Lovely Links: Lovely Locks Edition

About six months ago, I chopped close to fifteen inches off my hair.

Since I don't dye my hair and because I'd worn it up so much (being a mom with nearly waist-length hair meant lots of braids, buns, and ponytails), my hair was healthy enough to be donated. I even got a $10 discount for donating (everyone wins!).  I've always had long hair, but I was ready for the change and barely flinched when she chopped that long braid off. 

As the lady was styling my new haircut (which I loved), she was suggesting all sorts of products and tools I would need to style my now shoulder-length hair. Like I said, before the cut, I wore my hair up most the time; I didn't have time to blow-dry or curl all that hair! But once it was chopped off, I was told that I needed a flat iron, curling wand, salt spray, heat protectant, and mousse.

Confession: I was so excited about my stylish new hairdo, I bought all of it.

Granted, I didn't buy the $100 flat-iron the stylist told me I needed and the salt spray was basically free with the discount for I got for donating.  Still, I spent a good bit of cash buying these supplies. I felt a little strange buying all those beauty products. I mean, I'm the girl who has washed her hair with baking soda, cleaned her face with oil, and is using the same solitary eye-shadow compact I bought at least two years ago. 

Since I'm a little paranoid about frying my hair, I go easy with my styling tools, limiting myself to only 2-3 times a week. In the process, I've found a lot of alternate ways to curl my hair. In many ways, I find myself preferring the look of the heat-less curls over the heat-styled ones.

But why am I blogging about my hair on a blog about frugality? Because as I've been thinking about it, curling your hair without heat can actually save some money.

One way that heat-free curling can save you money is that undamaged hair means less trips to the salon. Split ends are often the result of heat damage and the only way to get rid of them, despite what many shampoo commercials say, is to cut them off. Unless you're particularly brave and can cut your own hair or you have a stylist in the family, you'll have to pay to get your damaged hair trimmed. There are lots of in-salon treatments for damaged hair, but the prices for them can range anywhere from $40 to $600 (seriously -- I did a little reading and there are these keratin treatments that can cost that much!). Even if you skip the professionals and try to fix heat-damaged hair at home, it can still get costly. 

Another way heat-less curling can save you money is pretty obvious: you don't need to buy an arsenal of tools and hair products, like curling irons, wands, flat-irons, or heat protectant sprays. For most of the heat-less curling methods out there, your needed supplies are likely things you already have at home and if you don't have them, they don't cost much. Usually, you just need a couple socks, some bobby pins, or a headband to curl your hair.

Here are a few of the many ways you can curl your hair without heat, often while you're sleeping:

No Heat Curl Headband Tutorial :: The Paper Mama

This was one of the very first tutorials I pinned on my hairstyle board on Pinterest and one of the first I actually tried out. When I had all my hair wrapped up, it looked like some kind of weird hairstyle Princess Leia would have, but I went to sleep on it and hoped for the best. It totally worked! I got lots of compliments on it the next day, so, of course, I explained how to do it to a bunch of people. My friend has a darling little girl with super-fine, super blonde hair and she tells me this method is the only way her daughter's hair will hold a curl. My sister-in-law, Katherine, also swears by it and always has great results. I love this curling method for vacations -- it's so easy to just pack a headband! (The link at the top is where I first saw the idea and she has a video there (but it's kind of long). This pin has a quick and simple overview of how to do it; I would've put a link to that but I couldn't find the original source.)

Natural Waves :: Join the Mood

I like this tutorial because it doesn't have to set overnight to work. Plus, sometimes I'd rather have some soft, natural waves instead of curls. This method only requires some water and bobby pins.

Foam Curls :: The Shine Project

Of course, no post about heat-free curling would be complete without mentioning foam curlers. If you're like me, you have childhood memories of wearing pink foam curlers to bed at night (ouch) and waking up with Shirley Temple-esque curls. Even though foam curlers haven't changed at all since I wore them in the 1980s, there are ways you can use them stylishly in the 21st century. The link above is proof. 

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Bed Head Beach Waves :: Maskcara

Beach-hair waves are in right now and the whole goal is to look all windswept like you've been to the beach. I find it funny that often a lot of work is required to curl and style your hair so it looks like you didn't do it. In any case, this tutorial looks pretty simple and I'm totally going to give it a try.

Hair and How We Do It, Including Sock Curls :: 

71 Toes

This curling method looks really, really easy and only requires 3-4 socks to do it.  I hope my hair is long enough to make it work because I really want to try it this weekend. I love doing my hair Saturday night instead of when I'm trying to get my boys ready for church on Sunday.

How to Rock 4 Awesome Vintage 'Dos :: 

Refinery 29

Empty coke cans, pink foam rollers, hand-ripped rags -- this post shows you how to use all them (though not all once) to get gorgeous hair. Seriously, each hairdo is gorgeous. Who needs a blow dryer or curling iron anyway?

Hope your weekend (and your hair) is lovely this weekend! 

Note: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have disclosed.