How to Wear a Baseball Cap With Curly Hair (No Flat Roots)
How to Wear a Baseball Cap With Curly Hair (No Flat Roots)
If you've been personally victimized by flat roots and frizz because of a baseball hat, curly girl, you are so not alone. I used to think hats and curls just didn't mix. Like, pick one. But I finally found a fix that goes way further than satin lining your cap, and I'm walking you through it, plus 3 hairstyles that actually hold up under a hat.
Why do baseball caps ruin curly hair?
A ball cap is built for straight hair. It's a snug circle with no room for volume, so the second you put it on, your roots get crushed flat and your curls at the hairline get smashed into frizz. Satin lining your hat helps with friction, but it does nothing about the actual shape problem. Your curls need space the cap just doesn't have.
This is where a lot of curly girls give up on hats entirely, which honestly, fair. But you don't have to.
Is satin lining a hat enough to protect curly hair?
No, and this is the part people get wrong. Satin lining reduces friction and frizz, which is great, but it does not fix the fit. Your hat still sits directly on your scalp with zero room for your curls to breathe or hold their shape. That's a fit problem, not a fabric problem, and it needs a fit solution. 👇
What is Ball Cap Remix and how does it work?
Ball Cap Remix is a clear insert that clips into the inside of any standard baseball cap and basically turns it into a headband hat. You slide the two smaller prongs in at the top and the side prongs in on either side, and it transforms the cap's shape to make room for big, curly, or textured hair.
A few things I genuinely love about it:
- Crystal clear design, so it's undetectable once it's in your hair
- Snug but comfortable fit, I could move around all day and it stayed put
- Lightweight and durable, it's not going to snap on you
- Has grip built in, so it stays gripped to your hair no matter your texture
The bonus nobody tells you about? It actually gave me more volume, not less, because of the way the grooves grip the hair instead of smashing it down.
Does hat hair look different depending on your Hair Finish™?
Kind of, yes. If you have a soft finish, your curls fall flat easily anyway, so a regular hat is basically begging your roots to go limp for the rest of the day. A lift-first insert like this one is doing a lot of heavy lifting for you.
If you have a rough finish, your curls are more resistant to falling flat, but you'll feel it more in frizz and shrinkage right at the hairline where the cap sits. The insert helps here too, just less about volume and more about not smashing your curl pattern into a weird straight line.
Medium finish curls tend to get a bit of both, some flattening at the crown and some frizz at the edges, so you'll want to style with a bit of extra hold before you put the hat on either way.
[INTERNAL LINK: link to your hat hair or hot weather curl care post here, if you make one]
3 curly hairstyles that actually work under a baseball cap
Here are the three ways I wore it that I'm obsessed with. All three work with the Ball Cap Remix in place.
- Hair down. Slide the insert in like a headband, let your curls fall over it, and enjoy the extra volume. This is the move if you just washed your hair and want to show off the shape.
- Half up, half down. Leave your bangs or face-framing pieces out, split the rest of your hair, cross one section over the other, and clip with a mini claw clip. Fan your hair over the clip. It's fancy enough for a coffee run and takes about 30 seconds.
- Curly bun. Loosely gather your hair into a ponytail, twist it around itself into a low bun, and set it with one more ponytail holder over the top. If you're leaving bangs out, slide the insert's prongs in around them so they don't get pushed back.
I actually go through the full walkthrough of all three styles in this video, so if you want to see it in motion, that's the one to watch. 🌀
[INTERNAL LINK: link to a protective curly styles post here, if you make one]
Do I still need this if my hair is short?
Yes. The insert works for any length as long as your hair is textured, because the whole issue is volume and shape, not length. Shorter curls flatten just as fast under a regular cap, sometimes faster since there's less hair to prop the fabric up.
Can I wear this every day?
You can, it's built to be durable and it doesn't add bulk, so it's not going to wear out from daily use the way a cheap insert might.
Will it work with any baseball cap I already own?
Yes, it's made to fit inside a standard ball cap, so you don't need to buy a special hat to go with it. Just clip it into whatever's already in your closet.
Does it actually stay hidden once it's in my hair?
It does. The clear design is the whole point. Nobody can tell it's there unless they know to look for it.
Where can I get one?
You can grab Ball Cap Remix directly from Cap Creations. It's $24.99 and made in the USA.
Curly girl, hat season doesn't have to mean sacrificing your curls. If you want more of this kind of practical, no-guesswork curl education every month, plus the products that actually go with your Hair Finish™, that's exactly what's waiting for you inside the box. Subscribe to Curls Monthly and stop choosing between your hair and your hat. 💛