It depends on your hair texture and how tightly you wrap your hair around the strips. Also, how dry your hair was when you unwrapped the strips. I'm impatient and have a bad habit of unwrapping the Octocurl when my hair is still slightly damp (around 2 hours after wrapping), yet my beach waves still last the full day. They start to loosen up as the days progress, but by day 4 I still have SOME wave left. (I only wash my hair once or twice a week).