyles for natural hairCurly Twists
natural hair for graduation dayLow Puff

Janetta of birdiztheword writes:

I graduate in like 2 weeks! OMG! I want my Inbetweeny Fro to be the most fabulous it has ever been since the chop! No joke, my hair has to be F-L-Y. I’m positive it’s going to feel like Satan’s armpits outside so I need something that will hold up to the heat (at least until after post-ceremony pics are taken”>. Did I mention how glad I am the ceremony is INDOORS? [my fro goes out to all of you curlies that have to sit outside =( ] I’m thinking something stretched and luscious! Graduation caps are fugly as it is and I feel like I can subtract some of the ugly if my hair looks amazing, lol. Not to mention, all of the photo proof! I don’t want one of those “What the hell was I thinking?!” moments afterwards. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Any Ideas?!!

Jamila of College Curlies responds:

I will definitely be wearing my hair in a curly style! I’ve only straightened my hair three times, all of which I felt out of sorts and (no diss to my straight girls out there”>…regular. Here are some options for graduation pics and for the big day:

Cap in hand. If you want to rock the curly style and are afraid of cap head, have the photographer take pictures of you holding your cap in your hands (as opposed to actually on your head”>. This might not be the most desirable option, but in 20 years I’d rather look back and see the person I was at the time, than risk damaging my hair and not feeling like myself!

Twist it up. You can certainly find a protective style a few days before photo time that is easy to maintain and small enough to fit under the cap, like the curlies in these pictures did here or in this natural hair YouTube video. You could try curly twists or mini twists, which can be styled all kinds of ways throughout the week.

Rod/Flexi-Rod Set. This will create small, tight curls that will last for a few days. If you have thick hair, it might help with consistency and make your curls smaller and easier to manage.

Low Puff. Depending on how long your hair is, you could pull it back into a low puff so that it sits right under your cap.

Accessorize! Bring a few headbands, flowers, and bobby pins in case your hair gets fussed up during the photo session, or under the cap during the ceremony. Always good to have these on deck!


YouTube has great natural hair style tutorials. I think these are particularly fabulous.

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