Fun, Short Natural Hairstyles to Change Up Your Look

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Many women with natural hair want to work toward a specific length — the pressure to achieve the long hair beauty standard is real. While there's nothing wrong with aspiring to have long, flowing, natural tresses, you should also embrace your hair while it's short and healthy. If you're someone who craves variety, know that having short hair won't limit your styling options. As celebs with natural hair — think, Tiffany Haddish — have proven, short hair is stunning and can be equally fun to style.

If you're hoping to reignite the excitement of having short natural hair, whether you're at the beginning of your natural hair journey or just want to try a shorter vibe, keep scrolling for short natural hairstyles that you'll love to try out for a new look.

High Puff with Front Two Strand Twists

It's no secret that the high puff (a cross between a high ponytail and an afro) is an essential naturalista hairstyle. Even on shorter natural hair, a puff requires minimal styling products and is a super easy style to achieve. (Seriously, check out this high puff tutorial on short hair if you need proof.) Contrary to popular belief, rocking your hair in a puff doesn't require tight elastic ponytail holders, and it spares the ends of your hair (the oldest and most prone to breakage) from manipulation. You can use an adjustable hairband in order to control the tension and size of your puff. If you plan on making your puff hairstyle last for a few days, remember to refresh your strands as needed by spraying your puff with water or using a moisturizer such as SheaMoisture Coconut Custard Make It Last Wash N' Go Curl Revival Oil (Buy It, $10, target.com) or Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Nourishing and Conditioning Curl Refresher Spray (Buy It, $12, target.com).

Slicked Back Fro

Sometimes the slightest tweak to a simple, short natural hairstyle can make all the difference. One way to elevate the classic afro is by slicking the perimeter of your hair to bring your hair away from your face using an elastic band (similarly to how you'd achieve your puff). You can add some swoops and swirls, aka baby hair for extra razzle-dazzle if you feel so inclined. Your hair will love you for choosing this low-maintenance style, so consider it for your protective styling needs. (Related: The Best Natural Hair Products, According to Stylists and Customer Reviews)

Fauxhawk

As you may have gathered from the name, this short, natural hairstyle mimics a mohawk without requiring you to shave the sides of your hair. Naturals of various hair lengths love this hairstyle because it requires nothing more than strategically placed bobby pins, a styling or hold product such as Ecoco Olive Styling Gel (Buy It, $5, target.com), and a brush to slick up the sides.

Don't let the fact that you have a TWA (teeny weeny afro) deter you from trying out this style. It's a beginner-friendly short natural hairstyle. (Watch this tutorial if it's piqued your interest.)

Afro with Side Flat Twists

If braiding is not one of your strong suits, flat twisting may be a better option for your natural hair styling. Think of a flat twist as a combination of a two-strand twist and a cornrow. Generally speaking, flat twists are much easier to achieve on your own and are less time-consuming. In other words, you should add them to your go-to short natural hairstyles if you want to spice up an afro. If you're feeling adventurous, you can add in statement jewels.

Low Platinum Cut

Meet the low Ceasar, a short haircut (between 2 to 4 centimeters in length) that's the same length around your entire head. A lot of natural-hair women who have worn their hair in a low Caesar describe it as a freeing experience. Besides the time you get back not having to restyle your hair daily, short-short hair helps break down the often unhealthy attachments that women (particularly women of color) have with their hair — namely the pressure to assimilate to the workplaces, schools, and other settings that label natural hair as unkempt, unprofessional, and unworthy. Opting for a low cut such as Caesar can be a great way for women of color to ease into rocking their natural hair in the workplace, which is still fraught with discrimination based on hair type. (Related: 11 Black Women Get Real About Natural Hair at Job Interviews)

On the day-to-day, sporting a platinum-colored caesar may allow you to get up and go without worrying about styling your hair; however, short cuts can be surprisingly high-maintenance, and your hair will likely need to be cut and colored rather frequently (every 3-6 weeks). If this is something you're still willing to commit to, go for it and never look back.

Color-Treated Caesar

If you venture off to try a blonde Caesar, it's only makes sense to play around with color soon after. There's no better time than when rocking super-short hair to try out bold hair colors. Whether you opt for a classic color such as red or something more fun think: turquoise, just have fun with it. (Related: The Best Black Natural Hair Influencers to Follow for Styling Tips, Tutorials, and More)

Coiled Undercut

At this point, you've probably noticed this is one of the trendiest short natural styles for Black women on social media. An undercut is simply a tapered haircut where the hair on the back and sides of the head are low, contrasting with the top of the hair, which is typically longer and more voluminous. Though the length of the hair toward the top may vary, the contrast between the top and other areas is what characterizes this style.

As with many short natural hairstyles, adding color is a great way to kick this style up a few notches. When rocking an undercut, a popular color is a bold ombre red that features darker sides and a brighter red hue at the topmost portion of the hair.

Tapered Soft Short Waves

If you like the idea of tapered haircuts for short natural hair, trying a low version of an undercut may appeal to you. The critical difference between this style and aforementioned undercut is that there's less of a dramatic difference between the length of hair at the top and sides of the head. The best part of this short natural hairstyle is that it looks great on various hair textures and densities so if you're going back and forth about your next hairstyle, move this one to the top of your list.