Hello lovely readers,

The festive season is now upon us, I hope you’re all getting excited for the celebrations to come. With parties on the horizon, I’ve put together a few tips on how to style hair without damaging it this winter. I know our immediate reaction may be to reach for the hair dryer, curling wand, straighteners and harsh products, but there are lots of other options for damage-free styling, and as a bonus, if you aren’t using all those heat stylers you’ll save a little on your energy bill too.

Heatless curls

Who doesn’t love big, bouncy curls in party season? If you want to know how to style hair without damaging it, the best way is to take the heat out of the equation. TikTok is full of weird and wonderful ways to achieve heatless curls, but you could of course just invest in an old-fashioned set of rollers. From Velcro rollers to bendy foam rollers, you can get a range of sizes for different curls and either pop them in and leave overnight or wash your hair and let it dry naturally with the rollers in. A tip for thick or long hair, wait until your hair is semi-dry before you put the rollers in. Working from home on party day sounds like a plan.

Here’s a TikTok heatless curl craze you might like to try. I have it on good authority it works.

Leggings curls

As the name suggests you use a pair of leggings as your curling tool and wrap the hair around them.

• Start by parting your hair down the middle.
• Sit the leggings on top of your head with the crotch in the middle and a leg coming down each side.
• Start on one side, take a small section of hair from the front of your head and wrap it around the leg of your legging, then do the same with a section from the back.
• Add another section to the front, the same way you would if you were French plaiting your hair, then another section to the back, and so on until all the hair on one side of your head is wrapped around the leg of the legging.
• Secure at the bottom with a soft hair elastic and repeat on the other side.
• With both sides wrapped and fastened, cross the two sections at the back of your hair, bring to the front and tie (depending on the length of your hair. You want to tie the ends of the leggings and not the section with your hair on).
• Then fold the body part of the leggings over your hair to create a cap.
• In the morning, gently unwrap and brush out with your fingers or give the curls a very light brush.

Heatless straightening

This is much trickier to get right than the curling options but in the interest of giving everyone tips on how to style hair without damaging it, I wanted to include it. The results might not be perfect, but even if you feel the need to get the straighteners out for the finished look, you’ll still be preventing some damage by limiting the amount of heat you use.

• Start with damp or dry hair – if you’re starting with dry hair you may need to use a little product or hair oil, like Nosheen Hair Oil, to keep hair from frizzing.
• Brush your hair out, or use a wide-toothed comb if you’re working with damp hair.
• Then take one side and wrap it around your head, a bit like a comb-over; it wants to be tight enough not to fall out, then pin in place.
• Repeat with the other side.
• Cover your hair with a silk tie or a wrap, like our Microfibre Hair Towel Wrap.
• In the morning gently unwrap and brush.

Even if initially you use straighteners on your hair, wrapping it before you sleep can help keep it looking smoother and shinier for longer, and you get to channel that 1940s glam while you sleep.

Easy Up-Dos

A simple up-do always makes me feel festive and many styles can be achieved with minimum effort, so if you don’t want to leave anything in overnight, or you’re in a rush, you might want to try one of these. Remember the key to styling hair without damaging it is not to use tons of product, so opt for a softer look with a ‘messy-but-styled’ appeal.

1. The messy bun

You’ve probably already mastered your favourite messy bun, and although it might not strike you as party hair, add a few pretty clips and you’ll be surprised.

• Gather your hair into a ponytail on top of your head and fasten.
• Make a fist around the ponytail and let your hair fall over it, fasten again.
• Gently pull out hair to create the bun size you want.
• Wrap excess hair around the base and pin.
• Gently pull hair towards the front to create a softer effect; pull out any tendrils.
• Pin the bun as needed.

2. Plaits

Plaits always look beautiful, and again, there are so many options with this. French plaits, Dutch plaits, waterfall braids etc. Go half-up-half-down, plait into a low bun, plait around your head or down one side.

3. The low chignon

Much like the messy bun, this style has been around for eons, yet it never gets old. Here again, you can add some festive sparkle with pretty hair clips.

• Pull hair into a loose ponytail at the nape of the neck.
• Separate the ponytail into two sections and fasten each one about an inch from the end, leaving the hair loose.
• Take one strand and lift it diagonally towards the head, pull a small section of hair away from your head and push the ponytail strand through it and back on itself to create a loop, fasten in place.
• Repeat with the other ponytail strand, crossing it over the top you’ve just made.
• Shape the two sections so the chignon is a nice round shape with no gaps.
• Bring the end of both strands together at the base of your chignon and fasten beneath with a grip so they are hidden.

Whatever you’re doing this party season, I hope you get to do it with great hair and bags of confidence and remember if your hair is looking a little stressed, a touch of Nosheen Hair Oil can go a long way. If you have a gift to buy for someone who deserves a little pampering, our Hair Care Collection will have them smiling for months to come.

See you again in 2023.

Love Nosheen xxx