Style without heat

Compare curl-setting methods, loose everyday styles and temporary additions.

24 guides · Free to read

Choose your starting point

First decide whether you want to set damp hair into a shape or arrange hair that is already dry. For a set, compare the hand movement, tools and waiting time: braids, twists, knots, rollers and rods are different choices. Everyday buns, clips and ponytails serve a different purpose.

Compare the methods

Explore the methods below. Open a guide for when to use it, what you’ll need and the full steps.

Scrunching one wet straighter top section beside a released wavy underlayer for visual scale.

5–15 min hands-on

Blend a straighter top layer with wavier underlayers

Mixed-pattern blending wet-sets only the straighter canopy so it dries closer to the wave pattern underneath.

A woman holds the base of one twisted section and circles its length into a low Bantu knot with her other hand.

25–60 min hands-on

Create a Bantu-knot set and knot-out

A Bantu-knot set twists damp sections into compact coiled knots, then unwinds them only after they are fully dry for a knot-out style.

Woman uses both hands to cross an outer strand over the middle while keeping three strands of her own damp hair separate.

30–75 min hands-on

Create a braid-out

A braid-out sets damp loose hair in simple three-strand braids, then releases the braids after they have dried to create a shaped style.

Woman crosses two strands of her own damp coily hair in the same direction to form a hanging twist.

25–60 min hands-on

Create a twist-out

A twist-out sets damp loose hair in two-strand twists, then releases the twists after they have dried to create a shaped style.

A woman uses both hands to guide a curl-styling brush through one wet side section from below the roots toward the ends.

15–40 min hands-on

Define curls with a styling brush

Styling-brush curl definition uses a shaped brush pass on a detangled wet section, followed by release and scrunching before drying.

Supporting and smoothing styler through one wet coily section.

30–60 min hands-on

Do a wash-and-go on coily hair

A coily wash-and-go styles conditioned wet coils in sections, then dries them without setting twists, braids or rollers.

A woman wraps one small damp curl clump in a spiral around her own index finger.

20–60 min hands-on

Finger-coil curls

Finger coiling winds small damp or wet curl sections around one finger to shape individual spirals before drying.

A woman forms a loose low coil with a navy fabric-covered tie at its base.

30 sec–2 min hands-on

Make a loose bun

A dry-hair updo that gathers a low ponytail into a loose coil held by a soft fabric-covered tie.

A woman begins a side braid by moving the outside right hair section over the center while both hands keep three sections separate.

2–5 min hands-on

Make a loose everyday braid

A loose three-strand braid alternates each outside section over the center to contain dry hair without tightening the roots.

Holding the upper tail over one shoulder while securing the remaining hair into a separate lower ponytail.

1–3 min hands-on

Make a stacked loose ponytail

A stacked ponytail places two loose tails vertically so the upper tail overlaps the lower one.

A woman wraps damp hair from one side around a padded curling ribbon while the other ribbon end hangs free.

5–15 min hands-on

Make heatless curls with a soft curling ribbon

Soft-ribbon curling wraps two sides of damp hair around a padded form and secures the ends while the hair dries without a heated tool.

Holding a loose side twist away from the face.

30 sec–2 min hands-on

Pin back a growing-out fringe

Growing-fringe pinning twists or sweeps one front section away from the face and secures it with a smooth pin.

Supporting a weft seam while pressing a clip near a reachable side part.

10–25 min hands-on

Put in and remove clip-in extensions

Clip-in placement attaches removable wefts to sections of your own hair for temporary wear.

A woman folds gathered hair upward and positions an open claw clip at the fold.

15–60 sec hands-on

Put your hair up with a claw clip

A dry-hair updo that uses a claw clip to hold a low folded bundle off the neck.

A woman uses both hands to spiral one damp section smoothly along a straight flexi rod.

30–75 min hands-on

Set curls with flexi rods

A flexi-rod set spirals damp sections around bendable rods, then bends the rod ends to hold the sections while they dry.

A woman uses both hands to form one damp side section into a flat circular pin curl around two fingers.

25–60 min hands-on

Set pin curls without heat

A pin-curl set rolls damp sections into flat circles, clips them in place and releases them only after the roots and centers are fully dry.

A woman uses both hands to wind the ends of one damp section smoothly around a nonheated roller.

20–45 min hands-on

Set your hair on rollers without heat

A no-heat roller set winds damp sections around nonheated rollers and leaves them in place until the hair is fully dry.

A man gently combs a damp front section toward the side.

1–3 min hands-on

Shape growing-out short hair

Grow-out shaping directs existing short hair into a comfortable temporary side or backward shape.

Soft-brushing damp surface hair backward while the other hand gathers lengths with visibly slack tension.

3–7 min hands-on

Slick hair back with low tension

A low-tension slick-back guides the surface hair backward with product and a soft brush while keeping the hairline comfortable.

A woman holds a damp coily section while placing soft bands at loose, visible intervals down its length.

10–25 min hands-on

Stretch coils with loose bands

Loose-band stretching places soft bands at spaced intervals down damp curly or coily sections, then removes them after drying for a temporary stretched shape.

A woman holds the ends of one wet curl section with one hand and makes a small side-to-side shake while the other hand stays near the section.

10–25 min hands-on

Style curls with rake-and-shake

Rake-and-shake distributes styling product through a wet section with the fingers, then uses a small end-held shake before the curl group is released to dry.

A woman supports her low ponytail with her left hand while her right fingers release the opened loop of a mauve fabric scrunchie around the base.

30–60 sec hands-on

Tie a loose ponytail

A loose ponytail gathers dry hair at one point with a soft tie that holds without pulling at the roots.

Four hair ties: a mauve scrunchie at top left, wide green fabric ring at top right, slim charcoal covered elastic at bottom left and amber spiral at bottom right.

1–3 min hands-on

Tie choice and tension

Tie choice and tension means matching a hair tie’s material, size and number of wraps to the gathered hair for a comfortable hold.

A woman with a loose bun low at the nape lightly checks her hairline with one hand while the other arm is lowered.

1–3 min hands-on

Vary bun position

Varying bun position means changing where a loose bun is anchored between wears, so the hair is not always gathered and held in the same place.