Twist, roll and curl your way to beautiful hair with these heatless DIY methods

There are plenty of ways to achieve soft waves without heat. Photo: Mise En Scene

Styling your own hair blew up as a trend during peak pandemic lockdown days, and is still going strong even after life started to return to normal.

While going to a professional hair stylist in a salon is probably still the best way to get your desired curly ‘do, there will be days when DIY best suits your situation.

Curling irons and diffusers are a great way to achieve at-home curls, but heat can be damaging to your hair in the long run.

Here are several trends making waves online that promote DIY curls, without using heat.

Braiding your hair and leaving it on overnight is one of the easiest ways to wake up with curls in the morning. Photo: InstagramArts With Ronnie

Going old school

You might have grown up watching your mother or grandmother painstakingly putting rollers into their hair every night, and recently these old-school rollers have made a major comeback.

Thanks to online tutorials, velcro rollers are all the rage again, and for good reason – they are a more affordable option than going to the salon, or buying a curling iron.

They are pretty straightforward to use too: just roll sections of damp hair from the bottom up into each roller, and secure it with a pin.

Leave your hair to dry for at least three hours or overnight, and unroll them carefully before applying hairspray for some extra hold.

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Soft waves

Foam, sponge or cushion rollers, many wrapped in satin or silk, materials known to retain the hair’s moisture to create smooth curls.

One example that’s fresh on the market is Fii Beauty’s Cloud Curler, a curling scrunchie made with mulberry silk that creates natural curls without the use of heat.

Curlers like these usually deliver better and longer-lasting curls if you use them overnight, however depending on your hair, several can be worn for a few hours to help you achieve those coveted romantic waves.

There are plenty of tutorials online on how to wrap your hair around these rollers, and usually you’ll only need a bit of hairspray once you unroll to maintain the curls.

Twisting your hair into Bantu knots are a great way to achieve bouncy curls. Photo: Instagram/Maeve Nonye

Bouncy curls

There are several ways to achieve tight, bouncy curls, and using Bantu knots (or Chiney bumps, a South African style), is one of the best ways to get this hairstyle.

Whether your hair is short and textured or long and straight, this ‘do promises to deliver bouncy curls when you unravel the knots.

Tutorials will recommend that you part your hair into sections before applying a styling product. Then, proceed to twist your hair, wrapping it around itself to form a knot, and tuck the ends of your hair into the bottom of the knot.

Leave it to dry and then take down the knots, fluffing your hair out with a wide-tooth comb.

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Overnight braids

The easiest way to wake up with wavy hair is a method most of us learned as schoolchildren – good old braids.

Wash, condition and towel dry your hair, and then braid it according to the curls you want to wake up with.

For looser waves, do one large braid, and for a tighter effect, opt for a few smaller braids, recommends makeup.com.

When you undo the braids in the morning, run through your hair with your fingers and if you need to tame any frizz, smooth on some hair oil.