With so many of trying to stay cool, there’s no reason why you should inflict any unnecessary heat damage on your strands. With Zoom calls happening what feels like every 10 minutes, we need to ditch the messy bun once in a while and change things up with a new style.
In case you didn’t get the memo: it’s officially time to ditch the messy bun as an acceptable style to wear in public. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to increase heat styling, especially as we head into air-drying season. Instead, learn a few heatless hairstyles that can combat damage and help upgrade your look with a lot less effort. Check out a few of our favorite heatless hairstyles you can easily wear all season long.
1. The Foolproof Air-dry
Does air-drying your hair feels like a gamble? For most of us, we either end up with gorgeous effortless texture or a tangled mess. To get past this, understanding how to air-dry your specific hair type will allow you to feel more comfortable when going heatless.
For fine or straight hair: Apply a lightweight leave-in conditioner and a couple of pumps of volumizing mousse to damp hair. Tousle (don’t scrunch) the hair to create volume sans frizz and let hair dry for 10-15 minutes, then apply a wave spray to add texture to any straight ends and allow to fully .
Product picks: KEVIN.MURPHY STAYING.ALIVE + KEVIN.MURPHY HAIR.RESORT.SPRAY
For medium or wavy hair: Apply an anti-frizz leave-in conditioner, then apply a curl cream to activate your natural texture. Finish with a dime-size amount of oil to lock in shine and minimize frizz.
Product picks: Redken One United + Redken No Blow Dry Airy Cream + Redken Oil For All
For curly hair: After using a cleansing conditioner in the shower, use a microfiber towel to remove excess water and rub a medium-hold cream in between your hands, then gently scrunch the hair. This will help activate your curl pattern without causing frizz.
Product picks: Wella Professionals Nutricurls Cleansing Conditioner for Waves & Curls + Wella Professionals Nutricurls Curlixir Balm Defining Balm for Curls
Headband Curls
Craving voluminous curls but never able to achieve them via braids? Try using an elastic headband instead. On damp or dry hair, pull an elastic headband over your head, placing it at ear level. Next, grab a 1-2 inch section of hair and pull it over and around the band. For tighter curls, wrap the sections closely together, or, for loose waves, work in larger sections and wrap the sections loosely around the band. Allow hair to dry, then gently unwrap the hair from the headband and finger comb. To finish, add a texturizing spray like Keune Style Dry Texturizer to break up the hair patterns and create an effortless finish.
Scarf Braid
Add a little something extra to your go-to style with a scarf braid. The sleek look is ethereal, refined, and only takes a couple of minutes to create. First, decide on which type of braid you’ll be creating — you can add a side braid to your air dry, braid your ponytail or if you’re feeling up to it create a crown braid. Then, find a scarf! From our experience, long, thin scarfs work best for this style. From here, prep hair with dry shampoo (we love Redken Deep Clean Dry Shampoo), and brush the section you’ll be braiding to begin. As you begin your braid, fold your scarf in half and begin weaving it into the braid. For best results, use an elastic to hold the end of the braid and either tie a bow or allow the rest of the scarf to hang down straight if your scarf is longer than your hair.
