How to get curly hair to surfer hair?

So I have like a little longer than should length THICK curly hair. It's not like super tight curls so I guess it's curly/wavy but how can I get it to be like the surfer girls hair styles, you kow w/ the loose but messy and cute waves? I don't really want to straighten my hair and then curl it, so ways w/ minimal heat would be helpful. I've also tried braiding my hair overnight and it just made my hair extra curly. Thanks!