I Never Travel Without This $18 Trick That Gives Me Perfect Hair — All While I Sleep

I’m someone who has spent entire decades trying to force my hair to hold a curl. As a child, my mom would wrap my hair on sponge rollers before picture days or holidays and I would end up looking like some kind of Shirley Temple hybrid. As a teenager, I burned countless strands of hair and lost hours of my life waking up early to curl it, only to have it fall out before I even arrived at school. And as a mom myself, I eventually gave up and resigned to rocking a messy bun for life. 

When I stumbled across the viral heatless curler on social media, I thought at last my curlless woes would come to an end. But, alas, even the power of Instagram influencers couldn’t get my hair to hold a curl. Until I stumbled on a different version of the TikTok overnight sensation: the Fantastic House Silk Heatless Hair Curler. 

To buy: amazon.com, $18 with onsite coupon

Much to my amazement, the silk heatless curler headband actually worked. My hair not only emerges from the silk confines of the headband with bouncy, voluminous curls but somehow manages to hold those same curls all day long. 

Most importantly, it saves me so much time and mental energy. With five kids, I never know what my mornings are going to look like and it’s been so refreshing to take doing my own hair — which normally takes me over an hour if I want to try to curl it — out of the equation. I can quite literally just pull the scrunchies and headband out, and be good to go. It’s truly been life-changing.

This silk curler could not be easier to use: you place it on top of your head, using a clip to secure it, then wrap slightly damp, almost dry hair around each side and secure it with a scrunchie on each end. The ends of the headband can be tucked neatly behind your head or up into a cross. I don’t even feel it when I sleep and even as a dedicated side sleeper, my curls still turn out perfectly. 

To buy: amazon.com, $18 with onsite coupon

For reference, I have very fine pin-straight hair, which is part of the reason why the TikTok curler just didn’t work for me — the rod was too stiff and inflexible and my hair slipped off of it too easily. The Fantastic House Silk Heatless Hair Curler, on the other hand, is much more flexible and forgiving and my hair stays put no matter how much I move at night. The outside of the headband is made of mulberry silk, while the inside is a combination of cotton and malleable metal to give it some shape, while remaining soft and flexible. 

This heatless curler is also a godsend for traveling. For early morning flights, I sleep with it in for effortless curls in the morning and I’m fully planning on using it for a destination wedding we have coming up in a few weeks because I don’t have to worry about packing a curling iron or planning to style it in humid weather. It’s a game-changer knowing that I can look put together even away from home when there’s often no time — or shared bathroom space — for me to get ready. 

I’d rather spend my time enjoying the scenery, hitting the beach, or trying a new restaurant than dealing with my impossible hair anyways.

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