I Tried Curling My Hair With a Thong

At this point in my life, I've tested a lot of hair hacks, and if I've learned one thing, it's that sometimes the weirdest ones give the best results. I've tried sock curls, upside down curls, and even different twisted heatless hair hacks to try and get the best possible look.

I've found a lot of winners, but I've also found a lot of duds, and I wasn't sure which category TikTok's latest obsession was going to fall into, because everyone was curling their hair with underwear. Yes, you read that right — underwear. And not just any underwear, but a thong.

The first time I came across this hack was when TikTok user Zore Espana popped up on my FYP putting it to the test. My jaw immediately dropped because, let's be real, you don't see that every day. But what really grabbed my attention and ultimately sold me on the idea was her results in the morning. Her bouncy waves looked like she had just spent some time in the ocean, which is where I always aspire to be. I had to try the hack for myself.

Espana opted to use a pair of seamless underwear, but I wanted to use a brand-new pair that I hadn't yet worn, so I ended up using the only unworn thong I had in my dresser drawer, a cotton pair. I started out with hair that was clean, fresh out of the shower, and about 85 percent dry. I parted it down the middle as I usually do, and then I wrapped the underwear around my head. To do this, I put the larger front section of fabric above my forehead and the skinny thong part at the back of my head.

Once I had it set up properly, I started wrapping one side of my hair around the waistband of the thong. I tried to twist everything as tightly as possible because I knew from past experiments with overnight curls that they tend to loosen up while I sleep.

I think there are a few ways you can twist the hair — either all together as one big piece or in tiny sections. I decided to do my hair in smaller sections because I wanted to see a little more definition with each wave.

After I was finished with one side, I repeated the process on the other side. I had a little bit of hair that was sticking out at the back, but I just wrapped those ends around as tight as I could. It looked a little messy, but I was hopeful that it would work out come morning.

As mentioned, I've tried a lot of overnight heatless curls in my day, and these were by far the most comfortable to sleep in overnight. I didn't find myself tossing and turning throughout the night trying to get comfortable, and I was actually able to flip between sleeping on my back and sleeping on my side with zero issues.

When I got out of bed in the morning and slipped the thong off of my head, I was stoked to see that the results were pretty great. The curls weren't as beach wavy as Espana's were in her TikTok video, but they were good enough for me to leave the house in, and that's really all I care about. Also, because the main portion of the thong was centered over my middle part, I really felt like the underwear helped cut down on frizz at the root of my hair, which I often deal with.

The only downside was that I had a bit of an indent on my forehead from the seam of the thong, which is probably why Espana opted for a seamless option in the first place.

Overall, I'm happy with the results from using a thong to curl my hair. Who would have thought? If you've been searching for an overnight heatless curl hack that's easy to do and comfortable to sleep in, I'd recommend giving this one a try. After all, all you need is a pair of underwear.

Renee Rodriguez (she/her) is a staff writer and social producer for PS. She writes across all verticals, but her main areas of expertise focus on fashion and beauty content with an emphasis on reviews and editor experiments. She also produces social content for the PS TikTok and Instagram accounts.