How To Get Heatless Curls

Are you tired of spending hours meticulously styling your hair using a hot curling tool? Have you started to notice signs of styling damage and hoping to give your luscious locks a well-needed heat detox? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

We’ve all become guilty of putting a heavy reliance on heat to perfectly style our hair each morning, simply due to its complete convenience and ability to get the task done super quick. However, you would be surprised how many alternative methods there are capable of achieving gorgeous curls using absolutely no heat! For some inspiration and easy tutorials, take a look at our top five techniques to guide you through how to get heatless curls!

How To Get Heatless Curls: Top 5 Methods

There are many different tell-tale signs that your hair is starting to suffer from your excess use of heat. Not only will your hair begin to appear dull with a rough texture, but you’ll also begin experiencing split ends and breakages – a massive no-no if you’re on a quest to grow your locks! Once your hair has started to become brittle and eventually break, unfortunately, no deep-conditioning mask is capable of repairing the damage; the only solution is to trim the ends and remove breakages altogether!

Having treated damaged hair in our hair salon in Milton Keynes for many years, we have picked up our fair share of handy tips to achieve effortlessly stunning curls, without the need to apply any heat. So, we thought we’d take you through our top five methods to nail healthy, heatless curls!

Method 1: The Pony and Pin

•  Pull all of your hair back and tie it into a high ponytail – don’t worry about being too neat and tidy as the ponytail is just to make the process quicker!
• Grab a small section of your ponytail, around one inch thick and lightly spray the section with water. Make sure that the hair is damp, not wet. If the hair is too wet, it will be unable to dry fully.
• Take your index and middle finger. Wrap the damp section of hair around the two fingers the same as you would do so when using a curling tong.
• Remove the fingers from the hair while holding the curl in place with the other hand.
• Secure the curl against your scalp using a small alligator clip.
• Grab a second one-inch section of hair, do the same process, but this time using just your middle finger. Secure in place using a clip.
• Continue to curl the remainder of your ponytail, section by section, alternating between one and two fingers. Alternating between smaller and larger curls will create a more natural, textured wave.
• Once the entire ponytail has been curled and clipped, allow a few hours for the hair to dry.
• Only when the hair is completely dry can you begin removing the clips one by one to unpin your curls.
• Carefully take down your ponytail without flattening your curls and voila!

If you’re looking for a little extra guidance when experimenting with the ‘Pony and Pin’ method, Luxy Hair has a super easy YouTube tutorial that we’ve added below!

Method 2: The Traditional ‘Rag’ Curls

• For the ‘Rag’ curl method, you will need clean, damp hair.
• Gather together any old cloth that you can find; this can be anything from old t-shirts to towels. As long as the material is soft and flexible, they will work perfectly.
• Cut the cloth into strips of around 1 inch thick and 15 inches long. The longer your hair, the longer the rags will need to be.
• Thoroughly comb out your hair making sure it is completely tangle-free.
• Starting from the front of your hair, separate a small section. The size of the section will depend on how tight you want the curls to be. For ringlets, go for a 1-inch section and for bouncy waves, opt for a 6-inch section.
• Starting from the end of the hair, wrap the section loosely around the middle of the rag towards the scalp.
• Once you reach your scalp, grab the two ends of the rag and tie into a knot.
• Move onto the next section and continue until all hair is tied in rags.
• Leave the rags in the hair overnight to dry and carefully unwrap the next morning.

Method 3: The Headband Twist

• When using ‘The Headband Twist’ method, it is your choice as to whether you opt for freshly washed damp hair or spray the hair as you go.
• Thoroughly brush hair out and separate into two.
• Place a fabric headwrap-style headband over your head on top of the hair.
• Grab the first section and twist the hair away from your face.
• Wrap the twisted hair over and then under the headwrap.
• Continue to twist and wrap until you reach the end of your hair.
• Do the same process on the second section of hair.
• Optional: For extra hold, hairspray the hair.
• Allow the hair to completely dry and then remove from the headband.
• Open up the waves for a bouncy look.

Method 4: The Braided Mermaid Waves

• Put your hair into a middle parting and separate the hair into two down the back of your head.
• Clip or tie one side of the hair out of the way.
• Using the second side, grab a small section of hair in the front, it will be in the shape of a triangle.
• Split this small section into three as if you were doing a normal braid.
• Take the top strand and cross it over and into the middle.
• Take the bottom strand and cross it over and into the middle.
• Continue to take the top then bottom strands, cross over and into the middle, but grab a small amount of hair from the same side each time.
• Repeat until the entire section has been braided.
• Do the same process on the second side of the hair.
• Keep the braids in the hair overnight and carefully take out in the morning! Your dream mermaid waves will be waiting for you!

If you’re new to braiding your hair and feeling a little overwhelmed, not to worry – we love this step-by-step tutorial on how to french braid by Everyday Hair Inspiration!

Method 5: The Flexi Rod Ringlets

• Make sure that your hair has been thoroughly de-tangled.
• To make rolling Flexi Rods easier, start from the bottom of the hair and work your way up. Separate a layer of hair around the bottom of the scalp around 1-inch high and tie the remaining hair at the top of your head.
• To maximise ringlets, spritz the hair with water so it is a little damp and then apply a styling product of your choice; this can be a gel or spray. Together, these will help the ringlets to set and curl quicker.
• Grab a small section of the layer, place the Flexi Rod at the bottom of the hair and roll upwards.
• Once at the root, bend the rod to keep the hair in place.
• Allow the hair to completely dry and then unroll the Flexi Rods beginning at the back and working your way to the front.

For a super easy-to-follow tutorial on how to roll Flexi Rods, take a look at Naturally Chea on YouTube!

Heatless Curls Are As Easy As That!

Now that Summer is approaching; there is no excuse for using heat to achieve gorgeous beachy waves whether you hair is long or short! You can consider creating longer hair to create long beachy waves by getting hair extensions in Milton Keynes! Finding the best heatless curls method for you may take a little bit of experimentation, but it will most definitely be worth it. The easiest way to guarantee long-lasting curls is to leave your chosen technique in your hair overnight while you sleep.

We hope that you have loved the five heatless curl methods mentioned as much as our hairdressers in Milton Keynes do! If so, why not share with your loved ones on social media?