how to style my hair without heat, without making it frizzy or curly?

December 27, 2010 9:08 AM

How can I style my hair without heat? It's naturally wavy at the top, but poofy and curly from the sides down.

I got my hair cut a few days ago, to just a few inches below my collarbones. It hasn't been this short in years. On most days, I blow-dry and straighten my hair just enough to get the poofiness/curls out. I also have bangs and a side part, so I straighten my bangs as well. However, I'd like to style it without heat for a while to restore it to less-frizzy health, while keeping curls at bay. I'm a college student with limited time and budget, so simple/fast techniques would be great. I just want to know how I can get my hair to behave without drying it out and ironing it all the time.

Also, I don't have anything against curly hair (I used to wear mine in long ringlets, and think it looks quite pretty on many people), but I've found that it's less manageable for me and doesn't flatter my face as well. However, if it could work well for me, id be open to curly styles as well.

posted by cp311 to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

This isn't a technique I've personally used, but using big rollers in your hair overnight is one method.
posted by ejaned8 at 9:30 AM on December 27, 2010

Yes to big rollers. Even using big velcro rollers for an hour or so on dry hair will straighten your hair a bit, just spray it lightly with something first. Dove pump hairspray is nice, light and not too sticky.
posted by marimeko at 9:37 AM on December 27, 2010

Best answer: I have similar hair. I haven't found a way to get it straight without heat, but usually a blow-out without straightening works fine (or washing it at night and straightening in the morning). At the least, you should be able to get rid of one of those steps. Bangs are especially possible, growing them out might help a lot.

Your best bet may be styling it like normal, then going a few days between washing.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 9:41 AM on December 27, 2010

especially impossible
posted by Solon and Thanks at 9:42 AM on December 27, 2010

I wash my hair at night, put some kind of stuff in it (currently, bumble and bumble's straight), twist it into a loose ponytail/bun, and sleep on it. In the morning, I comb with fingers. It keeps the frizz at bay - it won't make your hair straight, but it will help.
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:43 AM on December 27, 2010

Wash and condition at night, and then either loosely braid it at the back or ponytail-bun it right on top of your head. Sleep in a t-shirt turban or cotton baby hat and when you wake up, it's mostly dry and either loose tidy waves from the braids, or sleek on top with a flip on the bottom from the ponybun. The hat/turban is key, otherwise it frizzes while you sleep.

I have resigned myself to looking srsly dorky when I sleep, but my hair looks rad.
posted by elizardbits at 10:02 AM on December 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

guy trick: put a baseball cap on and let it dry under there.
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:32 AM on December 27, 2010

Use detergent-free shampoo, good conditioner, give your hair a quick shock of cold water before you dry. Put gel or whatever in (or leave some conditioner in too), scrunch dry with a t shirt or microfiber cloth--not a towel. If you have time, put some pin curl clips along the crown of your head and along your part and let your hair air dry.

Basically, follow this video, except without using the diffuser.
posted by inertia at 7:36 PM on December 27, 2010

Response by poster: Great ideas, everyone. It may be easier, at least for now, to either straighten my hair after air-drying/sleeping or to blow-dry my hair and not straighten it. This would probably cut any ongoing damage in half. I do have foam curlers I could use. Yesterday, I bought a large round brush to use when drying my hair - it didn't even need straightening once it was dry, so that's promising.
posted by cp311 at 8:36 AM on December 28, 2010

I completely agree with the idea of either blow-drying OR straightening. I get the best results with air-drying and then straightening. Also, I've stopped using shampoo more than once or twice a week, and that's gone a long way toward defrizzing my hair (I still use conditioner every day).
posted by spinto at 9:40 AM on December 29, 2010