How to Curl Your Hair Without Heat: Bendy Rollers

rollers 1_nFirst off: I know, I know – proper Art Attack skills there, right? How I only got a C in GCSE Art is simply a mystery that will never be solved.

And now secondly: I’m sure I speak for most girls with long hair when I say this: I LOVE having curly hair – but I do not love the damage that heat from curling tongs can cause. I have hair extensions and so have to be particularly careful to not over-expose them to heat if I want them to stay in good condition and avoid the ‘skanky rat’ look for as long as possible – so this means that regularly curling is a bit of a no-no. To create waves in my hair I’ll often plait it before going to bed, but my new favourite method for achieving a more dramatic curl, but still without the heat, is to use these babies:

rollers 2These bendy rollers were first recommended to me by the girl who fits my weave, and I’m amazed at how good they really are. Packs of these can be picked up in most pound shops, and are also sold in Primark for the mere price of one English pound. You usually get around 8-10 in a pack, but if you have particularly thick hair or want to create smaller curls – or want to use them to spell out words – then you might want to pick up two packs.

Using these rollers is ridiculously simple – and this from a girl who can barely do a neat ponytail (the cackhand strikes again, huzzah!) You section your hair and wrap the ends of each piece around the rollers. You can roll them as high as you want the curl to start. You then secure them by bending them.

rollers 4For maximum effect, I leave my bendy rollers in overnight. I personally find them really comfortable to sleep in as I usually have them secured below chin level so there’s nothing actually digging into my head – if you have them higher then they might feel less comfortable, but it all depends on how easy you find it to sleep with things in your hair I suppose.

When I unravel the curls in the morning, they’re extremely tight and I look a bit like Honey Boo Boo. However after brushing them through a bit, I’m left with something resembling this:

CurlsDepending on what look you’re going for, you can make the curls as groomed or as natural looking as you like. Separating all of your hair evenly will help you to produce matching ringlets, while putting the rollers in a bit more ad hoc (which I do, but mainly because I’m lazy) will leave you with a messier, somewhat more natural look. I’ve found that the curls stay in brilliantly all day; in fact, much better than they tend to when I use a curling wand.

As well as looking pretty good (if I do say so myself, trumpet blowing) and being ridiculously cheap, these curls also leave me safe in the knowledge that I’ve not damaged my hair ONE TEENY BIT. This means they get a thumbs up from me.

Have any of you used bendy rollers? How do you get curls without using heat?

16 Responses

  1. Jem November 14, 2013 / 10:26 am

    Love the curls you got! Where did you pick these ones up from? 🙂

    • Claire November 14, 2013 / 10:38 am

      Thank you, I’m pretty impressed with them 🙂 I think the pale pink ones were from Poundland and the darker pink were from Primark – but also only a pound if I recall xx

    • Claire November 14, 2013 / 10:37 am

      Yeah it’s a very old school method I think, but sometimes the simple ways are the best! Definitely worth trying considering how cheap they are – looking forward to seeing how you get on with them 🙂 xx

  2. Jessica Edmunds November 14, 2013 / 10:45 am

    You look great! I never ever use heat on my hair now so this sounds like a great idea, definitely be popping into poundland today & having a little look! Thanks! xxx

    • Claire November 14, 2013 / 11:04 am

      Thanks lovely! Ah really, NEVER? I wish I could be like that but just can’t resist a good straighten now and then 😉 Just doing this through the week should hopefully help a lot though. Ooh let me know how you find them 🙂 xx

  3. Rachael November 14, 2013 / 11:28 am

    I’m going to pick these up on my lunch break haha – I’m forever frying my fro with straighteners! 🙁

    • Claire November 14, 2013 / 12:09 pm

      Brilliant, let me know if you like them! xx

  4. Penny November 14, 2013 / 1:38 pm

    I need these in my life!! I’ve seen them before but have never seen the results of someone using them – I’m very impressed! xx

    • Claire November 14, 2013 / 1:51 pm

      I really wasn’t sure how good they would be when they were recommended to me either but very pleasantly surprised 🙂 Definitely recommend them! xx

    • Claire November 14, 2013 / 4:14 pm

      Thank you lovely! You should give them a try, bet they would work really well on your locks 🙂 xx

  5. zoe November 14, 2013 / 11:41 pm

    Looks georgeous!!
    zoe xx

    • Claire November 15, 2013 / 11:16 am

      Thank you! 🙂 xx

    • Claire November 15, 2013 / 11:17 am

      I’m glad someone else, I was starting to think I was a bit of a weirdo for knowing about them haha! xx

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