Heatless Curls
Heatless curls have been cropping up around the internet for quite some time now, and I mean… they’re not exactly new! Various YouTubers and influencers have been showing us the tools and techniques over the past few years on how to achieve luscious curls without the heat (I’m not talking about rollers!).
But in recent months heatless curls have seemed to have taken the online world by storm, and become viral on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. So let’s take a look into them!
How heat damages the hair
A lot of people think that the hotter the iron or dryer, the better the styling, but this isn’t necessarily true. Heat exposure actually changes the shape of the keratin stands in your hair, so it changes from ⍺-keratin to β-keratin, which can result in hair with less elasticity and become weaker and prone to damage. If the hair is regularly exposed to heat, the hair strands will maintain the shape of the damaged keratin strands and can’t be reversed.
Heat exposure can…
- Strip natural oils from your hair and evaporate water molecules which change the structure of your hair protein, and dry out your hair.
- Cause split ends due to the heat opening up shingles in your hair cuticles, which also creates more opportunity for moisture to escape.
- Give you porous hair, which reduces elasticity and makes your hair more easily damaged.
What are heatless curls?
The clue is kind of in the name! Heatless curls are, well… curls, but without the heat!
It’s essentially a way of getting gorgeous, bouncy curls but without damaging your hair – sounds crazy right? But it really does work! There’s a ton of different tools and methods that people use to achieve those beachy waves or cute coiled curls that a lot of people want.
Why are they so popular?
So what makes them so popular? It could be a number of things, but I suppose the main thing that people are losing their minds over with these heatless curls is the fact that you don’t have to burn your hair off to an inch of its life in order to have curly hair.
Not only do they give you beautiful hair, it seems that this method is much faster and saves a lot of time! We’ve all been there right? Trying to curl our own hair can take up soo much time when we’re trying to get ready, but with heatless curls you just wrap your hair around a silk headband, hit the hay and wake up with your dream curls (you could even just wear it for a few hours whilst you get ready!).
It’s really that simple, you just twist small sections of your hair (either wet or dry) around the headband, then use silk scrunchies to hold it all in place. It really seems too good to be true right?!
Achieving heatless curls
There are many different heatless curl kits on the market (all at different price points, from £3 to £50!) that include either satin or silk headbands, along with scrunchies to keep things held in place (pictured to the left is the heatless curl kit by ‘the big silk’).
What’s the difference between silk and satin? Well, essentially silk is the fibre, whereas satin is the actual weave. Silk is known to reduce frizz and create smoother hair due to the reduced friction. That’s why silk pillowcases are often recommended to those prone to frizzy hair. However, satin is less expensive but may be made of polyester, which still can help reduce frizz but may not be as effective as the silk products.
The heatless curl method is definitely one to keep your eye on, why not give it a try? There’s a lot of talk that the technique to twist your hair is more difficult than it looks, especially on shorter hair. But with practice, you’ll achieve those heatless curls in no time.
