2 Easy Ways to Achieve Overnight, Heatless Curls for Side Sleepers​

The viral unicorn hack gives the best heatless curls for side sleepers. You get bouncy, damage-free curls overnight with no fuss.

I’m going to show you two ways to get results, depending on whether you prefer loose or tighter curls.

Tools and materials: 

• Heatless Hair Curler Set
• Toweling or velour bathrobe tie belt
• Claw clip
• Tail comb
• Small hair tie
• Ultra fine water mister
• Silk sleep cap (optional)

2. Making the parting

The curler is going to sit over the center of my head and create some pressure on my parting. I don’t want a flat line in my hair when I remove the curler, so I’m making a small zigzag parting with a tail comb on top of my head.

I’m parting the back of my hair in the same way, from the top of the crown to the nape of my neck.

3. Attaching the curler

To hold the curler in place to start with, I fold it in half and place it in the center of my head starting at my front hairline. 

I’m using a claw clip to stop it sliding around while I start the wrapping.

4. Starting the weave

I’m separating two small sections of hair at the front on each side of my parting, next to the curler. These sections are shorter than the rest of my hair because I have bangs cut into it.

Keeping the sections taut, I’m passing the hair from the right side over the top of the curler to grip it firmly between my first and second fingers of my left hand.

Lifting the front of the curler slightly with my free hand, I’m passing the same section of hair back under the curler to the right side where it started from.

I grip the section with my free hand and pull it tightly around the curler.

I’m doing the same thing with the section on the left, taking over the curler in front of the first piece and passing it back underneath so it ends up back on the left.

5. Add the second section

I’m gripping the first section of hair on the right between the finger and thumb of my left hand.

This allows me to separate out the next section with my right hand and add it to the strand in my left hand.

I’m holding the section that comes from the left side out of the way between my left pinky finger and the palm of my hand.

Now the first weave is in, I can remove the clip holding the curler in place and lift the curler up away from my hair to make it easier to wrap the hair around it.

I’m wrapping the two sections of hair I’ve taken from the right over the curler behind the front sections and taking it back under the curler so it ends up on the right again.

I’m repeating the same thing on the left side, picking up a second section of hair and wrapping them both tightly over and under the curler.

When you’ve finished, your hair should look something like this.

If you’re going to sleep in it, I’d suggest folding the front of the curler up and back and maybe even covering your hair with a silk sleeping cap or bonnet.

I misted over my hair with plain water as it got quite dry, and I’m going to leave this in for seven or eight hours.

Now my hair is completely dry, I’m carefully unwrapping it from the curler section by section and running my fingers through it to integrate the curls.

7. Bathrobe tie

The curler used double gives quite loose, wavy curls. That’s partly due to the extra thickness and partly I think because of the fabric.

I want to compare the curls it produces to my original hack of using the tie from a velour bathrobe.

I dampened my hair with the mister and brushed the loose curls out.

I’m using the bathrobe belt folded in half and as you can see it’s much longer than the curler.

The weaving technique is exactly the same, but this time I don’t have to make the wraps so close together and I can use the extra length of the belt. 

I’m going to sleep with this in and unwrap it carefully in the morning.

Best heatless curls for side sleepers​

This is the result of the first heatless curls wrap. The curls are pretty and feminine but don’t really have the wow factor, for me.

The second method gives a much tighter, bouncier curl and I think it looks amazing!

Which one do you prefer? Let me know in the comments.

Next, learn How to Do a Big 90's Blowout at Home.