How To Get Curly Hair Overnight?

Let your love for curls take flight with this easy trick to achieve those gorgeous locks.

Reviewed by Casey Simmons, Curly Hair Expert
Written by Jyotsana Rao, BE
Edited by Shatabdi Bhattacharya, BSc
Fact-checked by Manjari Uppal, MSc  • 

Curly hair is all the rage now! Everyone wants flawless curls, even straight-haired people. Discover how to get curly hair overnight with just a teeny bit of effort and patience.

Whether you are blessed with natural curls or use styling tools to make your hair fashionably curly, keeping your hair in those perfect coils can be tough, especially at night. But there are ways you can make your curls flawless without using any heat. Yes, you read that right! No more heat damage to acquire perfect curls. Hurrah! Scroll down to learn how to get curly hair as well as how you can heatless curls overnight so that when you wake up, your curls make you look truly divine!

protip_icon Before You Get Started
  • Keep a secured silk bonnet handy to wrap the curls before sleeping. It keeps the hair in one place to get perfect overnight curls.
  • Sleeping on your stomach helps to avoid crushing the hair setup for curls.
  • Frequent curling can cause heat damage to your strands. Follow a proper deep conditioning hair care routine to keep your hair healthy and protected.
  • Always use a heat protectant if you use curling tools on your hair. This protects the hair from heat damage.
  • Divide your hair in multiple small sections to get tighter and smaller curls overnight.

Things You Will Need

Just a good curling mousse to keep the hair curls in place and a hair band.

protip_icon Quick Tip
You can also use a curl-defining cream instead of a curl mousse. A mousse adds more volume to your hair while sealing your curl structure, while a curl-defining cream enhances and seals your curl pattern. You can also spritz on some hair spray to secure the braid before you go to sleep.

How To Get Curly Hair Overnight

Step 1

Slightly damp your hair and comb it to remove all the tangles with a wide toothed comb.

Step 2

Take a thin headband or make your own that looks something like this.

protip_icon Quick Tip
If you want larger or looser curls, you can use a half-inch cloth headband instead of a thin one.

Step 3

Tie the band on your forehead in this way.

Step 4

From one side of your head, near your ear, take a section of hair below the band in this way.

Step 5

Without making tangles, wrap it in the band carefully and tightly. Pull the entire wrapped hair downwards carefully and comb if necessary.

Step 6

Take another hair section just beside the previous hair section you took and wrap it into the band again without making tangles, pulling it downwards again.

Step 7

Take the next section of your hair and repeat the above procedure carefully. This is how it looks. This is an image showing it done halfway. Complete it on the other half too.

If you have shoulder-length hair, then it will be relatively easier to do this. But if you have long hair, then you’ll need to wrap it quite a few more times. If you have longer hair, then it can be slightly more difficult because you have to find a place to wrap the hair and tuck it securely.

Step 8

Spray a good hair mousse. Having a good hair curling product is necessary! Otherwise your hair will straighten out the minute you comb it.

Step 9

This is how it looks when you complete the wrapping.

This is the front view. Since my hair is long, the hair covered the entire circumference of my head. It covered the entire head with no gaps. I’m thankful that I’m not left with extra hair that I can’t wrap into the band.

Do this procedure before dinner and leave it overnight so that you get much time to leave like this.

protip_icon Quick Tip
Wrap your hair in a silk or satin scarf to prevent it from coming loose and to avoid frizz. You can also use a thin cotton cloth or T-shirt to cover your hair. Alternately, you can sleep on a satin pillowcase.

Final Look

This is how my hair looked when I opened it in the morning. These curls made my day! All the effort from the previous night paid off! If you want to loosen these tight curls, use a hair dryer while brushing your locks.

Nomadia, a blogger, shares the heatless curl method that she uses to curl her hair for curls that stay throughout the day. She writes, “I typically wear twin buns overnight for about 6-7 hours then take them out in the morning and spritz my hair with hairspray in the morning (i).” She continues, “I also recommend having damp or dry hair if you plan to do this method of curling your hair.”

You can also try other methods like twisting and braiding your hair and leaving it on overnight. If you have wavy hair, after washing your hair, scrunching your damp hair to create curls and using a dry texture spray can help you achieve sultry-looking curls.

You can also use hair rollers and hair pins to curl your hair. You might not be able to keep them overnight, but these are heatless methods and easy to do.
If you use heat tools to curl your hair, remember to provide your hair with the necessary nourishment before and after curling. Use suitable hair gels and hair serums in your hair care routine. Also ensure using weekly hair masks for an extra boost of conditioning. Regular use of hair oils can also maintain the good quality of your hair.

Owner of Royal Locks Curl Care Casey Simmons says “I love diffusers for curly hair. Diffusers are an attachment that goes on the ends of hair dryers. They distribute hot air expelled from the dryer evenly through your hair. They are excellent for enhancing a wavy or curly pattern and also give great volume to hair. I recommend pairing a diffuser with an ionic hair dryer as they have lower drying temperatures causing less damage, smoother texture, and a better overall shape.”

Find out in the next section how you can protect these curls while you sleep.

How To Protect Curly Hair When Sleeping

You can maintain your curly, bouncy locks with a little care while you sleep to prevent waking up with tangled, frizzy hair.

  1. Sleep on your side or stomach to avoid crushing the hair with the weight of your head.
  2. Style your hair into a braid, pineapple tie, or top knot to maintain the curls.
  3. Tossing and turning while sleeping causes friction between the strands. Use a satin or silk bonnet or head scarf. Alternatively, you can also use a satin pillowcase.

But do heatless curls damage your hair? Check out the section below!

Does Heatless Curling Damage Your Hair?

Heatless curling is comparatively safer than curling irons and wands, but the method is not without drawbacks. Leaving the hair rolled tightly overnight may pull at the scalp and cause tension in your hair follicles, leading to hair breakage.

Infographic: A Step-By-Step Guide To Curl Your Hair Without Heat

Want to wake up to a head full of natural, lust-worthy curls? Yes, it is possible to achieve it overnight! All you need is a bit of effort and time to rock those bouncy curls. Whether you want to flaunt a curly ponytail or a voluminous, curly top knot, you can do all that with ease. Go through the infographic below to know how to get the best natural curls ever!

step by step guide to get soft, natural curls (infographic)

Illustration: StyleCraze Design Team

Get the high-quality PDF version of this infographic.

Download Infographic in PDF version

Curls have a mind of their own. With a little bit of love and patience, you can get flawless and magnificent curls naturally. If you want to know how to get curly hair overnight, it’s pretty simple and does not require taking a trip to the salon. The steps include dampening your hair and combing out all the knots and tangles. Next, use a thin hairband to tie your hair according to the hairstyle mentioned in the article. Try this method and get bouncy and beautiful curls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does salt spray suit curly hair?

If you have curly hair, sea salt spray is fantastic since it can accentuate the curls and waves in your hair. Use a hairdryer on a cold setting to help your hair’s curls achieve their greatest volume and prevent knots after softly misting your hair a few times with sea salt spray.

Should I brush my hair after curling?

No, brushing your hair immediately after curling it will unravel the curls.

Is it OK to wet curly hair every day?

You can wet your curly with a spray bottle every day to refresh your curls.

Key Takeaways

  • You can sleep with a silk bonnet wrapped around your hair and sleep on the side or stomach to avoid crushing your curls.
  • Use curl-specific hair gels, serums, and weekly hair masks to nourish your hair and improve its overall health and quality.
  • Avoid rolling your hair tightly to prevent hair breakage.
how to get curly hair overnight

Image: Stable Diffusion/StyleCraze Design Team


Transform your hair overnight with easy, heatless curls! Watch this video to learn how to create beautiful, effortless waves with these simple hacks.

Personal Experience: Source

Was this article helpful?
thumbsupthumbsdown
The following two tabs change content below.