Hot rollers , we used to think, belonged exclusively to the era of perfume atomizers, handheld mirrors and those big movie star powder puffs. They seemed dated in our age of Alexa Chung and texture spray and blowout bars dedicated to messing up your hair. But then, like with all trends, fatigue set in. Spending so much time to look like we spent barely any got old; we set out to find the middle ground between looking like we'd primped for hours at our vanity in a silk robe and looking like we'd just rolled out of bed. That's where hot rollers come in. But forget what your grandma taught you about them—this is the new way to get big, modern, cool waves.
Here, the key points to keep in mind, according to hairstylist Kattia Solano:
1) Make a deep side part. "It's more glamorous than a center part," she says.
2) Polish the ends with a heat-protection serum first. "It's easy to do damage with rollers if you don't know what you're doing or your hair is really fragile. The ends have to be smooth or else they'll crinkle in the heat."
3) Rolling from the ends up is old school. "You'll get a huge, heavy curl at the bottom," says Solano, who advises starting with the roller at the top of the section and then wrapping the hair around it so the ends aren't as tight. (She used T3 Voluminous Hot Rollers Set,$99, sephora.com.)
4) The rollers should all be placed vertically—not horizontally. Horizontal gives major, Marilyn Monroe volume; vertical gives a soft, loose, tousled effect. Roll them to the right and brush them out to the left.
5) Skip hairspray and finish with dry texturizing spray. "Modern waves should be less sleek and perfect."
Model: Clair Westenberg
Hair: Kattia Solano, founder of Butterfly Studio Salon
Makeup: Jamie Dorman
brightcove.createExperiences();
