My Rollersetting Regimen

To avoid using direct heat back to back I like to rollerset as a low heat option. I am able to get a straight look without using heat on the delicate ends on my hair. In addition I prefer the bounce and body I get with a rollerset compared to blowdrying and flat ironing. So far, in my transition they have really been helping me stay away from the blowdryer and flat iron while staying fly! Here is the method that has been working for me.

Step 1: Section and Remove shed hair

First I section my hair into 4 and slide out as much shed hair as i can before i wet my hair. I find that the more shed hair my hair accumulates the more likely it matts up before and after a washing session. By doing this I find my hair has very little tangling during a wash.

Some people like to add oils to this step and do a “Prepoo”(helps to prepare hair for shampooing) but I personally find this unnecessary. I find that doing the prepwork before getting my hair wet and using a really good DC with heat eliminates the prepoo step.

Step 2: Shampoo and Deep Condition

I apply my shampoo onto dry hair section by section. Then I will spritz the section with water and lather it up before clipping it away. By doing this I revert one section of my hair at a time instead of all at once. This greatly reduced the feeling of being overwhelmed as my hair changes from smooth and straight to a kinky mass with sad sack ends. I also find that is prevents my hair from getting tangled in the wash process.

After rinsing I apply my deep conditioner in sections and sit under the dryer for an hour. By the time I’m done my hair is super easy to manage and I am able to fingercomb my hair very easily.

Step 3: Rollerset

To rollerset I prefer to use hard mesh rollers. I find that they offer the max amount of tension without too much fuss. With the right technique I find they get my roots really smooth with little effort and I dont even have to use snap on caps. They do leave a little texture to the hair but I find it gives my hair added body. If i want a smoother look I will use end papers.

I use them with the pins because they provide a better hold than using silver clips (although you can still get great results with metal clips.)

The pins are really easy to use with this type of mesh rollers because the holes are angled already for a pin to stick out the other side. Some people have issue with using pins with rollers so I will be doing a tutorial on how to use them in the near future.

One I’m done setting i will put my net on and sit under the dryer for an hour and a half.

Step 4: Finish

While not perfectly straight, my roots are pretty smooth to my satisfaction as I have nearly a years worth of new growth on my head. Besides a little extra body at the roots never hurt anyone. No backteasing required. LOL!

To make it look neat and polished I just pass a warm pressing comb on the crown, part and edges.

Some people might opt out of this and use a styling pomade to make this a completely heat free style. I personally do not like to add pomades to fresh hair because it doesn’t quite look right. Especially if the pomade of choice adds extra shine to the hair(very shiny edges next to matte in comparison hair)

Step 5: Style

It may just be me, but right after a rollerset my hair doesn’t sit right. It looks a little crazy and there are only a few times where I have gotten way with the “just unrolled look”. Finger combing the parts out doesn’t really help because the curls fall funny too.

To fix this problem I make about 10 pincurls in which I roll to the way I like my hair to fall. I then wrap my hair up for at least 30 mins before letting it loose. (I usually wrap it up to go to bed though)

Finished Result

When its all said and done, my hair falls into a cute curly bob that is pretty much effortless to maintain during the week. I just pincurl and wrap it up at night.

Rollersetting is really a tradeoff for me. It takes long on washday but during the week it requires little maintenance and looks good until the day I wash it out. Blowdrying and flat ironing is faster on wash day but I have to moisturize through out the week. in addition my hair is greasy and so flat by the end that I cannot wear it down. So to get the best of both I will alternate with both low heat and “high” heat weeks to get me through this hair journey. Let’s hope it works!

Thanks for reading!