One swipe on TikTok will likely have you stumbling across heatless curls, a style that's been sweeping the social media app. There are over two billion videos using the hashtag #heatlesscurls, and 46 million videos tagged as tutorials.
Here's the gist: every method promises a simple, five-minute time investment to prepare the hair and wrap the curls. Using (mostly) things you've probably got around the house, you wrap your hair, sleep on it, and wake up with bouncy, natural-looking hair with minimal effort and without incurring any heat damage from styling tools.
Or at least that's the idea.
This laziness spoke to me—I'm a working mom with very little time to myself. I tested seven methods to find out which would give me the best heatless curls. I started each method with damp hair and a small amount of product, as recommended by Jessica Joslin, an Atlanta-based hairstylist.
"It's not necessary to use a heat protectant," she told Insider, "but a good mousse can make a difference." Joslin advised me to separate the hair and pin it away while working on other sections. "Not sectioning prior to wrapping can make something that's easy seem difficult."
I have thin hair but a lot of it, so I was worried about it not being the right "type" of hair for heatless curls, as many of the girls on TikTok have thick strands. "Hair type plays a big role," Joslin said, noting that certain methods will work better for certain hair types, and it might take some time to figure out which works best for you.
I gathered my hair before setting it for each except the chopstick and sock method. Every time I wrapped one section, I incorporated it into the next, ensuring I was pulling tightly. I slept on all the curls and took a photo as soon as I unwound them. Joslin recommended that I gently finger shake my hair to separate the strands and hit them with a blast of hairspray to extend the style. "Brushing or combing your curls could ruin the time and effort put in," she said.
Here's what I found worked best.