Try The Viral Sock Trick For Beautiful Heatless Curls
If you are looking to ditch your curling iron and want to find heatless ways to curl your hair without one, there is a great hack you can try that utilizes a basic clothing item you should definitely have on hand: socks. That's right, socks. Not special "hair socks" but the kinds of socks you usually wear on your feet can help you achieve your curly girl dreams if you have yet to purchase the viral heatless curling headband.
This sock curling hack has circulated extensively on TikTok, but it is not something new for the hair world. Using socks or similar strips of recycled fabric for curling has been around for a while now, repurposing everything from chopsticks to bathrobe ties. If you want to give this hack a try, you first need to gather up some socks — either two or four, depending on how thick your hair is — that are about as long as your hair.
Then, you need something to hold the socks in place at the top of your head. You can use some kind of hair or claw clip for this. Lastly, you will need some hair ties or scrunchies.
How to achieve heatless curls with socks
There are a few methods you can use for curling your hair with socks. With one, your hair should be partially damp when you begin. You will then divide it into sections. If you are using two socks, make two sections. For four socks, make four. Then, clip one sock to the top of one section (toe-side up) or just hold it in place and begin wrapping your hair around it. Ensure you keep the wrap nice and tight.
Once you get to the bottom of the sock, flip the ankle of the sock up to cover your wrapped hair and secure it with one of your hair ties or scrunchies. Repeat on the other side, or repeat three more times if you are using four socks. You can sleep with the socks in. When you wake the next morning and pull the socks out of your hair, you should be left with curls and waves that you can fluff with your fingers.
In the video above, TikTok user Sophie Barkley shows off her own variation on the trend. Barkley ties scrunchies at the top of her head before tucking the sock inside instead of using a claw clip. She also sprays her hair with hair oil to ensure the curls don't come out frizzy in the end. Barkley also advises that you have to keep the sock totally straight as you twist your hair around it.
Additional methods and techniques for sock curls
The sock curl look can be achieved in lots of other ways too. According to a tutorial from TikTok user Ally Kay, you should cross a strand of hair from in front of the sock over a strand from behind as you wrap it around the fabric. This creates a crisscross of Xs down the sock. With this method, you do not have to pull the ankle of the sock over the wrapped hair at the end.
Instead, just tie your hair tie or scrunchie around it at the bottom and leave the hair, like a braid of sorts, until the next day when it's time to untie the sock. Fellow TikToker Jonathan Monroe has naturally curly hair and uses the sock curling method to add some extra volume. In the video above Monroe listed some of the most common mistakes he sees with sock curling.
The content creator recommends that you do not clip the sock too far back on your head. He also noted, "Once I wrap around, I grab diagonal sections to create massive volume and face-framing." In Monroe's tutorial, he stresses the importance of wrapping your hair tightly around the sock for the best results — bouncy, beautiful curls!