Putting some mouse or gel mixed with water on my hands before going to sleep with a prayer hands/ glaze method on my dry hair and then letting it air dry and putting in a bonnet has been a game changer for me. It kind of recreates the gel cast. I’d it’s still crunchy in the morning I use oil to scrunch out the crunch and maybe diffuse the dry hair.

I rewet every day between wash days pretty much. I have very fine hair and it doesn’t matter how much product I use, or which product I use, or if I get a strong gel cast on day one. I have to rewet after sleeping on them because they get smooshed regardless. I usually rewet in the shower as that’s more efficient for me than a spray bottle. I’ll water down my stylers a little before styling and I usually use less than on wash day.

I cannot go more than 4 days between washes. I literally add nothing to my hair in the mornings. I tussle it at the roots and go. If I add water or product it tends to get frizzy and feel gross though, and makes me feel like I have to wash it more often.

Shampoo and deep conditioner on Saturday

Regular conditioner on Tuesday and Thursday.

Then I have leave, mousse, and styling cream on all three days. I try to time my exercises and washes so I'm not sweaty, but if I need to my hair can handle one extra wash day on a random week

I spray my hair with water and diffuse on day 2. Day 3 I usually do a rewet.

My hairdresser recommended sea salt spray for holding curls.

Make sure to use heat protectant when using heat tools (including a hair dryer!). Is your hair too soft or oily? Add dry shampoo and wash your hair less. Try different brands of hair spray, not all of them work for everyone (you might be using one for thin hair when you have thick hair). Try different heat tools, maybe a flat iron or a different curling iron. Grab smaller chunks of hair and let it heat longer. Cool after heating it by using the cold setting on your hair dryer. Try heatless curls, there's a ton of options out there. If your hair is damaged use olaplex no3 or leave in conditioner to help heal.

I have a lot of thick hair and used to only be able to straighten because the weight would pull out all the curls, I tried curling irons & wands and tried curling with a straightener...this past fall I purchased Kiss Ceramic Instawave, it is AMAZING! It looks and seems super gimmicky and I thought there was no way it was going to work but it does it work but it holds all day with no products.

I'm not sure what kind of tool you use but i find a curling wand works best on my hair. My hair will not hold curl with any curling iron but the wands. If you haven't tried a wand I would suggest doing that. I don't use hairspray either. My first one was a $20 conair one from walmart.

Is your hair naturally straight or wavy? I'd definitely recommend checking out r/curlyhair if you have some natural waves/curls, and their wiki has some good haircare advice in general.

You can do whatever works for you.. whether it be a spray bottle and misting it or jumping in the shower and completely getting it wet.

I personally like to jump in the shower let the steam make my hair damp and run my wet hands over it a couple times. I can normally do that for a day or two then I rewash or wash with conditioner only and redo my whole curl routine.

It’s whatever works for your curls really. For me, my curls look best when styled after being soaking wet. I don’t even towel dry my hair at all after a shower. I can get them just as soaked with a spray bottle so I have either option but with a spray bottle you can control how soaked you want them to be.

I'm with Poolgoddess, the first day out I simply wet my hands and hit areas that need it. The further out I go, the more I wet my hair and use additional products. Honestly, it depends on how my hair looks, how humid it is outside, how well my wash day turned out and whether or not my bonnet stayed on during the night so do what works for your hair and it may be trial and error. I don't believe there is a right or wrong - just what your hair needs that day.

Now, does this mean wetting it with a mist spray so that it is just damp, or does it mean wetting it completely in the shower?

Try both and do whatever works better for your hair and your habits. There is no "doing it wrong".

Depends on your products hair and time schedule. I don't use a leave in conditioner or a hair mask. However, I do use 2 mousses, one curling and one hard hold. I also do not use sulfates or silicones. Plus, I live in the desert, so my routine may differ from yours.

I wash with shampoo/conditioner twice a week. I use my curling mousse in the shower on dripping wet hair and combing through. Next is the disposable shower cap under my Turbie Twist to keep my hair from drying too quickly as I have fine hair. When I finally get to the hair portion, I brush style and scrunch with the Turbie before I use the hard hold mousse, then diffuse. That night, I put my hair up into a buff and slept on silk pillowcase.

Day 2 I let my hair down for about 15 minutes before assessing how much refreshing I need to do. Some days I need nothing and can go about my day. Some days, I take dripping wet hands and glide over my hairline and crown while "roping" the hair from ears down. I do not get my roots wet, but I do make my lengths wet. Then I airdry.

Day 3 is similar to Day 2, with the exception that I must wet my hair with dripping hands. At this point, I may add more hard hold mousse on the ends only for frizz control. During these days, my face framing hair will be pulled back with claw clips, French combs, or snap clips. Each day out from wash day, the front pieces get clipped further up? Out? By day 3, it's usually in a half up hairstyle or a full pony. Then I am back to wash day.

Are you using product in your hair before you put your hair in the heatless curl mode??

I rough dry with leave in conditioner and blow dry spray then oil before wrapping my hair. It’s like 80-90% dry when I wrap. Non wash days I’ll mist my hair and wrap. I use oil when I take them out to give extra smoothness.

I get my hair a little damp and use a good amount of serious hold gel or mousse. In the morning, spray with hairspray before finger combing. A wide tooth comb is okay too. I have found a lightweight spray oil that works great on my ends before combing as well.

Hairspray before curling!

Spray Lotta body onto damp hair, comb, wrap, and then if your hair is too dry before you get it all wrapped I spray it with water. My hair is thin and fine and high porosity so it dries quickly.

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If you have not seen our WIKI yet: Please check it out! It's nearly 100 pages full of curated information to help answer all of your curl-related questions. You can use the included Table of Contents (page 2), the side bar, or CTRL-F to search for keywords and help navigate the document.

Reminder: Curl type is NOT your hair type! Whether you are wavy, curly, or coily - you have texture and you belong here. More than that, your curl type doesn't dictate how you care for your hair. To help your curls thrive, we recommend instead using the wiki link above to learn about your porosity, texture, and density.

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Adding a gel or mousse may give you some day 2, 3 longevity. Will help your curl clumps not break up into frizz.

When you sleep in a bonnet, do you pineapple? ?

I lowkey feel like it looked curlier in the first pic but definitely less frizz in the second pic somehow. Either way welcome to the curly-headed community

OUAI wave hair spray is the BEST! link

Expensive but birchbox often does 20% off and I stock up.

I wet my brush and run. It through my hair so it’s a little damp. Apply and scrunch and scrunch every 10 min or so while it dries.

Does wonders!

Also when I wash my hair I wrap it in a aquais towel link

Then I just spray and do the same thing. Even easier. Looks �� natural every time!

I do two rope braids on damp hair and go to bed. Can’t be too wet or my thick hair won’t dry by the morning. I wake up and take the braids out to reveal the best waves!

I love 30s/40s style pin curl wet sets. Basic pin curling is easy to learn. Getting structured sets neat takes some practice, but to me it was so worth the effort. Instant glam.

Twist your hair while its damp and let it dry like that.

I just watched a Jenn Im video where she tries her old favorites and she used a bumble and bumble surf spray for beachy waves. In the video her hair looked cute. I bought it but I have yet to try. Good luck!

i think more like wavy hair not curly but its really going together! we're proud of u

Hi there! I'm a bot, and I've been summoned to help.

If you have not seen our WIKI yet: Please check it out! It's nearly 100 pages full of curated information to help answer all of your curl-related questions. You can use the included Table of Contents (page 2), the side bar, or CTRL-F to search for keywords and help navigate the document.

Reminder: Curl type is NOT your hair type! Whether you are wavy, curly, or coily - you have texture and you belong here. More than that, your curl type doesn't dictate how you care for your hair. To help your curls thrive, we recommend instead using the wiki link above to learn about your porosity, texture, and density.

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Several people here have mentioned curling with socks. I've never looked into it, but there should be info on it online!

Rag curls, too.

What about using a hair dryer on the cool setting? Will that still damage hair?

Hiiii when I do try and have heatless curls, I use a curling scrunchie. It’s even better if you have a satin cover for the bun!

It all depends on the type of hair you have and the type of curls you want. Some people’s hair holds curls better than others.

You’ve written a whole post with no information on what kind of hair you have other than long (bc of the sub this is)

I use the robe curl method on freshly washed, dried hair, and leave them overnight, sleeping in a satin bonnet.

For me, every time I try to add product or start damp it just falls flat.

You will have to experiment for your own hair.