There are few beauty products still on offer that conjure up quite such comical images as the simple roller. The roller first took hold of the imagination of the style conscious lady in the 1940s, thanks largely to big screen icons – and, of course, the scarcity of styling products during the war. Rollers are fairly easy to use, so long as you’re not in a hurry.
The basic set that’s been used for decades goes like this: shampoo and condition the hair, and pat it dry to remove a bit of moisture; take a section of hair the same width as your roller and comb it straight up; wrap the end of the hair section around the roller and wind it down toward the scalp in an even motion; if you need to, pin the roller once you reach your roots; repeat the process all the way around your head, misting lightly with styling spray as you go; allow your hair to dry completely; remove the curlers, then brush through your hair along the direction it was set. Some say it helps to spritz the brush with hairspray as you go to keep stray hairs in check.
Rollers are still popular today, used by women aiming to achieve all sorts of looks. There are a few bits of advice that go along with using hair rollers. For example, larger rollers work great for sleek styles, and smaller rollers make better curls. Top brands, such as Nicky Clark, Babylliss and Vidal Sassoon produce hot rollers that look essentially the same as those your grandma used – the difference is today’s rollers use ionic technology to reduce frizz and improve hold. There are also a number of brands, like Remington, with innovative bendy rollers, allowing you more control over the curl you get.
Choosing rollers online is easy – there are plenty of beauty supply shops offering a variety of rollers to suit most hair types and style requirements. Aim to buy rollers online from merchants with a flexible return policy, and keep an eye on shipping costs to maximise your savings.
© Hair Styling.org.uk 2007.
BABYLISS 3034U Hair Styler From QED , &, 20, ceramic, curl, dryers, heat, notes, qed, rollers, stylers, warranty... £14.17 | Phillip B Drop Dead Straight - 6.5oz From HQ Hair , aid, balm, blow, conjunction, curly, dead, drop, dry, flakes, hair, heat, helps, hq, lustrous, philip, roller, set, sleek, straight, straighten, styling, tanglefree, washes, waterlike, wavy, works... £15.95 | NICKY CLAR NHS001 ROLLERS From Currys , 12, attachments, currys, hair, heat, rollers, stylers... £16.99 |
| NICKY CLAR NHS001 ROLLERS From Dixons , 12, attachments, dixons, hair, heat, rollers, stylers... £16.99 | John Lewis 3060JU Roller Set From John Lewis , &, 20, 3060ju, 6x, 8x, beauty, care, ceramic, curl, fastcurl, formation, fragrances, h128cm, hair, heat, high, indicator, john, l275, leisure, lewis, medium, pins, rollers, set, shiny, smooth, speed, sport, w15... £18.00 | Nicky Clarke Kinder4Hair Tourmaline Dryer. From Argos , 2000, argos, brush, care, dry, dryers, hair, heat, helps, ionic, rollers, sectioning, settings2, speed, technology, thermal, watt3... £19.99 |
Yuroll Baby Roller From HQ Hair , 05, 35", banish, blocked, circles, cooling, dark, effect, eyes, hair, handmade, hq, jade, lip, measures, nose, pores, puffiness, reduce, sinuses, skin, smallest, solid, soothing, stone, system, temples, tighten, tone, tools, used, yuroll, zone... £20.00 | BABYLISS 3034U Hair Styler From Miller Brothers , &, 20, brothers, ceramic, curl, dryers, health, heat, miller, notes, rollers, stylers, warranty... £20.02 | BaByliss Ceramic High Speed Rollers, 3035CU From John Lewis , &, 20, 3035cu, apply, babyliss, beauty, care, ceramic, curl, curls, d166cm, dial, fastcurl, formation, fragrances, h21, hair, headsthe, heat, high, indicator, john, leisure, lewis, makeup, minutes, optimum, pin, rollers, set, shiny, smooth, speed, sp... £24.95 |
Vidal Sassoon hair Hydration Ionic Rollers From Tesco , 20, curls, dry, electronics, frizz, hair, heated, helps, hydration, indicator, ionic, lock, moisture, natural, onoff, quickly, roller, rollers, sassoon, saving, set, shiny, softer, styling, technology, tesco, used, vidal, wet... £24.97 | Vidal Sassoon Hot Tools Professional Rollers. From Argos , 20, 28m, 60, argos, ceramic, clips, coated, cord, curlers, design, hair, heat, light, metal, piece, ports, results, roller, rollers, secsceramic, securing, set, smoother, stylers, switch,... £24.97 | BABYLISS 3035U ROLLERS From Currys , currys, hair, heat, rollers, stylers... £24.99 |
Revlon PowerDry Ionic Dryer. From Argos , 065kg, 2000, argos, brush, clips, coatedionic4, concentrator, dryerceramic, dryers, hair, heat, nozzleweight, paddle, rollers, sectioning, settings3, speed, thermal, velcro, watt... £24.99 | BABYLISS 3035U ROLLERS From Dixons , dixons, hair, heat, rollers, stylers... £24.99 | BaByliss Thermo Ceramic Rollers. From Argos , 20, argos, ceramic, clips, coated, conditioning, control, curlers, flocked, hair, heat, high, indicator, ionic, light, medium, on/off, pins, professional, roller, rollers, set, shiny, smallhigh, smooth, stylers, super, temperature, thermo, ultra, up10,... £29.99 |
Carmen Hair Curl Perfect Thermal Rollers. From Argos , 20, argos, carmen, clipping, curlers, curls, defined, device, fastionic, firmly, flocked, glamorous, heat, high, holds, lasting, lift, patented, protect, rollers, shiny, smooth, stylers, thermal, tourmaline, unique, volume... £29.99 | Nicky Clarke Kinder 4 Hair Tourmaline Dryer From 24Studio , &, 2000, 24studio, accessories, beauty, brush, care, clips, hair, health, heat/2, ionic, kinder, rollers, speeds, styling, tourmaline, watt... £29.99 | Yuroll Medium Size Roller From HQ Hair , 25, 45", appear, cheekbones, cheeks, chin, cooling, effect, forehead, hair, handmade, hq, jade, measures, medium, pores, radiant, recontoured, skin, skintone, solid, soothing, stone, system, tighten, tightened, toned, tools, yuroll... £30.00 |
BaByliss Pro 20 Piece Heated Roller Set From HQ Hair , 20, babyliss, coded, compact, curl, curls, electrical, fab, gorgeous, hair, heat/speed, heated, hq, jumbo, lift, medium, metal, movement, pins, redcarpet, results, rims, roller, rollers, set, six, staycool, user, waves... £30.00 | Babyliss Ceramic Hot Sticks Set From Hair Supermarket , 20, body, ceramic, convenience, curls, flexible, hair, heat, loop, rollers, style, stylers, supermarket, unique, waves... £34.61 | Babyliss 20 Piece Roller Set From Hair Supermarket , coded, comfort, concave, dot, ease, grip, hair, heat, heated, indicator, jumbo, letting, light, medium, metal, pins, ridges, rims, rollers, shape, speed, supermarket... £34.61 |
Braun SP3170 Epilator From Tesco , 4way, attachment, efficiency, electronics, epil, epilation, faster, flatlying, gentle, hair, lifts, massaging, perfection, relax, removal, remove, removes, rollers, silk, skin, soft, stimulate, tesco... £34.97 | Lifemax Cellulite Roller Massager From 24Studio , &, 24studio, beauty, boosts, buttocks, care, cellulite, comfortable, firms, hair, hand, health, infra, legs, mains, massage, muscle, privacy, red, strap, thighs, tightens, tone, treatment... £34.99 | Babyliss 30 Piece Roller Set From Hair Supermarket , 30, cater, ceramic, curls, hair, heated, lift, movement, rollers, set, styling, supermarket... £44.51 |
Yuroll Double Ended Roller From HQ Hair , 275, 575", banish, cheeks, circles, cooling, dark, doubleended, effect, eyes, forehead, hair, handmade, hq, jade, jawline, measures, medium, neck, pores, puffiness, reduce, roller, skin, solid, soothing, stone, system, temples, tighten, tone, tools, wor... £45.00 | Braun SP5180 Epilator From Tesco , 4way, adjust, attachment, braun, closer, cooling, efficiency, electronics, ensuring, epilation, epilator, fewer, finest, flatlying, function, glove, hair, hairs, head, helps, irritation, lift, missed, prevent, relax, removal, remove, reveals, rollers, s... £49.99 | Braun Silk epil Xpressive Solo Epilator. From Argos , 40, argos, bag, comfortable, efficiency, epilation, epilation2, epilators, faster, hair, head, ladies', lifting, massaging, pivoting, preepilation, rollers, shavers, simulate, skin, smartlight, speeds, storage, system, tweezers, unique, washable, wip... £54.99 |
Braun Soft Perfection Easy Start Body & Face From Express Chemist , 05mm, 'softlift', adjust, attachment, braun, chemist, cooling, epilation, express, face, facial, flattest, gentle, glove, guides, hair, hairs, head, it's, lifts, lying, massaging, removal, removes, rollers, satin, shaving, short, skin, starter, underarm... £59.99 | KitchenAid Pasta Attachment From Electric Shopping , 140mm, adjust, angel, attachment, brush, chromed, cleaning, cutters, desired, durable, egg, electric, fini, food, fresh, hair, kitchenaid, ksm150, lasagna, linguine, metal, noodles, pasta, processor, roll, roller, set, sheets, tagliatelle, thickness, to... £69.50 | BaByliss Professional 30 Piece Roller Set 30 Piece Set From Jason Shankey Mail Order , 30, babyliss, comfort, concave, curl, dot, hair, heat, heated, jason, jumbo, mail, medium, piece, professional, rims, roller, rollers, set, shankey, shape, staycool... £69.95 |
Braun Silk epil Xpressive Bodysystem Epilator. From Argos , 2in1, 40, argos, bag, comfortable, cut, efficiency, epilation, epilator, epilators, faster, hair, hairs, head, ladies', lifting, light, massaging, optimum, pivoting, rollers, shaver, shavers, shaverunique, simulate, smart, speeds, storage, system, tw... £79.99 | Braun Silk epil Xpressive 7681 Epilator. From Argos , 2in1, 40, argos, attachment, bag, charge, comfortable, efficiency, epilation, epilator, epilators, facial, faster, hair, head, hour, ladies', lifting, massaging, mins, pivoting, precision, rollers, shaver, shavers, shaverunique, simulate, smartlight,... £89.99 |