This $5 Kmart Find Has Cut My Morning Routine In Half

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Hi, my name is Zoe and I'm in love with my hot curler. For as many years as I can count, I've spent endless hours wrapping my thin, pin-straight hair around hot curling wands in an attempt to give my strands some semblance of body and volume.

For a long time, it didn't work. My hair would fall flat in a matter of minutes. I'd curl and hairspray my locks before major events, only to find myself with straight, flat hair again by the time I'd arrived at the venue. That was, until I tried Remington's Keratin & Argan Oil Nourish Hair Wand, $39.95, and subsequently, GHD's Thin Wand Hair Curler, $270. These two hair curlers were the only ones that actually kept my locks looking lush for longer than a few hours, and so, a love of hair curling was born.

I've been applying heat to my hair upwards of 3-4 times per week for at least the last five years, so recently, I decided to look for an alternative.

Enter, heatless curls.

If you're on BeautyTok, you've likely seen creators uploading videos of their flawless heatless curls for a while now. Whether styled using resourceful props like socks, t-shirts, stockings and dressing-gown belts, or store-bought apparatuses like satin curling kits, hundreds of videos can be discovered with a simple search of the app. In fact, the hashtag #heatlesscurls currently has 6.6 billion views.

For my entry into the world of heatless curls, I decided to try the traditional method, purchasing a Heatless Hair Roller set from Kmart for the wildly reasonable price of $4.50. (Seriously, it's less than buying a coffee.)

Frankly, I am sold. Using the kit overnight has left with me bouncy, loose waves that mimic the style of a salon blowout. Not to mention, it has shaved precious minutes off my morning routine. While I once spent my hours wrestling with a hair curler and repeatedly wrapping my strands around a hot wand, now, I wake up, take my hair out of the satin wrap, brush it and voilà.

While I am, definitely, a heatless curl convert, it would be remiss of me not to address the tired elephant in the room. In order for curls to set, many people decide to sleep in the heatless curling headband and I have to say it is not the most comfortable thing in the world. I've taken to sleeping on my back or pushing the headband back in order to sleep on my side (note: this does make the curls start slightly lower on the hair).

Regardless, it's definitely a method I'm going to continue using simply because it is such a time saver in the morning. Keep scrolling for a few things you might want to know about heatless curls.

I started with dry or damp hair and gave it a good brush. Once that's done, I place the satin headband on the top of my head, securing it with the claw clip provided. Next, I carefully wrap my locks around the headband, gradually grabbing more pieces of hair each time (similar to how you would when braiding). Once I'd picked up all my hair, I wrapped the rest of the length around the headband and secured it. Then I repeated the same steps on the other side. I didn't use any other prepping products on my hair, but in the future, I might add texture spray for better staying power and to prevent the curls from dropping throughout the day.

Once it was in place, I left the curls in overnight (roughly eight hours). The next morning, I released the curler, brushed through my hair and was ready to go. You might want to add some hairspray to give your curls the best chance at survival.

Of course, it goes without saying that the results will vary based on hair type and heatless curls will not work for all hair types, but in my experience (with thin, straight hair), yes the heatless curls worked.

With the method I used, it's suggested that you leave the headband in overnight for the curls to set. Alternatively, if you're not willing to compromise on your sleep, you could try wearing the headband at home during the day if you have an event in the evening.

The curling headband can be used on wet and dry hair. I've tried both variations and actually found the curls held better and lasted longer on dry hair.

It can, depending on the curler you use. My GHD curler is very thin, so the curls I get with that are very tight and defined. In my experience, the heatless curls seem to be bigger and bouncier. Think '90s supermodel blowout, and not tight, perfect ringlets.