While I do still occasionally use heat on my hair, I prefer not to. I do blow dry it about a few times a year and will use this awesome hair curler when I want big voluminous curls (which is about once every few months for special events). I have not used a hair straightener at all since I have gone no poo. I used to use a straightener daily to tame frizzy fly-aways. But that’s a thing of the past.
No Heat Curls – Headband Curls
My absolute, hands down favorite way to get no heat curls is with using a headband.
- Slightly dampen your hair. I stick my hand under the faucet, get my hand wet, then run it through my hair. I repeat that about 5 times. Barely damp.
- Put the headband on your head, hippy style.
- Wrap your hair in pieces around the headband.
- Leave as long as you have. I have done this from 1 hour to overnight. The longer you leave your hair wrapped up, the curly your hair will be.
- Unwrap your hair.
- Comb through as desired (with fingers, brush, or comb).
- Enjoy beautiful curls!
These curls stay all day for me. When I leave my hair wrapped overnight, the curls will last 2 days (the 2nd day is wavy, not full on curls). I do not use any products when I do this. But of course, you can use hair spray, gel, serum, or whatever styling products you prefer.
No Heat Curls – T-Shirt Curls
You can use any scrap fabric for this method. Old t-shirts, dish towels, socks, leftover fabric from a craft project, anything. I like using cotton.
- Cut your fabric into about 6” strips about 1” wide. Note: In the pictures here, I used a t-shirt that was stretchy, jersey cotton. It didn’t cut very straight. Don’t worry if your strips look like that, it doesn’t matter.
- Very slightly dampen your hair.
- Section your hair into 1-2” sections.
- Roll the section around a fabric strip. Roll under / towards your neck.
- Tie the fabric strip in a knot.
- Leave for a couple hours to overnight.
- Untie and remove the fabric strips.
- Brush through as desired.
- Watch this video tutorial.
For More Info
For more info, be sure to check out my ebook, The No Poo Method.
Be sure to check out the FAQ page!
Thank you for your great hair styling tip! I haven’t gone nopoo yet, but I’m clearly thinking about it. The natural state of my hair is wavy and I’ve seen that some people get even wavier/curlier hair after going nopoo. Is it then possible to straighten the hair with a straightening iron or is this contraproductive?
Yep, it’s your hair 😉 I have heard from quite a few no poo-ers who use heat styling tools on their hair. It is of note that the heat can damage, dry out, and/or break your hair. I personally avoid using heat on my hair for the most part. I will use heat curling tools on special occasions a couple times a year and I normally let me hair air dry.