Afro Hairstyles: Celebrity Looks We Love Right Now

My college roommate Nia relaxed her hair every six weeks for about ten years. Then one summer she just stopped. She did the big chop in our bathroom with kitchen scissors (please don’t do this), and by Christmas she had the most gorgeous little afro I’d ever seen. She told me later it was the first time in her adult life she’d actually known what her own hair looked like.

I think about that a lot when I see afros on the red carpet now. For a long time, you barely saw natural hair at big events. These days some of the most talked-about beauty looks of the year are big, round, unapologetic afros, and the styles keep getting more creative.

So I’ve pulled together the celebrity afros I keep saving, a bit of the history behind them, and some practical tips for wearing your own.

A Little Afro History

The afro isn’t just a hairstyle, and it never really was. In the late ’60s and ’70s, wearing your natural hair big and round became a statement of pride for a lot of Black women and men, tied closely to the civil rights and Black Power movements. Activist Angela Davis’s afro became one of the most recognizable images of the era.

Hollywood caught on too. Pam Grier’s huge afro in Coffy and Foxy Brown made her a style icon, and if you love that whole decade, our guide to 70s hairstyles has more on her and the other big looks of the time.

Then things swung the other way for a while. Relaxers and straight hair took over in the ’80s and ’90s, and natural hair often got labeled “unprofessional” at work and school. That’s partly why laws like the CROWN Act, first passed in California in 2019, matter so much. They protect people from being discriminated against because of their natural hair texture and protective styles.

Celebrity Afro Hairstyles We Love

Tracee Ellis Ross

If there’s a patron saint of big, healthy curls, it’s Tracee. She’s worn her natural hair in so many ways over the years, but the full, round afro is my favorite. She even started her own haircare line, Pattern Beauty, for curly and coily hair, so she clearly knows what she’s doing.

Solange

Solange has had some of the most fashion-forward hair in music. Her big, perfectly shaped afro from the early 2010s was everywhere for a reason. She treats her hair like part of the art, and she’s played with shape and styling more than almost anyone.

Yara Shahidi

Yara turns up to events with her natural hair looking different every single time. Sometimes it’s a huge, fluffy afro, sometimes it’s half-up with a little puff on top. If you want proof that an afro can be dressy enough for a black tie event, look her up.

Viola Davis

Viola walked the 2012 Oscars red carpet with her natural, close-cropped hair instead of a wig, and people still talk about it. It was a short tapered afro, nothing fussy, and it looked incredible with her green gown. She’s said in interviews that it felt like a big step for her personally.

Issa Rae

Issa wore natural styles all through Insecure, and her afros and twist-outs got almost as much attention as the plot. Her hair always looks like real hair, which I think is part of why so many people relate to it. One of my favorites is the big, fluffy afro she wore to BET’s Black Girls Rock in Newark, with warm honey-brown tones running through the curls and a sparkly striped plunge top. Simple hoops, a huge smile, done.

Doechii

Doechii made her Met Gala debut in 2025, the year the theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, and she showed up with a huge, perfectly round afro. Her Louis Vuitton look was a cream monogram suit with a burgundy satin bow and a tiny checkerboard bag, and she even had a little LV drawn on her cheek. Great outfit. But I’ll be honest, I zoomed in on the hair first.

Lauryn Hill

Same night, another first. Lauryn Hill had never been to the Met Gala before 2025, and she arrived in a butter yellow suit with a huge sculpted cape curving up around her head like a crown. Under all that drama sat a big, round afro, plus a burgundy tie, chunky gold earrings and a deep plum lip. It felt very her. People my age grew up playing The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on repeat, so seeing her look that good on those steps was a moment.

Pam Grier

We have to give the original her spot. Pam Grier’s ’70s afro was huge, perfectly round and pretty much the definition of cool. Most modern big afros still owe her a little something.

Afro Hairstyles to Try

The Short Tapered Afro

Shorter at the back and sides, with a bit more length on top. This is where a lot of people start after a big chop, and it’s honestly one of the lowest-maintenance cuts out there. A good barber or curly stylist makes all the difference with the shape. If you like the idea of short curls, our post on the curly pixie cut has more ideas.

The Big Round Afro

The classic. It takes length, patience and a good pick, and the shape is everything. Lift from the roots, pat it into a round silhouette, and leave it alone. Every time I’ve seen someone with a big afro in real life, I’ve wanted to tell them how great it looks.

The Curly Afro With Bangs

If your curls are a little looser, you don’t have to pick them out into a perfect circle. Taylor Russell wore hers soft and shaggy at the Dior Cruise 2027 show in Los Angeles in May 2026, with curly bangs falling into her eyes, and it looked so effortless I immediately saved the photo. Ask for a few face-framing layers at the front and let the curls do the rest.

The Afro Puff

All your hair gathered up into a puff, either high on the crown or at the back. It’s quick, it’s cute, and it’s perfect for days when you can’t be bothered. Two puffs instead of one gives you a slightly more playful look.

The Half-Up Afro

Gather the top section into a puff and leave the rest out. You get the volume of a full afro but with a little more shape around your face. Great for weddings and dinners.

The Afro With a Headband or Scarf

A wide headband pushed back from your hairline, or a silk scarf tied around the base of the afro, instantly makes it look more styled. It also hides a slightly fuzzy hairline on day four, not that I’d know anything about that.

The Colored Afro

Honey blonde, copper, even pastel pink. Color looks especially good on afro hair because there’s so much texture for it to catch the light. Just know that bleach can be rough on coily hair, so this one is worth leaving to a professional.

How to Style and Care for an Afro

Moisture first. Coily hair tends to be drier than straight hair, because the natural oils from your scalp have a harder time traveling down all those tight curls. A leave-in conditioner and a cream or butter to seal it in will keep it soft. Nia swears by doing this on damp hair only, never dry.

Use a pick, not a brush, when you want volume. Start at the roots and lift gently, working around your head. A wide-tooth comb is better for detangling, and that’s much easier when your hair is wet and full of conditioner.

Sleep on silk or satin. A satin pillowcase, a bonnet or a silk scarf stops your hair from drying out and getting crushed overnight. It’s the one tip every curly-haired celebrity seems to agree on.

And get regular trims, even if you’re growing it out. A good shape is what separates a great afro from one that just looks a bit uneven. If your curls are on the looser side, you might also find our celebrities with curly hair roundup useful.

Final Thoughts

An afro takes some care, but there’s nothing else quite like it. It’s bold, it’s beautiful and it has a lot of history behind it. Whether you go short and tapered like Viola or big and round like Pam Grier, it’s a look that always makes a statement.

Nia still has hers, by the way. She also finally owns proper hair scissors.