By Helena Madonna

Tired of fighting the fluff? Meet the viral trend that uses it as the foundation. We're witnessing the end of 20-step routines, overly polished finishes and heat-heavy blowouts. In their place are effortless, air-dried looks that work with 'real life'.

With wellness culture, sustainability and hair health driving the conversation, this shift is no surprise. Air-dried perfected looks are a rebellion against over-styling, and a celebration of true, natural texture. It's time to meet the undone blow wave: finishes that look like happy accidents but feel entirely intentional.

Your heatless guide to natural, volume-induced curls.

The Method:

1. Begin by detangling curls with a Denman brush or a wide-tooth comb on dripping wet hair.
2. Using a curl cream, rub a medium amount of product through your palms until almost completely absorbed. Evenly distribute throughout hair.
3. Section out the bottom of your hair and gently clip the rest away. Using a gel, run a small amount from roots to ends before scrunching from ends to roots.
4. Allow hair to completely air-dry. To ensure your curls dry with volume, flip hair upside down and shake. Careful not to disrupt the curl pattern!
5. Once hair is 100% dry, take a lightweight dry hair oil and starting at the ends, allow ends to pile into the palm of your hand - then press curls towards the roots, tilting your head if needed.
6. Repeat until the curls lose that crunchy feeling. Using a dry wax spray, flip hair upside and spray while shaking hair, avoid touching it - to allow curls to separate naturally.

Ideal for straight to wavy natural textures, this look celebrates an air-dried finish with a whisper of a wave.

The Method:

1. Begin with freshly washed, towel dried hair and no product.
2. Detangle with a wide tooth comb, before gently wrapping hair in a turban. Leave to dry and release when hair is almost completely dry.
3. Pump a small amount of a lightweight oil into your palms. Rub together until the oil is almost completely absorbed, then scrunch through the ends of your hair. This technique ensures you're not overusing the product.
4. Section out the bottom third of your hair and clip the rest away. Using a large curling tong, take small to medium sections (make sure you alternate sizes) and wrap two and a half times around the barrel then release quickly. The desired result is a bend not a curl.
5. Repeat this over the whole head. Using your fingers, gather all hair into a loose twisted bun (do not secure it). Holding the hair in place, use a hairdryer on the lowest heat setting to gently warm the bun.
6. Once cool to the touch, release hair and shake out completely. Finish with a dry texturising spray.

Natural fall, natural fluff minus the frizz.

The Method:

1. Detangle curls in the shower and squeeze out excess water.
2. Begin by blotting hair with a microfibre towel or T-shirt. Avoid rough rubbing to keep the cuticle flat.
3. Working with a small amount of curl mousse, scrunch product through curls - from roots to ends.
4. Using your fingers, create 4-6 rope twists away from the face. Clip roots with a few creaseless clips for lift, if needed.
5. To dry, either diffuse on a low/cool setting or allow curls to air dry.
6. It's crucial that curls are 100% dry before doing this step! Lightly unwind each rope twist. Taking a boar bristle brush, lightly mist a flexible hairspray over the brush, not the hair.
7. Using an extremely gentle touch, starting from underneath, brush curls from roots to ends.
8. To polish the surface, take a pea-size amount of serum and emulsify in palms until almost invisible. Smooth hands over the outer layer only.

Kinky waves made famous by the queens of quiet cool.

The Method:

1. Begin by detangling hair with a wide-tooth comb.
2. Apply a small amount of a dry oil to the mid-lengths and ends of your hair, avoiding the roots entirely. Allow hair to completely air-dry.
3. Using the Iles Formula Finishing Serum (the product apparently used by the Olsen twins themselves), distribute a small amount onto ends and through mid-lengths with a light hand.
4. Taking small irregular sections throughout the hair, use a flat iron to create an 'S' bend. Create this by feeding the hair flat through the iron while lightly tapping as you move towards the ends. Only do this on pieces that require movement, any natural wave or kinks should be left alone.
5. Using the best tools we have - our hands - complete the look by zhuzhing the roots to create texture and volume.