"They Never Fail Me" — Woman Shares Her Hack for Achieving Perfect Curls at the Airport

If you ask folks what is the No. 1 wish for their manes, the answer would likely be between flaunting a frizz-free style and scoring bouncy, sculpted, heatless curls. Folks that are partial to the latter may have found themselves experiencing breakage or heat damage due to using heat styling tools.

That said, some folks may have heard about heatless curling methods. And while some methods have not passed the test, others can actually transform your hair.

So, when a TikTok user shared an airport curls hair hack, she had #beautytok in a chokehold. Here’s the 4-1-1 on how to achieve the heatless curls of your dreams.

It’s time to put your heat-styling tools on ice! In a June 29, 2023 TikTok video, creator Taylor (@madeandtaylored) shared a method for achieving heatless curls at the airport.

“Me when I board and when I land,” Taylor’s video caption reads.

As the video starts, Taylor has her hand in her hair preparing to create magic.

“My flight is literally boarding, and I’m going to do my infamous airport curls,” Taylor said. “I just washed my hair this morning, so it’s slightly damp.”

As Taylor has her hands in her hair, she details the steps.

“You get a section, split it into two, and twist it around each other,” Taylor said while working her way from the crown of her head to the back of her head. “I’m super precise with my sections because I do want it to have that windblown, air-dried type of look. Tie it off.”

Taylor then repeats the same method on the other side of her head.

“Make sure you’re twisting away from your face, all the way down to your ends,” Taylor said. “And by the time I get off of this flight, I’m going to look like I tried really hard on my hair, but I didn't do anything else except for sleep. So I’ll show you what the after result looks like when I get off.”

In Part 2, Taylor is off of her flight and she unravels her hair.

“Finally landed so I can take out my hair and show the results of my heatless airport waves,” Taylor said as she begins to unravel her hair. “I’m currently in Chicago and my flight has already been delayed twice on top of the five-hour delay I had this morning from Connecticut.

“Part of me was like, ‘You know what? I should not jump on this plane, stay in Connecticut and call it a loss, but I really felt like dancing with the devil today,’” Taylor said. “So, here I am. If worse comes to worse, and my flight gets delayed again, I can have myself a night in Chicago and can think of worse things than that.”

Once Taylor successfully unraveled her hair, you could see bouncy, loose waves.

As usual, most TikTok users love a hair hack that works. So when Taylor shared the result of her airport curls, folks loved it.

“I love your energy and your hair DOES look amazing,” one person commented.

“I tried it last night, and I love it! But mine’s a lot curlier for some reason I’m not sure what I did differently,” another user shared.

Interestingly, while Taylor's hair does look amazing, we’d be remiss if we didn't point out that her hair hack is actually a style that has been used for years in the Black community. Enter: Flat twists.

“These are called flat twists,” another TikTok user shared.

In case you’ve been out of the loop, flat twists are a hairstyle primarily used by folks with natural hair — think Type 3 and Type 4 hair. Since using heat on hair can cause adverse effects, folks with textured hair prefer an alternative that can double as a protective style and create gorgeous, defined curls.

So, while Taylor is shining a light on her hair hack, it’s actually something that has been a staple in the natural hair and Black community for decades.