The Underrated Styling Tool I Rediscovered in 2014: Hot Rollers

This past summer, I was hanging out with my grandma when she busted out a clunky, large set of hot rollers that had every size roller imaginable. The contraption must have been from the 70s, maybe 80s — it was vintage. Growing up, my mom had a set of hot rollers before I made her ditch them for the hair dryer (“Moooom, they’re sooo 80s!” I said whined). I’m not one to turn down a bold lipstick, a makeup palette or just about anything beauty-related and love discovering beauty gems that I can group text my friends about. So, I decided to give hot rollers a go since I’m clumsy with the curling iron and usually end up with weird, crimped hair and a burned neck — not cute (but I won’t give up). 

Hot rollers take a little getting used to since you must figure out how to use them with your hair to achieve the style you want. Once you get the hang of where to place them and how to clip them, it’s a total breeze. When I tried them, the only style I thought I could get was ringlet-like curls. Wrong. I can do soft curls, shiny beach waves and even touch-up my blowouts. On top of the different styles I mastered, I loved that I could pop my hair into the rollers and then have free hands to do my makeup, use my phone, even do the dishes! Light bulb moment. I did some researching and found that these days, hot rollers are made with technology that is just as good as our beloved flat irons and curling irons, so the results are pretty darn great.

Here are three of my favorite sets, one of which I’ll probably get my grandma for Christmas.