“No-Heat” Hair Challenge: Bohemian Waves

I’m kicking off my “summer, no-heat hair challenge” and am starting off with this quick, wavy hairstyle.  Summer is almost here, so I thought I’d do a short tutorial showing you how I achieve beautiful, bohemian waves using no heat.  I curl my hair with direct heat (curling irons, flat irons, pressing combs) maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but other than that, heat is forbidden.  I hate the look and feel of heat damage; the hair becomes dry, brittle and lifeless over time.  Most of my “no-heat” hairstyles require overnight styling.  This is basically a process of solidifying your hair in a certain position overnight and then letting it loose in the morning.  I find that overnight prepping allows your hairstyle to last longer during the day as opposed to styling it the morning of.  So let’s get started with this easy, summer look.

 

Start by splitting you hair into two sections.  If needed, spritz your hair lightly with a little water.  If it is drenched with water it may not completely dry overnight and the style won’t hold.  For my hair type, I usually mix a little water with a little bit of moisturizer so it’s not frizzy in the morning.  Take one section and begin a two-strand twist, twisting away from your face (not towards).

 

Then roll your twist into a circular bun, again rolling it away from your face.  Secure it with an elastic or a hair tie.  Then twist and wrap second section of hair.  The right section should be twisted towards the right, and the left hair section should be twisted towards the left.  This is important because if you decide to wear your hair down the next morning, it will naturally fall, curling away from your face on both sides.

This look calls for very loose waves and can be done on shorter or longer hair.  If you want tighter waves or you want your hair to be much curlier, split your hair into multiple, small sections instead of two.  The smaller the section, the tighter the wave will be.  You can also start the twists closer to the scalp for tighter waves.

 

 

That’s it for preparation.  I suggest wrapping your hair with a silk scarf to hold everything in place as you sleep.  When you wake, remove the hair ties and your hair should have a nice wave to it.  If needed, use a little moose or hair spray to hold it throughout the day.  If you can’t do this hairstyle with overnight prepping, you can still achieve this look.  Spritz your hair with water, twist and wrap it.  Here you could wait for the hair to dry, or blow dry (indirect heat) to set it quicker.  I’ve seen women twist their hair and then run the flat iron over the twist.  It works, but it goes against all my rules of no-heat styling.  It also forces you to run the flat iron too many times down the hair just to achieve the curl.

When it is fully dry, let it loose and the curls should stay.  Doing this often will tame the hair and the waves should begin to last longer.  I hope you enjoyed this look.  Stay tuned for more no-heat hair styling!