Hot Rollers Handbook

Ask and you shall receive! Over the last few years, "How do you lot roll your pilus?" has officially surpassed "What do yous clothing under backless dresses?" every bit my well-nigh frequently asked question. I've been very vocal about using and loving hot rollers, only I realize there are tons of different models on the marketplace, from loftier to low end, and more than one fashion to secure them. So, here'southward my complete rundown on what brand I use and why, what I use to secure them and why, and a step-by-step guide on how to use them. The .GIF-making skills I've developed writing my Available recaps came in handy with demonstrating bits that are difficult to depict with words. :)

PS—Though I did reach out to t3 to line up a contest with this mail service, cypher here is in any way sponsored. I already used t3 rollers and merely wanted to get some sweet swag for yous guys. :) Roll to the bottom for more than about this giveaway!

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THE GOAL

There are four reasons I rely on hot rollers versus the other crimper methods out in that location...

1. Volume. Instead of only giving a gyre, hot rollers give dainty bounce and bit of lift at the root. This is peculiarly the case on day two or 3 of washing, when you take that lift paired with a bit of dry out shampoo.

2. Its roll is super natural-looking. I find that a crimper iron corkscrew curl can ofttimes await too perfect, and even strategically "beachy" waves tin sometimes look contrived. Out and about, strangers sometimes ask if my hair is natural or if I styled it, which to me is the best compliment. For it to not exist a given that I style my hair is my goal!

3. The results are low-maintenance. Because of that natural-looking aspect, I don't have to practise much in the way of styling, or worry well-nigh errant hairs when I flip my hair around. Even when it's a fleck messy it still looks presentable.

4. There's great return on time investment. While my pilus is on the straight side, it's not exactly pin-directly either. Information technology's straight but with kinks, and the ends are a scrap blah. What I dear nearly hot rollers is information technology gives the hair expert management—significant, even if and when the curls loosen and fade—even days afterwards!—that directional moving ridge is still intact. After using hot rollers, even when my hair's been snowed on, rained on (within reason), and just generally flattened out, it'll even so be more than together-looking than my natural hair. Putting in just a few minutes of hot roller time (it takes me less than five minutes to do my whole head) will brand my pilus more presentable for DAYS.

FYI, hither is what my hair looks au naturel, washed at night and air dried overnight...

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THE TOOLS

Hot Rollers

T3 Volumizing Hot Rollers Luxe ($120): I've been using hot rollers for effectually 15 years (!) so at this point I've tried TONS of roller sets and brands. I've used steam rollers, velcro, and endless velvet flocked, heated ones. While I did similar and accept success with both the Conair and Babyliss sets, when they were on their last legs and information technology came time to buy a new gear up, I didn't rebuy them, on the hunt for my Holy Grail hot roller set. When I get-go got my hands on t3's fix (I started with their older model which isn't available anymore), I instantly loved them, and when it came time to retire them (after over 3 years!), I actually rebought the same set (only their newer model). This set up is by no ways perfect (I'k not sure perfection in hot roller sets exists) but they're pretty darn shut. It's more than expensive than well-nigh other sets but in my opinion the deviation is more than worth information technology. They curl my hair distinctly better and the fix every bit a whole lasts way longer. As with most sets on the market, these betoken when they're heated and skilful to go, and this particular prepare has 2 heat settings (though I don't really use this, truthfully—I just go for max heat every time). But it'southward these key features that brand these my current HG hot roller set...

  • Customization: Probably my favorite thing about this gear up is y'all can really make it suit your needs. If yous prefer more volume and less ringlet, and thus something like a 1.75" roller, you can make your set consist of mostly those sizes. If you lot prefer a tighter curl, or a sort of mix between the ii (similar I practice), you can swap out rollers for other sizes you can find online.

  • Longevity: With most sets, I found that I've had to retire them and buy a new prepare when the clamshell housing was on its last legs. But with these, the base lasts forever. Like I said to a higher place, my older set lasted me well over 3 years, which is pretty damn practiced for daily utilize and existence taken on a airplane with me everywhere I go. Best of all, if and when a roller falls apart or yous merely lose i, equally with the customization above, you can merely supercede that lonely roller. In short, 1 or two one-time or broken rollers doesn't mean you have to supervene upon the whole fix.

  • Quantity: Inexplicably, so many other sets have a dozen or and so rollers. Especially when they're larger rollers (like 1.five inch and up), I find this so bewildering. Who on this planet has enough pilus to require 12 large rollers? It's ridiculous, and it also ways excess in terms of portability and the overall space the set takes upward.

  • Travel: This ready is unrivaled in terms of how easy information technology is to pack up and bring with yous. Only about every other gear up on the market comes in a hard plastic clamshell. I've lost count of how many times those plastic lids have cracked and broken to bits in my suitcase, leaving shards of plastic littered throughout my wardrobe. Also, since those sets tend to accept too many rollers, that clamshell is larger than you need. I similar how with this set, the case is soft and more than flexible in terms of the space it takes upwardly. I also leave the rollers I don't utilise at abode, and that extra space is reflected in a soft instance versus a hard plastic one.

  • Handle-ability: I've constitute this set to be the best in terms of the heat staying on the velvet and not bleeding into the ends where y'all're holding them with your fingers. I've never establish property these to be hard or painful to handle, as I take found to exist the case with almost by sets.

As for my cons...

  • Durability: I shouldn't really say this about my new gear up equally I haven't experienced any deterioration yet, but with the older t3 set, the rollers were on the delicate side. Similar, sometimes if I dropped ane, parts would actually interruption off. (Amazingly, they'd still work perfectly well, though, so it was more of an aesthetic thing.) Luckily, as I said above, you can buy and supervene upon individual rollers and then it's non a huge issue. I've yet to have any breakage with my new prepare but volition update if I practise.

  • Heating: Again, this is judging the older set, simply over fourth dimension with the older ready I found that the rollers sometimes struggled to make contact with any heat the base was providing. I had to plow the rollers in their stations in order for the estrus fork (not sure if it's called a fork?) to actually take hold of the base of operations and heat up. Non a big deal, but a pocket-size inconvenience. Once again, this set is new and I haven't had that effect, but I'yard keeping an eye out for it.

  • Clips: Annoyingly, the t3 hot rollers only come with butterfly clips (those plastic claws you probably envision being used for hot rollers), rather than the far more effective, user-friendly, and portable pins that I use. (More on those beneath.) This is by far my biggest gripe with this set up as it means I source all the the pieces I apply to actually secure the rollers elsewhere. If anyone from t3 always reads this: CHANGE THIS! Or at least add pins to the mix!

Note how the smaller rollers don't have white dots—those are the heat indicators. The small ones are not hot, while the others are. To the left of the hot rollers are U-pins and V-pins.

Note how the smaller rollers don't have white dots—those are the heat indicators. The pocket-size ones are non hot, while the others are. To the left of the hot rollers are U-pins and V-pins.

To Secure

Although the t3 set only comes with butterfly claw clips, I never touch them. (In fact, with each new ready, they've gone straight in the garbage where they vest!) Take it from someone who's been using rollers for fifteen years: Hot roller butterfly clips are fussy, flimsy, infinite-consuming, they leave dents, and they're difficult to tightly secure on your noggin, resulting in rollers that wobble around. I CAN'T Stand up wobbly rollers—I like them nice and affixed—and then I swear by a combination of U-pins and V-pins. Note that yous could go by with EITHER U-pins or V-pins (you don't need a combination of both). I just similar the flexibility of being able to go back and forth between the two...

"U"-Pins ($4.00-$thirteen.00): Many sets come with a combination of butterfly clips and U-pins. The U-pins are really where it's at, as they are sized to fit the rollers exactly, fitting them—and your hair—like a glove. The fit can be an issue, however, every bit it's hard to detect larger sized U-pins on the market (my own pins are from an old Conair prepare). In that case, you tin can easily featherbed the U-pins altogether and instead opt for...

"5"-Pins (3" inch, or "Jumbo" hair pins, $2.29): I learned nearly using these for hot rollers from the pilus/wig department in one of my opera houses in Federal republic of germany. Yous can featherbed "wrapping" the roller altogether, eliminating the risk of dents. When I first realized that this not simply works, but arguably better than other methods, my mind was diddled. The one catch with these is y'all can sometimes need 2 or 3 per coil, and over time they become a chip bent out of shape, but at this toll betoken and efficacy level, it's hardly an consequence.

Honestly, securing hot rollers on your head is the practice-makes-perfect function, but information technology really does go piece of cake with time. I don't fifty-fifty need a mirror to practice this anymore, so just feel information technology out and y'all'll get there!

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METHOD

Step ane

Deciding exactly how many rollers to apply for your entire head of hair is an exercise in trial and error. The pop thought that you need tons of rollers to go a curlicue is a misconception born from the impression we accept of our grandmas with rollers in their hair. In my opinion, you just need enough pilus per roller where it can all access the heat of the roller to some degree. For the record, as a pilus stylist once told me, I have a "medium amount" of "medium thickness" pilus. I have a decent amount of pilus, though it's not freakishly thick or anything, and 6 rollers is all I need for my whole caput. This surprises most people!

Step 2

Bearing in mind that larger rollers = more book just less curl (and of course, smaller rollers = less book but a tighter whorl), consider where you want what. My general rule of thumb is to outset make a mohawk of sorts, with larger rollers since I want volume on the top of my head (I apply 1.v inch rollers for this department). I then employ 2 smaller rollers on the sides, equally that's where I like to have more curl framing my face up and volume is less of a concern. Which rollers yous employ where just comes down to personal preference.

Pace 3

For that aforementioned mohawk, always roll abroad from your face up. Starting at the crown and using your fingers, section a rectangle of hair near the width of the rollers and a few inches deep. Castor it out, and so place your roller underneath the hair a few inches from the ends. Rolling underneath is central, every bit you want to roll the pilus under, not over, for volume from the roots.

Step iv

This is the trickiest stride and it takes practice. Wrap the ends nether the roller and then ringlet the rest of the hair correct over information technology. With the ends secured, go dorsum with your finger (or every bit my High german hair/wig ladies did, a metal tail rummage) to smooth out whatever mangled ends. This is crucial, as mangled ends will definitely show in your finished product. Do not skip this footstep!

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Pace 5

Continue to curl towards your scalp, and when information technology's nice and tight, secure it with a pin. When using a U-pin, come up at the roller from behind (the open up stop facing the opposite direction you just rolled), and hook the roller at about a 90-degree angle, so tilt under to secure information technology...

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Coming at a 90-degree angle will allow the pivot to gather pilus, or as I telephone call it, the "meat"—your pin can only secure tightly if information technology has some "meat" to hold onto. If y'all're using V-pins, with the open up finish of the "V" facing the opposite direction you only rolled, slide the pivot in on the underside of the roller, avoiding wrapping the roller altogether...

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You may need more than than one pivot per roller, it just depends on how secure that first one is and if the roller still feels likewise loose or wobbly at all. Pinning takes a bit of practice only you'll get the hang of it chop-chop.

In general, don't worry well-nigh perfection when rolling and securing! Your rollers might await a chip janky on your caput but that won't reverberate the finished product!

Stride 6

Finally, when y'all need to head out or when the rollers take cooled (if I'm not in a time crunch I tend to wait until the heat is completely gone), just remove the pins and rollers one by ane and gently fluff your hair to blend the split sections. This is the easiest role—there's about no styling steps necessary as the goal is for it to look natural, a scrap undone, and not also styled anyhow. A simple head flip and a quick spritz of hair spray is all you need.

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Let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments section below! And exist certain to share any photos of your fabulous curls with me. :)

Thank you for stopping past!

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