Eesha Kulkarni

The bouncy, voluminous freshly blown out hair from the ’90s is back! And if you’ve been dying to get your hands on a certain (in)famous and viral $600 hair styling tool that only deeper pockets can afford, we’re here to reintroduce you to the humble hot hair rollers—probably a staple from your mum’s old beauty stash. TikTok has been doused in videos of creators styling their hair using the ‘vintage’ rollers for a fraction of the price, and the hashtag #HairRollers has even amassed over 120 million views so far.

The “new” trend is a blast from the past—specifically the ’60s, ’70s and the ’90s, when voluminous, bouncy hair was the go-to style, perfect for exuding old Hollywood glamour or the supermodel on-duty look. And with the big, bold hair making a comeback, hot hair rollers have also been dug out from their graves and re-popularised by Gen Z beauty junkies. Instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars for fancy hair styling tools, the dexterous online beauty gurus have saved us from the FOMO of having the freshly blown out, red-carpet-worthy hair right at home, by swapping expensive tools for cheap and accessible hot rollers. We’re on our way to try it out, and you should too!

Here’s how to prep your hair and put in the hot hair rollers

The torturous days of burning your fingers, or worse, your scalp on a curling iron are long gone, and we’re here for it. Whether you want to achieve extra volume, long lasting curls or more natural-looking casual beach waves, hot rollers are truly the holy grail of hair styling products for any occasion. To prep your hair and get the best results out of your hot rollers, keep the following pointers in mind.

1. Start with washing and roughly blow drying your hair until it is slightly damp.
2. While the hair is still damp, loosely scrunch in a volumising spray or mousse into your hair to prep it. Don’t forget to spray some heat protectant all over.
3. Then, start sectioning your hair as per the style and pattern you’re going for and work in the rollers one by one, starting from each section’s end, all the way down to the base or scalp. The heated rollers are available in small, medium and large sizes, to do your hair in various styles ranging from big, bouncy and loose curls to tight, defined coils. So use the sizes accordingly.
4. Spray each section with a light hair setting spray before and after putting in the rollers. It’s best to start with your fringe first, follow with the central sections and then deal with the ones behind it. Try to work outwards from your crown, and make sure each hot roller sits tightly on its own to ensure volume and bouncy, face-framing layers. Wrap the ends neatly to guarantee super neat and clean curls.
5. Leave the rollers in for about 20-25 minutes, perfect if you’re looking to do your make-up *and* hair simultaneously. Just throw in the rollers and let them work their magic while you go on about the rest of your getting-ready-to-go-out routine. Make sure your hair is completely dried off before removing the rollers to unveil the bounciest, fluffiest, salon-worthy tresses taken from Farrah Fawcett and Veronica Lake’s beauty books.
6. For a more contemporary look, brush out the curls with a wide-toothed comb and you’re good to go!

If the easy-to-replicate viral videos and pictures of women styling their tresses with old-school hot rollers are anything to go by, we’re adding this handy product to our carts, like, yesterday! This is hair that demands an audience, and we’re ready to show it off!