TikTok Is in Love With Heatless Curls, so I Tried 3 Popular Techniques

I might be a millennial, but that doesn’t mean I’m immune to the Gen Z obsession with TikTok. In fact, I scroll through it often…admittedly too often. Still, it’s not a total waste of time. In fact, sometimes it’s the opposite. As a beauty editor, I consider it research. With so many good tips, tricks, and product recommendations going around, it’s actually somewhat productive. For example, I found my new favorite blush thanks to TikTok.

Lately, I’ve been seeing so many TikToks detailing different methods for achieving heatless curls. As more people become concerned with their hair health, it only makes sense they’re turning to heat-free, and thus damage-free, styles. Count me in. 

To be fair, I was familiar with heatless curls ever since Who What Wear’s Editorial Director, Kat Collings, tried a heatless hair hack. However, since then, the number of methods has exploded. Truly—there seem to be a million different ways to achieve heatless curls. So as any good beauty editor would do, I scoured the platform to find the three most popular methods, and then I tried them on my own hair. Keep scrolling to see which heatless curl method worked the best (and which one I probably won’t try again).