I tried every viral heatless curl method (so you don't have to)
A love letter to the power of rods, socks and headbands.
What if — for the small price of looking absolutely *insane* for up to 12 hours — you could have big, bouncy, voluminous curls without enduring any heat damage?
That's the life I've been living ever since I discovered the treasure trove of heatless curl methods awaiting me on TikTok. Over the past few years, my wavy-straight blonde hair (AKA an unpredictable mess) has endured experiments with rods, socks, leggings, and anything else the internet swore would deliver that effortless, shiny blowout every influencer flaunts.
Unsurprisingly, my results have varied. But my experimentation has led me to the perfect formula to produce the curls of my dreams without frying my ends to hell with a flat iron or drowning my hair in product.
Before we get into my findings, though, I'll preface that what has worked for my hair definitely doesn't work on everyone. My results are based on my hair type: I have medium-length, fine, layered hair that I wash every other day. It's definitely not straight. (But not curly either?)
Now, let’s get to it:
Method 1: The rod-and-scrunchie combo
These Amazon bestsellers were basically unavoidable coming out of the pandemic, and I was gifted one for my 22nd birthday. Reminiscent of a mini pool noodle, these rods are bendable, yet firm and come with two scrunchies and a small claw clip. Simply clip the rod to the top of your head and twist thick strands of hair around each side, securing it with a scrunchie at each end.
Yes, you’ll look a bit like Cindy Lou Who, but the payoff is worth it. In as little as four hours, I’ve achieved defined, long-lasting curls. However, sleeping in these? Not for the faint of heart (or anyone who moves in their sleep). My workaround? Wearing them during the day while working from home. Bonus: You can slide the rod through a Velcro roller for extra face-framing volume — perfect for bangs.
There’s also the unicorn method, where you lay the rod along your part for side-sleeping convenience. I’ve tried—and failed—multiple times to make this work. Seriously, how are people pulling this off?
Rating: 8/10
Method 2: Socks
No rods or rollers? No problem. If you have crew socks, you have curls. Or... at least a convincing blowout, from my experience.
Simply roll up your 80%-dry hair with these babies just like you would a roller and you'll give yourself plenty of volume after a few hours — they work especially well in a pinch for bangs. But as for a reliable curl, I can't credit socks very much. Just like with rollers, they aren't particularly effective in that department unless you're applying heat, too.
Rating: 6/10
Method 3: Leggings
I turned to this method in a moment of desperation on vacation, sans rods or tools. Unfortunately, the results were underwhelming. Leggings are just too thin for effective wrapping, and the resulting curls looked more like waves from a loose braid — fine, but far from glamorous. Worse, my hair ended up frizzy and flat.
Rating: 2/10
Method 4: Makeup headband
This method only took one TikTok to convince me to try it. Those fluffy elastic headbands with the bows? Surprisingly effective for heatless curls. Other round headbands might work too, but the key is thickness.
I'll admit, this method is a challenge. You'll need to place the headband around the back of your head, kind of like a crown, and keep it from slipping off until you can get enough hair wrapped around it to hold it in place. From there it's fairly simple, and you just wrap around the rest of your hair, using thick pieces, until you look like Princess Leia in her Hoth braids. I've found this method to be the most comfortable to sleep in since the hair ends up mainly at the top of the head, and the results are fantastic and long-lasting.