JUMPon theTREND
The Curly Hair AI trend in short
What it is: You scrunch your straight hair with both hands and it springs into big, bouncy curls from roots to tips, same face, same colour, then you shake them out and laugh.
How to do it: Add a clear selfie on this page, see yourself in it free, then make the 5-second video. No app, no prompt.
Who to put in it: You (the classic), The friend who has been threatening to get a perm since school, Your straight-haired partner, to see if the curls suit them.
Curly Hair: posts and how-tos
- media.io · the AI Curly Hair Filter page with two 'sheep curls' sample videos, straight to curly in about 5 s (read 18 Oct 2026)
- Morphic · a curly hair video effect page: straight hair into curls in one shot, face and clothes unchanged (read 18 Oct 2026)
- Magic Hour · an 8 s straight-to-curly Curly Hair template on Kling 3.0 (read 18 Oct 2026)
- Michelle Shelly · 'Trying the Curly Hair AI filter', YouTube Shorts, 28 Dec 2024, 3,596 views (read 18 Oct)
- ai 4you · 'AI Gave Me Sheep Curls!', YouTube Shorts, 11 Dec 2024, 598 views (read 18 Oct)
- Jypsyvloggin · 'How to do the Curly Hair filter trend on TikTok [CapCut]', YouTube, 24 Mar 2025 (read 18 Oct)
Clips belong to their creators and link to the original post. Creators can ask us to remove a link.
What is the Curly Hair AI trend?
The AI curly hair filter is the short video where you scrunch your hair and it springs into a full head of bouncy curls in about a second, while your face, and your hair's own colour, stay exactly as they are. Then a shake of the head to make them bounce, and a laugh. Here you add one photo and get a free preview still in about a minute: you in the sun with your own hair, hands up, ready to scrunch. The 5-second video, in 1080p, is 100 credits ($9.90), and that's where the curls happen.
It's an old wish with a new tool. AI filters that showed people themselves with curls were on YouTube by 19 Nov 2023, and in late December 2024 a CapCut curly hair AI template went round: one upload on 25 Dec 2024 links the CapCut template, another on 29 Dec is titled 'I Tried the New CapCut Curly Hair AI Filter', and a run of 'trying the curly hair filter' shorts followed into January, with a how-to for TikTok on 24 Mar 2025. Media.io now sells it as a video effect: its AI Curly Hair Filter page, last updated 29 Aug 2026 by its sitemap, also calls it a curly perm generator and a 'sheep curly hairstyle', and its two samples turn long straight hair into a big cloud of curls in about five seconds. On 18 Oct 2026 our radar recorded ten Google completions each for 'ai curly hair' and 'curly hair filter', with men, free and online among them.
Ours keeps to the one move and three looks: Big bouncy curls, Spiral ringlets and a Retro perm. Your face, eyebrows, beard and glasses come from your photo and don't change, and neither do your hair colour or hairline; only the texture and the volume do. It's one of our few templates where your hair is meant to change, and it's a look to try for fun, not a verdict on anyone's real hair: straight, wavy, curly and coily hair are all just hair. It isn't a live camera filter, it can't curl a video you've already filmed, and it's not a salon preview: how a real perm takes depends on your hair, which is a question for a stylist. The video comes with a springy 'boing', a laugh and outdoor sound, and no music.
Is the Curly Hair trend still growing?
Evergreen rather than rising. There's no fresh viral wave behind it: the busiest run of AI curly hair filter uploads we found was a CapCut template in late December 2024, and the steady demand since is search, with Google finishing 'ai curly hair' and 'curly hair filter' ten ways each on 18 Oct 2026. One site in our watch list (media.io) sells it as a video effect, last updated 29 Aug 2026; our radar scores it 1.0.
How to do the Curly Hair trend: by hand or in one click
By hand: put your photo into the scene with an image model, regenerate until the face looks like you, give that still to an image-to-video model with the moves written out, then check the face holds to the last frame.
Here, in one click: add a photo for each person, see a free preview still of you in the scene, then make the 1080p video from it. You pay only when it’s ready.
Curly Hair mixes
- Big bouncy curls: after the scrunch, the hair becomes a full, voluminous head of soft, springy, defined curls about the width of a finger, fluffy and round like a big curly perm, wider than the head on both sides, in the hair's own colour
- Spiral ringlets: after the scrunch, the hair becomes neat, glossy spiral ringlets that hang and bounce like springs, each curl clearly separate, with moderate volume rather than a big puff, in the hair's own colour
- Retro perm: after the scrunch, the hair becomes a big 1980s-style perm, tight, crimped-looking curls with lots of height on top and width at the sides, in the hair's own colour, playful rather than messy
Photo tips for Curly Hair
- One clear photo of you, face to the camera and well lit, from the chest up, with your hair down and fully in view.
- Straight or wavy hair shows the change best; if your hair is already curly, you'll get a bigger, bouncier version of it.
- Short hair works too and turns into a short curly top; a shaved or bald head has nothing to curl.
- Glasses stay if you wear them in the photo; take off sunglasses, hats and headbands.
- One person in the photo. Your clothes stay as they are.
Who to cast
- You (the classic)
- The friend who has been threatening to get a perm since school
- Your straight-haired partner, to see if the curls suit them
Curly Hair FAQ
Is there a free Curly Hair AI video generator?
You can preview yourself in the Curly Hair scene free. The full 1080p video costs 100 credits, charged only when it's ready. Credits come in packs from $9.90 for 100 and work on any trend.
Which app makes the Curly Hair AI video?
Creators put their photo into the scene with an image model, then animate it with an image-to-video model. This page does both for you from one photo: a free preview still first, then the video.
How many photos do I need for Curly Hair?
One clear, front-facing photo per person (or pet). This template has room for 1. Add up to 3 photos of each for a closer likeness.
What happens to my photos?
They are stored privately, sent to the video model through short-lived links, never used for training, and deleted with your video after 30 days.
What is the AI curly hair filter?
A short AI video where your straight hair springs into big, bouncy curls in about a second while your face stays yours. Here it's made from one photo, in Big bouncy curls, Spiral ringlets or a Retro perm.
Is the AI curly hair filter free?
The preview is free: add a photo and see a still of yourself, hands up and ready to scrunch, in about a minute, with no card or account. The 5-second video with the curls is 100 credits ($9.90), in 1080p.
Why doesn't my preview show the curls?
The preview is the first frame of the video, the 'before': you with your own hair. The curls arrive in the video, a second or so in, which is the moment people post.
Will it change my face or hair colour?
No. Your face, eyebrows, beard and glasses stay as they are in your photo, and so do your hair colour and hairline. Only the texture and volume of your hair change. For a new colour, try our hair dye filter.
Does it work for men and short hair?
Yes. Short hair turns into a short, curly top, and longer hair into a full head of curls. A shaved or bald head has nothing to curl, so that one won't work.
My hair is already curly. Will it work?
Yes. It gives you a bigger, bouncier version of your own curls, so the change is smaller. Very tight coils may come out looser than they really are, because the effect is built around a straight-to-curly change; straight or wavy hair shows it most.
Can I use it to see if a perm suits me?
As a rough idea, yes; as a promise, no. How a real perm takes depends on your hair's length, thickness and history, which is a question for a stylist.
Is it a live camera filter like Snapchat or Instagram?
No. It makes a new 5-second video from one photo. It can't curl a video you've already filmed or work through your camera live.
How long is the video, and does it have music?
5 seconds, like the samples on the other sites. It comes with a springy sound as the curls form, a laugh and outdoor ambience, and no music, so add your own sound in TikTok when you post.
Can I do it with a friend or my pet?
It's one person per video, from your own photo, and there's no pet version. For two of you, make one each.
What photo works best?
One sharp photo of you facing the camera, chest up, well lit, hair down and fully in view, with no hat, headband or sunglasses. More tips are in our photo guide.
Is my photo kept?
For 30 days, then it's deleted automatically, and it's never used to train AI. You can delete everything sooner with Delete my data on Your videos; the details are in our safety guide.
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Independent tool. Not affiliated with TikTok, the creators of the trend posts, or the rights holders of the songs. Only upload people who agreed to be in it.