Can’t sleep in rollers? Here’s what to try instead…

So, you bought yourself some of those sleep in rollers you’re always seeing on TikTok. Or maybe even one of those weird heatless curlers that look a bit like a draught excluder from the 80s, but which will apparently give you big, bouncy curls, overnight.

Good for you.

Now, how are you going to actually SLEEP in rollers? Because that’s the question, isn’t it? They’re designed to be worn overnight, after all. When most of us are, you know, sleeping. So, how do you do it?

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How do you sleep in rollers?

OK, I’m going to be kind and give you a really quick answer on this, as opposed to the kid of extremely long answer I’m generally known for.

You don’t. You cannot sleep in rollers, guys: or not easily, anyway. And definitely not well.

Sleep In Rollers are, as I’m sure you already know, rollers. That you sleep in. The name kinda gives it away, huh? This is not, obviously, a new idea: little old ladies and 50s-housewives have been sleeping in their rollers since time began (or since rollers were invented, I guess), but lately they’ve become popular thanks to the cast of TOWIE, and other reality TV shows. Or so I’m told, anyway: I don’t actually watch TOWIE (I had to Google it to find out what it was, when people started mentioning it on Twitter etc. I thought it was some kind of internet-speak, like LOL, or something. “Haha, that’s so funny, TOWIE”. God, I feel old sometimes.), so the first I knew about overnight Rollers was when beauty bloggers starting reviewing them, and honestly? I wasn’t particularly sold on the idea.

The idea behind Sleep In Rollers, just for those of you who haven’t heard of them, is that you put them in before bed, go to sleep, and wake up to a head full of bouncy, voluminous hair. Sounds great in theory, but I’m a light sleeper at the best of times, and although these rollers are specifically designed to allow you to sleep in them, I somehow doubted that would happen for me.

Read next: Babyliss Curl Secret Review

Also, although I just said that TOWIE etc makes me feel old, I don’t yet feel QUITE old enough to be heading to bed in rollers and a hairnet, you know? Even if I did, I normally try to work out in the mornings, before I get showered and dressed for the day (“try” being the operative word here…), so any bouncy curls I managed to cultivate overnight would be lost to the sweat and the shower, so it didn’t really seem worth the sleepless night I suspected I’d be subjecting myself to.

So I bought them anyway. Because OF COURSE I did. (These are the ones I bought, just in case you’re interested.)

When I first got into bed with these in, I had no idea how I’d ever manage to sleep in them, because although they feel spongy and soft when you’re putting them in, once I tried to actually lie down in them, they felt as hard as rocks. Part of the issue is that they’re so bulky that when you lie down, your neck isn’t supported by the pillow.

I solved this problem by taking a travel pillow and placing it on top of my regular pillow. By doing that, I was able to lie on my back with my neck supported, and my head just resting on the pillow. It wasn’t the most comfortable night’s sleep I’ve ever had (I find it difficult to sleep on my back even when I’m NOT wearing a head-full of rollers…) but I actually fell asleep quicker than I’d expected to, so it wasn’t TOO awful. With that said, though, it’s definitely not the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had, which is why I set out to find something I could actually SLEEP in while curling my hair…

What to buy instead of velcro rollers…

So, we’ve established that sleep in rollers are… well, kind of crappy, really. Sorry, rollers. Here’s what you want to buy instead:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Amber Eve (@foreveramberblog)

 

This is a heatless curl headband (BUY IT HERE) and let me tell you guys, this thing is IT. Not only is it significantly easier to actually sleep in than velcro or sponge rollers, it also creates curls which actually last all day, and don’t just drop out as soon as you step outside. I find this particularly when I’m traveling and don’t have much time to faff around with my hair in the morning: yes, it takes a bit of practice to get used to wrapping your hair around the band, but once you’re used to it, it only takes a few minutes to put on, and then you wake up to a headful of curls that look like you’ve spent absolutely ages on them. There are tons of different versions of these around, but this one cost me just £8 on Amazon, which is a small price to pay for those precious extra minutes in bed every morning, as well as being much kinder to my hair than the curling iron I used to use.