Heat-Free Method for Crimping Hair

Using a crimp iron to crimp your hair is one of the most popular and easiest ways to crimp hair, but it can also be very damaging. Hair that’s subject to frequent high heat becomes damaged and more fragile over time. Even if you don’t frequently use heat on your hair, it’s a good idea to give it a rest once in a while. Luckily, If you want to crimp your hair, you don’t need heat to do it.

You can also straighten your bangs without using heat, check out my tutorial here.

When you use heat on your hair, it removes the moisture which in turn causes it to become very dry and brittle. This also make it more susceptible to breakage and split ends. Split ends are likely to happen when hair is very dry because the hair tends to break at the tips first. Damaged hair cannot be repaired, so once it’s damaged you are stuck with it until it grows out and you cut or trim the damaged ends off.

Did you know you can make your own hair gel? Click here to get 3 different recipes to make homemade hair gel that will improve the health and look of your hair.

I use heating products on my hair every week: I often use a straightening iron, as well as a wave iron. I know from personal experience that the more I use these items the dryer my hair looks and feels. I also tend to get more split ends when I use these accessories. I try not to use these things more than twice a week and sometimes I go several weeks without applying heat. Luckily there are ways to style without using any heat.

Using a sea salt spray will make your hair look naturally wavy. You can make your own sea salt spray to get wavy hair without using heat. Check out my tutorial here.

• First, wash and dry your hair. Hair crimping works best when your hair is wet but make sure to remove excess water from your hair. Towel dry it so that you remove excess water. Your hair should be damp and not dripping wet. Gently comb your hair to detangle any knots. Then part your hair down the middle. If you have bangs you can pin them out of the way.

• To crimp your hair you will need to know how to braid. You can either choose to do regular braids or if you are able to, you can do french or dutch braids. French and dutch braids work the best because you get a uniformed crimped look, and it involves more of the hair around the scalp. Regardless of what kind of braid you use, make sure that the braids are even in size and are very tight.

• If you are doing simple braids, start by taking a section of hair and then braiding it tight at the root all the way to the end. Secure the end with an elastic and continue braiding sections until all the hair is braided.

• If you are using Dutch or French braids, start by taking a section of your hair from the front of your head and begin braiding it towards the back of your head. As you are braiding, start gathering some of the loose hair that isn’t part of your original sections and slowly start incorporating this into your braid. Once you get to the back of your head, start braiding your hair down: you no longer need to add loose sections of hair into your braid. Once you get to the end, secure your braid with an elastic. Take another section of hair in the front of your head and begin the braiding process all over again.

• Once you have braided all your hair you can leave the braids in for a few hours until they dry or leave them in overnight. If you are unsure of whether or not the crimp will hold, you can add gel or hairspray. When you are sure that it has dried, carefully remove all the elastics. Run your fingers through the crimps to separate them. If you aren’t happy with the amount of volume near your scalp, tease your hair to give it more volume. You can wear your crimped hair down, or you can wear it with a messy updo.