As someone who hasn’t used a curling iron in about eight months, and hasn’t touched a flat iron in over two years, hairstyles requiring heavy heat are not my favorite. Not that heated hairstyles are bad by any means; they just take too much time when I could be doing other things in the meantime (like sleeping, basically).
So, here are some fast hairstyles that require no heat at all! Perfect for dressing up or dressing down, for whatever occasion!
SNAKE BRAID
This my go-to hairstyle for those days when I’m dying to get my hair out of my eyes.
Here’s what to do:
- Grab the strand of your hair that’s closest to your eyes (either side works). How big or how small the piece of hair is depends on how thick or thin you want your braid to be. Start braiding the piece about half way down — just a classic, simple braid.
- Once you’re about halfway down, don’t let go of the braid! You should have two pieces in one hand and one piece in the other. Hold on to the one piece and scrunch the other two pieces upwards. The braid is going to look super bunched up at this point. From here, pull the braid down gently and it should look like a snake! Pin the strand of your hair near your ear and you’re done!
- I usually do a snake braid with my hair down, but you can always throw your hair in a messy ponytail and rock the snake braid that way!
FRENCH & FISHTAIL IN ONE
This one takes a little more time, but not much. I’ve worn this look so many times — it’s so cute!
Here’s what to do:
- Do a normal French braid down the back of your head. If you can’t French braid your own hair (don’t worry, I can’t French braid for the life of me!), you can always ask a friend or relative for help. You’re going to French braid your hair until it’s down to the top of your neck. Secure it with an elastic.
- From here, you’re going to start creating a side fishtail braid with the remaining hair. Fishtail all the way down and secure it with another elastic.
- These next two parts are optional, but you can always snip the elastic that’s holding the French braid if you want to achieve a messier look. And I like to pull my fishtail lightly to thicken the braid. This makes it look so much more voluminous!
I’ve definitely worn this on casual days, but I’ve also worn this look for formal events too. Casual meets classy!
FISHTAIL TOP KNOT
If you’re looking to dress up your top knot, this is my all time favorite style.
Here’s what to do:
- Throw all of your hair in a super high ponytail. Fishtail braid your ponytail all the way down.
- Then, wrap the fishtail around the top of your head as if you’re forming a bun. Hide the elastics and pin down with bobby pins.
- If you want a messier look, pull out some baby bangs and stretch out the braid.
I’ve worn this to work, I’ve worn this on formal occasions, and I’ve worn this on my laziest of days. And I get compliments every time!
BRAIDED HEADBAND
Why buy a headband when your hair can do the exact same thing?
Here’s what to do:
- From the very bottom and back of your hair, grab a generous amount of hair. Again, the amount of hair in this strand will depend on how thick or thin you want your headband to be. Braid all the way down, and pull the braid to create your desired thickness.
- Take the strand of hair and wrap it across the top of your head, as if it were a headband. Pin the braid down under your hair so the bobby pins are virtually invisible.
- My biggest tip for this is to make sure your braid is SECURE. If it’s not secure, it will fall out! So make sure your bobby pins are holding everything down.
I’ve worn this look with my hair down, but I love styling it with a normal top knot. The braided headband gives a simple top knot so much more dimension!
TRIPLE BRAIDED BRAID
This is a great take on a classic side braid. It definitely looks a lot more complicated than it actually is!
Here’s what to do:
- Throw your hair on one side as if you’re going to be starting a normal side braid.
- Just like normal, split your hair into three individual sections.
- Basically, you’re going to create three separate braids with those three strands of hair.
- Once those three braids are complete, braid those braids together into one giant braid. I know, it sounds confusing, but it’s not! By the end of all your endless braiding, you’ll have a super thick braid that has three braids within.
This look definitely tricks people into thinking you took a lot of time on your hair, when really, it only takes about three minutes to complete. Simple is always the way to go!
BRAIDED CROWN
I’m sure you’ve seen this in many YouTube videos and Pinterest blogs, but it’s so cute, I had to share it.
Here’s what to do:
- You’re going to take the two strands of your hair that are closest your face. One strand on your left side, one strand on your right. Braid these two pieces all the way down.
- Then, you’re just going to take these two pieces and arrange them on the back of your head. Pin them down and you’re done!
- This is a really cute way to style your hair if you are in absolutely no mood to deal with hair in your face. Goodbye flower crowns, hello braided crowns!
ULTRA LONG PONYTAIL
My least favorite thing about putting my hair up is the fact that my hair looks so much shorter in a ponytail. This next hairstyle is definitely a happy solution!
Here’s what to do:
- Basically, you’re going to make two ponytails.
- Separate your hair into two equal sections, the top half and the bottom half. Put the top half of your hair in a high ponytail.
- Put the bottom half of your hair in a lower ponytail, just a few inches beneath the first ponytail. By doing this, the ends of your hair look so much longer and the best part? No one can even tell that there is two ponytails! It just looks like one giant pony.
As you all know, ponytails are super versatile, so you can wear this in so many different ways and it will always look cute!
INVERTED PONYTAIL
I used to do this so often as a kid, and I was always fascinated with how cool it looked. And here I am today, nineteen years old, still fascinated by it.
Here’s what to do:
- Put your hair in a middle to low ponytail. Right above the elastic, create a hole.
- You’re going to loop the ponytail through this hole.
- Pull it all the way through and tighten. It’s literally that simple.
This one is such as classic, but definitely a must to include! It never fails.
WAVY SIDE BRAID
This hairstyle is a great way to get your hair out of your face. And it’s super cute, of course!
Here’s what to do:
- This is a normal side braid, except with a wavy twist! First, throw all your hair to one side of your head. You’re basically going to twist the top part of your hair.
- Twist and twist until you have a cute little wave.
- Pin the twist down (or you can use hairspray if that works better for you) and then start braiding the bottom pieces of your hair.
- The wave transitions into a braid really nicely!
You’ll nail all ten of these super quick (and cute!) hairstyles in no time. And when you do, you’ll be looking like even more of a queen than you already do!
(Disclaimer: I didn’t come up with all of these hairstyles myself, but many of them were too cute to not include! Props to the real beauty gurus who came up with hairstyles so cool that they’ve exploded allover on Pinterest and YouTube.)