Heatless curls are the future

Or at least my future

Hey guys, I’m trying something new this week. Please use the comments section of this post as a space to ask any questions you might have about all things beauty—skincare, makeup, haircare, the industry, shopping…whatever your heart desires! I’m going to answer them in next week’s newsletter. <3

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Based on what I’ve put my hair through over the years—red, platinum blonde, black, back to blonde—you might think my hair is quite durable, but it’s actually remarkably sensitive. I’ve lived with a bob for most of my adult life, and only in the last year-or-so have I taken on the incredible burden of growing it out below my shoulder. Aesthetically I’m into it, especially now that I’m a redhead—when I had a short, red bob many years ago I felt like a Chucky doll, but at it’s current length, there’s something a bit more mermaid-esque about it. The only downside is that now I actually have to style it, something I didn’t have to worry about much with my short bob. Even if my bob got a little frizzy, it still looked cute and put-together. But now, without any styling, my hair just looks poofy, so I find myself reaching for hot tools more than I ever have in my life. The good news is, I’m getting really good at styling. You wouldn’t believe what I’m capable of doing with a thermal brush in under ten minutes! But I’m starting to notice the beginnings of some heat damage—drier ends and a ton of flyaways. I have a rigorous shower-care routine: I do deep conditioning treatments, use K18, and fancy heat protectant sprays, but I know my hair, and she’s basically kindly asking me to give it a rest.

When it came to heatless curls, the main method I kept seeing online involved those big satin bands—you know, the kind you lay across the top of your head and wrap your hair around. And honestly, based on all the videos I’ve watched, they really do seem to work. But that particular technique just doesn’t give me the type of curl I’m after. Wrapping your hair around those satin bands creates big, ultra-bouncy, voluminous curls—which look amazing, just not on me. And that’s hand-to-heart, not me being shady. It’s actually perfect for someone like my sister, whose super long, blonde hair totally pulls off that high-volume, Cindy Crawford blowout look. For whatever reason—maybe it’s my hair type, or more specifically, my haircut—those softer, wavier curls and more subtle blowout styles just suit me better.

After scouring the internet, I experimented with a bunch of different heatless curl techniques. Some were just completely tragic, but after plenty of trial and error, I actually stumbled upon two methods that really work for me. I now do them religiously before bed. And neither require any gadgets you have to purchase online, you just need your full heart and pure intentions.

Sock curls for a non-dramatic blowout effect

Difficulty Level: Easy
If you’re new to heatless curls, or just bad at doing hair in general, this is a fabulous place to start, because this technique is really easy. To do the sock curl method, take a long sock and place the toe end in your mouth to anchor it. Then wrap your hair around the length of the sock, making sure you are wrapping it away from your face. Once all the hair is wrapped down to the ends, secure it by either rolling up the sock, or tying it with a scrunchie or hair tie (this will be a better way of securing it). For more defined curls, do this on damp or wet hair, but I actually prefer to do it on air-dried hair because it’s a bit more subtle. This will give a blowout effect just at the ends of your hair. So the top of your hair will be unaffected, but the bottom will have these waves and a flick at the end— it’s a blowout look without all that volume at the top. If you’re a visual learner, such as myself, click here to watch the video tutorial that taught me how to do this.

It's kind of a light blowout

French twists for messy, I-didn’t-do-anything-to-my-hair waves

Difficulty level: Medium
I can’t even lie, this took me a few tries to get right. My first attempt was a disaster—my sister, as she’s wont to do, quickly humbled me by asking “woah what the hell happened to your hair?” But after a few attempts (and coming to terms with the fact that this technique works so much better on dry hair versus damp or wet), I finally got it down, and now I do this all the time. As you can see from the photo, this gives a very different curl to the sock technique—it’s messier, more effortless looking, and wavier, rather than a full on blowout. I’m sure many of you reading this have hair that naturally air dries like this—not I! Mine dries pin straight, super frizzy, and poofy, so these curls just add some much needed shape and definition.

Messier, undone waves.

To get these overnight, heatless waves with French twists, start with two little sections at your hairline (I leave my bangs out). Twist one side away from your face, gradually adding small pieces of hair as you move down. Continue twisting to the ends, secure with an elastic, and go to bed. Unravel your twists in the morning and you’ll have effortless, undone waves that look pretty while still looking like you’ve put in barely any effort. I realized that the looser I do the twists, the more natural it looks in the morning—if I do it too tight it starts to look a little crimped and weird. I had to watch a video tutorial about a gazillion times in order to get it down. Here’s the video tutorial I found the most helpful.

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