Skip to Content

How to Use Hot Rollers on Your Hair

Woman with hot rollers

We all know that a great ‘do completes our look, but I’ll be the first to admit to falling flat when it comes to my hair. To the rescue? Hot rollers! That’s right ladies, break out the hot rollers. No more “who’s looking at my hair when I’ve got these heels?” moments or being satisfied with the My Little Pony (tail) or the Behind the Ear Tuck. Ugh. Using an ear as a hair accessory. Double ugh.

This post may contain affiliate links*

Time for a head full of loveliness with the help of a head full of rollers.

How to Use Hot Rollers

hot rollers 1
My hangin’ hair, about three seconds away from a Behind the Ear Tuck. I needed some serious oomph.

1. Spray with heat protectant

Heat protectant keeps those strands strong and shiny. Don’t skip this step. You can pick up some inexpensive product at Target or Walmart. Try Aussie Total Miracle Heat Protecting Spray.

2. Start at the top and roll away from face

My hair in hot rollers

Now you’re ready to get started. Beginning at the top of your head, grab a strand that’s the same width as your roller and start rolling away from your face. Finish the top of your head and move on to the sides, still rolling away from your face. Do your best to minimize stray hairs poking out of the roller.

Save this

Enter your email below and I'll email this post to you!

Putting my hair up took just over five minutes.

3. Cool off and clean up

Now, you wait. Set a timer for 10 minutes and then get busy doing whatever random task has been on your to-do list for too long. Maybe fold some laundry or empty the dishwasher. Or, if you’re dolling up for a big event, use this time to put your makeup on.

4. Remove those rollers

hot rollers 2

Check your rollers. They should feel cool, and the thicker your hair is, the cooler the rollers need to be.

Remove your side rollers first, gently. Your strands should have smoothness and volume. My long, layered hair had a fun flip at the ends.

Now slide out the rollers on the top of your head. This is where you should start to feel the wow factor. One of my rollers fell out in a perfectly coiled, mega curl.

5. Run your fingers through your hair

hot rollers 3

If your hair looks a little unkept, simply run your fingers through it to shape and soften. You can also pick up a too-tight curl and gently separate the strands. This will help blend the curls from one section to the next. Just don’t overdo it. If you were to run a brush through your hair, for example, you’d lose a lot of the curl and volume.

And that’s it! Hot rollers are a simple and fast way to get fuller hair — particularly for long, layered hair that tends to get flat. This ‘do makes me want to shake my head full of bouncy locks in slow-mo like they do in fancy hair product commercials.

Ready to give hot rollers a try? See our post on the best cheap hot roller sets.