35-Year-Old Mother of Twins Tries TikTok Heatless Curls Trend and Looks Ridiculous

I am the 35-year-old mom. I tried the TikTok heatless curls trend and ended up looking like a jet-lagged and malnourished Ursula instead of the curly-haired version of Aphrodite TikTok promised. 

I am a sucker for viral trends. Don’t judge me for frivolous expenditures on instant coffee and a peel mask for baby soft feet. I have spent two years locked down with two toddlers who aren’t allowed to watch tv. Even the good Lord Jesus got a change of scenery—TikTok is mine. 

My love of things that work in pop culture but not so much in real life and my quest to achieve attractiveness while doing the bare minimum made heartless curls the ideal trend for me.

Spoiler: it wasn’t the ideal trend for me.

The heartless curl trend is nothing but a snake-like pillow you clip to the top of your head and wrap your hair around—securing it with large pink scrunchies on each side. (It looks as ridiculous as it sounds.) The goal is the loose beach waves you achieve with a wand, without the risk of burning your hair, your forehead, your arm, or any other body part that gets caught in the curling wand crossfire. There’s also the added benefit of never having to worry about your kids grabbing the wand or burning your house down when you’re curling your hair and your kids decide they will not survive another minute without another cup of milk. The benefits do not take away from the ridiculousness of the heatless curl look.

It’s a tall order for something that costs $14, but I needed to believe in the possibility that my hair could do itself while I sleep, so I ordered it. I washed my hair the day it came. I waited for it to air dry, and while my parents played with their grandchildren in the living room, I clipped a snake-shaped pillow to my head, wrapped my hair around it, and emerged from my room for everyone to question my sanity. 

At bedtime, I wrapped a mulberry silk scarf—purchased for this occasion—around my Medusa-inspired ‘do. This was not part of the TikTok trend, but something I hoped would keep the hair in place. 

Spoiler: it didn’t.

I woke up scarfless, half my hair having freed itself from the confines of the heartless curl snakes. If a hair report were a thing, mine would have read outlook not good. 

I freed the rest of my hair from the scrunchies and the snake, and my hair was worse than when I started. What I’m saying is, I tried the TikTok heatless curl trend, and all I got were these ridiculous photos. 

The details for those of you who care:

The heatless curls TikTok trend works. I just have the two things working against me: my hair is very thick and coarse and it’s short. If my hair were long, this probably would have worked. If my hair were fine, this probably would have worked. So as long as you don’t have short, thick, coarse hair, this may be worth a try for you.