25 Best Curly Hair CC for The Sims 4 (Maxis Match, 2026)

If you have spent any time customizing Sims, you already know the base game’s curl options are limited. Most default curly textures clip through hats, look flat under certain lighting, or only come in a handful of lengths. That gap is exactly why the Sims 4 custom content (CC) community has spent years building better curly hairstyles, and by 2026 there are hundreds of well made options to choose from.

This guide rounds up 25 of the best curly hair CC picks for The Sims 4, organized by who they are for (women, men, and kids), tells you exactly which creator made each one and where to find it, and walks you through installing CC correctly so your game does not crash the first time you load a save.

What Makes Good Curly Hair CC in The Sims 4?

Not all curly hair CC is created equal. Before you download anything, it helps to know what separates a hairstyle you will actually use from one that sits in your Mods folder untouched. A handful of things matter most:

• Art style match. Maxis Match (MM) CC is built to look like it belongs in the base game, with soft shading and simplified strands. Alpha CC is closer to real-life hair texture and detail, but it can look out of place unless your whole save uses Alpha content and a reshade.
• Swatch count. Good curly hair CC usually ships with a full EA-style color swatch set (dozens of natural and fantasy shades), not just three or four colors.
• Hat and accessory compatibility. A lot of curly hairstyles clip badly through hats, hoods, and headphones because the curl volume sits outside the game’s default hair-mesh boundaries.
• Age and gender range. The best packs cover toddlers through elders, and increasingly, masculine curl frames as well as feminine ones, since that used to be a real gap in the CC scene.
• Whether it needs a mesh or is a recolor. A brand-new mesh changes the underlying hair shape; a recolor just retextures an existing EA or CC hair. Both are useful, but they are not interchangeable.

How to Install Custom Content for The Sims 4

If you are new to CC, installing it correctly the first time will save you a lot of frustration. According to EA’s own support guide, the process is:

1. Download the hair file, then unzip it if it is a .zip or .rar.
2. Go to your Documents folder, then Electronic Arts > The Sims 4. If there is no “Mods” folder already, create one.
3. Drop the unzipped .package (and .bmp thumbnail, if included) directly into the Mods folder. Sims 4 only reads one folder level deep by default, so avoid burying files too many subfolders in.
4. Launch the game, open Game Options > Other, and make sure “Enable Custom Content and Mods” is checked.
5. Fully restart The Sims 4 (not just reload the save) so the new content registers in Create a Sim.

EA is clear that it does not “pre-screen, endorse, or support specific Mods or Custom Content,” so only download from creators with an established track record, and note that mods and CC only work on PC and Mac, not on console.

25 Best Curly Hair CC Picks for The Sims 4 (2026)

Curly Hair CC for Female Sims

1. Despina Curly Ponytail by Simstrouble – A high, bouncy curly ponytail with a full swatch set. Simstrouble is one of the most consistently active Maxis Match creators still uploading new hair CC in 2026, and this one holds its curl shape well from most camera angles.
2. Short Curly Bob with Bangs by Okruee – A face-framing bob with tight curls and a soft fringe. Works nicely on both teen and adult sims and layers under most headwear without heavy clipping.
3. Y2K Curly Hair with Clips by Greenllamas – Butterfly-clip curls in the early-2000s style, one of Greenllamas’ more popular recent uploads. Comes with EA-matching swatches, which makes it easy to slot into an existing save.
4. Half-Up Curly Hair with Scrunchie by Clumsyalien – Half-up, half-down curls tied with a scrunchie. A good everyday option if you want volume without a full updo.
5. Short Curly Hair with Dyed Ends by Simstrouble – Similar base shape to Simstrouble’s other curly sets, but with a two-tone dye option baked into several swatches, which is handy if you want an edgier sim without hunting for a separate recolor.
6. Curly Hair Updo by Okruee – A pulled-back curly updo that reads as formal or professional. Useful for townies you want to look put-together without a full glam hairstyle.
7. Trendy Curly Hair with Clip by Greenllamas – Loose curls with a single decorative clip, styled for a casual-but-current look rather than a costume-party curl.
8. Curly Hair Child CC Pack by Naevys Sims – A multi-style pack built specifically for child sims, which matters because, as several CC roundups note, good curly hair for kids and male sims has historically been underserved compared to adult female options.
9. Curly Hair with Bangs by Simstrouble – Similar shape to Simstrouble’s bob but with fuller front bangs, giving you a second option from the same creator if you like their curl sculpting but want a different face frame.
10. Short Curly Bob by Wondercarlotta – A tighter, rounder bob shape than Okruee’s version above, useful if you want variety between sims in the same household.
11. Curly Hair with a Braid by Simstrouble – Combines a single side braid with loose curls elsewhere, a detail that is harder to find well-executed in CC than it sounds.
12. Curly Hair CC Pack by Okruee – A bundled set rather than a single style, useful if you want to fill out a save’s hair variety in one download instead of five.

Curly Hair CC for Male Sims

13. Curly Hair with Center Part by Simcelebrity00 – A tighter, close-to-the-head curl pattern that reads as a natural male hairstyle rather than a stylized one, hosted on The Sims Resource.
14. Male Curly Hair by Okruee – Medium-length curls with natural volume; part of the reason Okruee is repeatedly recommended across CC roundups is that their male curl shapes hold up under most hats.
15. Messy Male Curly Hair by Okruee – A looser, more textured take on curls for male sims who want a lived-in look rather than a groomed one.
16. Wavy Male Hair by Okruee – Sits between straight and fully curly, useful for sims with looser curl patterns rather than tight coils.
17. Male Curly Hair by Qwertysims – A shorter curl style aimed at teen and young-adult male sims.

Curly Hair CC for Kids and Toddlers

18. Curly Hair Dump by Naevys Sims (second set) – Additional child-specific curly styles from the same creator referenced above; Naevys Sims is one of the few creators focusing consistently on this age range.
19. Kinky Curly Hair Updo by Okruee – A protective-style updo suited to tighter curl and coil patterns, which is still a smaller category in the CC scene than looser curls.

More Curly Styles Worth Downloading

20. Long Wavy Curly Hair by Simstrouble – A longer length option from Simstrouble for players who find most curly CC too short.
21. Long Wavy Hair by Aharris00britney – Loose, voluminous waves rather than tight curls, useful as a middle-ground option.
22. Short Curly Hair (Unisex) by Simstrouble – A cropped curl style designed to work on any gender preset.
23. Short Curly Hair by Wild-pixel – A compact curl shape with good clipping behavior under glasses and smaller headwear.
24. Preppy Curly Hair with Headband by Greenllamas – Curls paired with a built-in headband accessory, good for school-uniform or academy-style saves.
25. Thick Curly Hair by Simstrouble – A denser curl silhouette for sims who want more visual volume than the average CC curl provides.

Maxis Match vs. Alpha Curly Hair CC: Which Should You Pick?

Most of the picks above are Maxis Match, and that is deliberate. Maxis Match CC is built to blend with EA’s cartoon-leaning art style, so it looks consistent whether a sim is wearing base-game clothes or a CC outfit. Alpha CC, by contrast, uses more realistic shading and detail, and generally looks best when your whole save (skins, eyes, clothing) is also Alpha and you are running a reshade mod. If you mix a single Alpha hairstyle into an otherwise Maxis Match save, it will usually stand out in a way that looks unintentional rather than stylish. Decide which look you want for your whole game first, then filter your hair CC choices to match, rather than picking hair and clothing CC independently of each other.

Common Problems With Curly Hair CC (and How to Fix Them)

• Hat and hood clipping. This is the most common complaint with voluminous curly hair. Some creators upload a separate “hat compatible” version of the same style with reduced volume at the crown; check the download page or the creator’s Tumblr/Patreon tags before assuming a style is not hat-friendly. If no compatible version exists, a hair-hat blacklist mod can hide hats automatically when incompatible hair is selected.
• Missing thumbnails or a hair that will not show up in CAS. This is almost always a Mods-folder-depth issue. The Sims 4 only scans a limited number of subfolder levels by default; keep CC no more than a couple of folders deep, or use a mod manager that flattens the structure for you.
• Texture flickering or a hair that looks “melted.” This is typically a sign the CC was made for an older game patch. Re-download from the creator’s current page rather than an old mirror or a reuploaded pack, since abandoned mirrors are the most common source of outdated files.
• Two hairstyles behaving identically or overwriting each other. This happens when two different creators use the same internal file name. Renaming one of the .package files (not the mesh reference inside it, just the file name) usually resolves the conflict.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sims 4 curly hair CC free?

Most of it is. The majority of creators listed above post their curly hair CC for free on Tumblr, with some also offering early access to Patreon supporters before a public release. A smaller amount, particularly on The Sims Resource, is uploaded directly for free download as well.

Does curly hair CC work on console?

No. Custom content and mods for The Sims 4 are only supported on PC and Mac. PlayStation and Xbox versions of the game cannot use CC hairstyles.

What is the difference between a hair “mesh” and a hair “recolor”?

A mesh is a brand-new 3D hairstyle shape. A recolor takes an existing mesh (either from the base game or from another creator’s CC) and simply changes its color swatches. Recolors need the original mesh installed to work; standalone meshes do not.

Why does my curly hair CC look shiny or plastic-like?

This is usually a normal-map or specular setting baked into the file by the creator, and it is more common in Alpha CC than Maxis Match. A shader or reshade mod can tone this down game-wide if it bothers you across multiple hairstyles.

Can I use curly hair CC on toddlers and elders, or only teens and adults?

It depends entirely on the individual file. Many creators only rig a hair for the Teen through Elder age groups because toddlers and children use a different body rig. Always check the creator’s post for the exact age range listed before downloading if you specifically need child or toddler-compatible hair.

Final Thoughts

The curly hair CC scene for The Sims 4 has grown a lot, but coverage is still uneven: female adult curls are everywhere, while male and child curly styles remain comparatively rare, which is why a few of the picks above specifically fill that gap. Start with two or three creators whose curl shape you like (Simstrouble and Okruee are a safe starting point given how frequently they update), install them properly using the Mods-folder steps above, and build your CC folder out from there rather than downloading everything at once.

If you are into curly hair outside of The Sims as well, our guides on curly hair care tips for beginners and choosing a hair color that works with your curls cover the real-life version of a lot of what makes these CC picks look good in the first place.