I am addicted to Pinterest. It allows me to curate a collection of virtual corkboards, pinning up what inspires me from sites I love and getting ideas from others via their boards – things to make, to buy, to read. I keep boards for all the things I love – things like film, fashion, design, photography, beauty. Lately, hair tutorials have become a favorite. They are priceless for the hair helpless like myself.

I can throw together outfits without much trouble, and don’t really think twice about how I’ll do my makeup, but when it comes to my hair I often find myself at a loss.

On Pinterest I’d found the tutorial for “No Heat Curls,”  which seems to be circulating the web like mad. The video made it seem ridiculously easy. I was suspicious. But, I decided to give it a go. And it works.

My hair is wavy and to make the waves work usually takes a little, well, work. So most days I pile it up in a messy bun with a set of Spin Pins. Or I mix in some leave-in conditioner, dry it in a bun and it ends up straight-ish. (This only works when my hair is long. The shorter it gets, the curlier frizzier it gets.)

I’ve done the No Heat Curls three times now, but never left the headband on overnight. I tried it the first time on a lazy Saturday morning and 6 hours later I had a head of bouncy curls. (I’m not sure if naturally straight hair would work as quickly.) I added a bit of hairspray and they looked great. Another time I put in some beach curl spray but mixed with high temps outside, I found my hair went from bouncy curls to limp waves in a few hours. So far, I think a bit of hairspray works best. I might try a light mousse next time.

These pictures are after 4 hours. The curls are looser, and I like that. No heat, no damage, and lots of body – those Spin Pins might begin collecting dust soon. xo a.

Alex Asher Sears is a writer, photographer, editor and fourth generation Angeleno. She believes that you can find inspiration anywhere but thinks Slim Aarons, Nöel Coward and Diana Vreeland are a great place to start. Since 2007, she’s been sharing her eco-beauty finds with BB readers, but calls AlexandraWrote home.