3 No-Heat Hairstyle Hacks for Effortless Waves

This is not your average sock bun, but do grab the sock you use as a bun form. Don’t have one? Just cut the toes off of a tall sock and roll it into the shape of donut. Gather your hair into a ponytail (but don’t tie it off), and slip it through the center of the sock. Now you’re going to loop your hair all the way around the sock. Take the tail of your pony around the outside of the sock donut, and then pull it through the center—that’s one loop. Keep looping your hair around a new section of the sock until you’ve run out of hair to loop. This should take about three to five loops, depending on your hair length. Secure the ends with a bobby pin and let it sit for a couple of hours or overnight. Remove the sock, and watch the waves cascade down your back.

Braiding your hair when wet is always an option for creating heat-free waves, but with braids, you sometimes end up with kinks instead of waves. We’ve found that the milkmaid twists approach works much better. There are two ways to try this trick. For long hair, split your strands into two equal sections and twist each one. Once you reach the ends, pull the twist up across the top of head to meet your other ear, and pin it in place. Repeat on the other side, pinning your second twist to your first. Let your damp hair dry, unpin, shake it out, et violá!

If you have shorter hair, skip the milkmaid part. Instead, divide your hair in half and gather each section to either side of your face. Split each of those sections in half and twist each one. Then twist those two pieces together, and clip, pin, or loosely tie off the end of the twist. Do the other side, and secure that twist to the first one. This keeps the twists from unraveling while you let your hair dry.

If the sock wrap technique seems a little too involved for your liking, stick with your standard sock bun(s). The more buns you add, the more waves you’ll get—if you have a lot of hair, use at least two sock buns. Before you go to sleep or before you hop in the shower, throw your hair up into one or two ballerina buns high on your head. Keep your hair in buns until it’s time to leave the house, release, finger comb, and go!

Note: As long as you start with damp hair or are allowing it to sit for a few hours, all of these heat-free tricks are also product-free techniques for achieving the effortless waves of your dreams. Of course, if you’re in a rush, a little salt spray goes a long way.

Have you tried any of these hacks? Tell us below!