How To Get Soft Roller Set Curls On Natural Hair

Thinking about a roller set? Well good! There was a time in my life when I would only do roller sets because I wanted very stretched hair with a little bit of texture and volume.

Roller sets are great if you want to stretch your natural hair but not apply direct heat to your strands, the question is how do you get the perfect set?

Here are our 4 tips:

1. Start out on freshly washed hair

One of the worse things you can do is have a roller set with hair that is weighed down by conditioner and oils.

It is very important to remove all old products from your hair and to not leave any excessive oils in your hair before you start rolling your hair. Use water-based products to hydrate your hair and get it thoroughly detangled.

2. You need a Mousse or setting foam

The other key ingredient to a perfect roller set is some sort of foam or setting lotion, you can try this one, this one, or this one here.

I have seen people use gels but to be honest, the hold might be way too crunchy and the curls too weighed down for some textures.

3. Roll your hair taught

Section the hair so that you are able to keep the hair neat as you roll it. I personally always start with the middle section so I part out the middle first and then put away the sides of the hair until you have completed the middle.

For every section that you roll make sure that you stretch the hair taught so that the hair is fully stretched and dries stretched. (Fully detangled hair stretches easier)

4. Allow the hair to fully dry

If your hair is wet when you remove the rollers you might as well just start over. You have to ensure that your hair is fully dry before removing the rollers for your set to be successful.

If you have an overhead dryer you should absolutely utilize it for at least an hour depending on how wet your hair was before you started drying.

If you have nothing to do that day you can air-dry your hair in rollers for most of the day and then sit under the dryer for 30 minutes.

Below is a video demonstration from Ayanna Nzinga who has color-treated hair but does roller sets regularly she has a looser curl pattern but the technique is pretty much the same.

Watch below:

Roller set cheat

If you want to avoid all the parting and sectioning you can opt for a ponytail roller set which is much easier to do than a regular set.

The key to a great ponytail roller set is getting the hair thoroughly detangled and making sure your ponytails are tightly done before adding the rollers.

Watch below to see what I mean:

Featured Pictures ROLLERS: An Editorial⁠”

@krissmaxi, @killerrjade, @mussette, @datpifflee, @fatousthiam as seen by ⁠@brianageee_
⁠
Stylists: @megantheestylist & @karinasharif
MUA: @nataliecardonamakeup⁠
Creative Director/Hair Stylist: @anikerabiu
Producer: @lawrencecasseus
Director of Photography/Video: @whowantwor ⁠
Song @lilly.black