Heatless curls – How to curl your hair without heat

Do you want to try heatless curls to get curly hair or beautiful beach waves? This method means that you no longer need to use curling irons that damage your hair. We have gathered our best tips on how to do heatless curls so you can get beautiful curls without hot styling tools. Keep on reading!

Lay the foundation for heatless curls 

You have probably seen the trend with heatless curls on Instagram or Tiktok and want to try it yourself. But before you get started and try any of the methods to get curly hair without heat, there are some hair products that will help you get the best result possible.

Start your hair care routine by washing your hair with a shampoo and conditioner made for your hair type, as different hairs have different needs. For example, if you have damaged hair, it is good to add moisture and reduce frizz before curling it. To lay the foundation for beautiful and shiny curls, you can also use a fast-acting hair treatment that replaces both conditioner and hair mask. Maria Nila's Booster Masques are an addition to our hair care ranges that provide luster and moisture, so your hair is ready to be curled.

If you have thin and fine hair, you can apply a sea salt spray to the lengths to give the hair more texture. This gives more hold to the curls and helps to give the hair volume. If you have dry hair, you can instead apply a few drops of hair oil to the lengths to add moisture and shine. If you do heatless curls on damp hair, you can also apply a hair mousse for more hold. After you have curled your hair and brushed it out, you can use a hairspray like the nourishing Finishing Spray to make the curls last longer.

4 easy ways to get no heat curls

If you want to try curling your hair without any heat, there are several ways to create the look without having to use styling tools that can damage the hair. You can start from both newly washed and slightly damp hair or with completely dry hair, and keep in mind that the result will be better if it is allowed to sit overnight. We have gathered 4 easy methods for heatless curls and our best tips here!

1. Sock curls – curl your hair with socks

Heatless curls don't require you to get any special tools – you can actually get curly hair with the help of something as common as a sock! 

1. Part your hair in sections. If you have thick hair you might need several sections but otherwise you can part your hair in two.
2. Take a sock and make sure the opening is pointed down towards the ends of the hair. If you think it’s hard to get the sock to stay in place you can secure it with a hairclip at the top. 
3. Wrap the hair around the sock away from the face. 
4. Wrap the sock opening around the end of the hair and secure it with a hair tie. 
5. Repeat for all hair sections.
6. Wait overnight or for a couple of hours before shaking out the curls. 

2. Heatless curls with a robe belt 

Curling your hair with a bathrobe belt has become a popular way of getting curly hair without any heat. If you don’t have a bathrobe you can use another thick and long piece of fabric, like a scarf. This is how you get great curls with a belt: 

1. Part your hair so you have two sections. 
2. Place the belt across the top of your head and secure it with a hair clip in the middle.  
3. Take a piece of hair from the front and wrap around the belt away from your face.
4. Repeat by taking a piece of hair under and wrapping around the belt and continue with the rest of your hair. 
5. If you want curls with more volume you can wrap the back of the hair in the opposite direction, similar to when you make a French braid. 
6. Secure with a hair tie, preferably a scrunchie or in a fabric that is more gentle to the hair than rubber. 
7. Leave the bathrobe belt on for a couple of hours or overnight before removing. 

3. Hair rollers – get big heatless curls 

A method that can work better in damp hair is the traditional hair rollers. Hair rollers are also a great method for creating more voluminous curls. 

1. Part your hair into sections to make it more manageable and easier to work through. 
2. Take a piece of hair and wrap around the roller from the ends of the hair up towards the scalp. Dispensing on the look you want, you can roll towards your face or away from it – or mix for a more natural looking result.
3. Secure the hair roller with a hairpin closest to the scalp.
4. Leave them in for a couple of hours or until your hair has dried. 

4. Curl your hair with braids – beach waves without heat 

Braiding your hair in loose braids is the classic method of getting wavy hair without heat and is also a good option if you find it difficult to sleep with socks, belts or hair rollers in your hair. Unlike the other methods, braids create the look of relaxed beach waves, but without damaging the hair like hot styling tools.

Why you should curl your hair without any heat

Heatless curls haven't just become trendy because it's all over social media, there are actually several benefits for curling your hair without heat!

1. It is less damaging to the hair. Skipping the curling iron means that you don’t expose your hair to high heat that dries out and damages the hair. Heatless curls are a smart way to get a stylish look while getting rid of dry and frizzy hair.
2. It's easy and saves time. Are you tired of spending time every morning styling your hair and it always taking longer than you thought? The methods for creating heatless curls are both simple and only take a couple of minutes to prepare. If you sleep with your curls, you only need a minute in the morning to brush out your hair and get perfect curls!
3. It's an inexpensive way to curl your hair. High-quality hot styling tools are often expensive and you need to replace them when they break. Heatless curls use things you already have at home, which saves a lot of money while getting good results.
4. You can style curly hair in many ways. With the different methods of making heatless curls, you can create big Hollywood curls or beach waves to get the look that best suits you.

Curl short hair without heat 

You don't have to have long hair to get in on the heatless curls trend, it's also possible to curl short hair without heat. To get good results, we have some tricks that you can keep in mind:

• Use a scarf, preferably in a silky material that reduces frizz, instead of the belt from a bathrobe. You can then wrap the hair several times around for tighter curls and don’t have to have the long sash in the way
• Invest in thinner hair rollers if you want to try the roller method. Large rollers will add more volume than curls in short hair, so narrower coils create more defined curls.