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:
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.
This is particularly handy for traveling: I’ve taken it with me on every single trip we’ve taken since I got it, and it’s been an absolute game-changer in that it cuts my morning routine in half, allowing me to get up, shower, dress, and do my makeup, and then just quickly take off the headband, instead of having to faff around for ages with a curling iron, which was my previous go-to. I’ll just add here that, when it comes to long-lasting curls, there’s no substitute for heat, unfortunately, so if I’m going somewhere important, I’ll still use my GHD Soft Curl Tong, which I absolutely swear by. That heat might hold a curl, however, but it’s pretty hard on the hair, so for day-to-day use, I’ll always go for the heatless curl headband instead, which is both quicker to use, and kinder to the hair.
Get yours here!
Related: Babyliss Curl Secret
Flavia Unterman
08/18/2014Oh my God! Your hair is gorgeous! I know you’re a natural redhead but do you use something to enhance your hair color?
xoxo
Amber
08/18/2014Thanks! I haven’t used anything recently, but there’s a post about the products I use to enhance colour here:
https://foreveramber.co.uk/2012/09/red-hair-colour.html
emma corby
12/21/2014if i curled my hair before applying the rollers, would i have curls with volume, like would it work?
Emma
01/23/2025Yes!
Inez Ruiter
08/18/2014The volume you achieved is quite good though! I have been wondering about sleep in rollers, I generally have course hair, being half African, so they’re not ideal for me to use on my dry hair. I was wondering if you have ever tried using them while your hair is wet or half dry?
Amber
08/18/2014I haven’t, because my hair takes forever to dry, but I’ve read you get a better result that way, so it’s probably worth trying!
Amber (but not Amber)
08/29/2014My hair takes forever to dry too. I used to spritz it very lightly with water before setting waves overnight and it usually managed to dry ok if the weather was warm. It does give a much better result.
I saw a suggestion somewhere to have a hot shower in the evening, keeping your hair bundled up in a cap to stay ‘dry’. The steam from the air should add just enough moisture evenly through your hair to help set the curl. I’ve been meaning to give that a try…
Christa
03/29/2017Is it possible to sleep on hot rollers…. like if you put them in then let them cool then go to bed…??
eelana
11/10/2024no dont do that if they touch ur skin they burnnnn i learnt that the hard way lol
Mana
08/18/2014Ooh this reminded me I have some Velcro rollers that will solve my volume issues for my hair since I cut it! I usually cheat the time by aiming a blow dryer in the cool setting at the base of the rollers. It takes less time for the same effect that way.
Your hair looks gorgeous, but I can’t believe you slept in them!
Mana
Fashion and Happy Things
Nina
08/19/2014I don’t know if I missed it but you did put them on when your hair was wet, right? If you didn’t you should at least try it once because that’s how you get those nice and bouncy curls. If your hair is dry it won’t work! 🙂
I hope I didn’t miss it if you did say that you used them on wet hair. Your hair looks amazing anyway! 🙂
Amber
08/19/2014Nope, I’ve never been able to sleep with wet/damp hair (mine takes a really long time to dry, so when I have tried to do it with other styles it’s still been damp in the morning and I’ve ended up having to just blow-dry it straight anyway!), and the instructions on these specifically advise you to use them on blown-dry hair:
http://sleepinrollers.com/social
I’m actually going out tonight, though, so I might try them on damp hair and see how I get on – assuming I can get it to dry in time!
Nina
08/23/2014You could always try to put them on when your hair is damp or wet and then blow dry it. Your hair looks great ether way, curly or straight! 🙂
CiCi
08/19/2014These don’t sound worth the effort at all – I could just imagine it would take me hours to get to sleep and then if I don’t wake up looking like I’ve had a professional blow dry, what’s the point?! I like the effect it gave you, but as you say, if it happens after two hours anyway… I’m still convinced the best rollers are heated ones, so easy and so quick compared to all this nonsense!
Anastasia
08/19/2014Oh, that is a really act of bravery! I love the effect of using the rollers but with my type of hair I need to spend hours in them to see it…Thanks for useful info!;)
And tnx for visiting my blog dear!!!
xx
Anastasia
http://fashionpeekaboo.com
Quaintrelle Georgiana
08/20/2014Looks pretty cool, I have these, but haven´t used them in this way, only on my fringe to lift it up a bit, must try in on the weekend. Thanks!
Ken Courtice
06/06/2015Hi Amber, another very informative professionally produced video. I don’t curl my locks , BUT if I did , I would value this info , and feel I could pull it off!! Another Great info Gab
TraciT
06/23/2015Thanks so much for this! After looking around a bit online and reading various reviews, I got Sleep In Rollers not only for me (bra-strap length, blonde, fine) but for my BF (shoulder-length, auburn, thick) as well. We both love them — he actually sleeps in them more often than I do. We found that having hair slightly damp when we put our rollers in, and using a bonnet dryer for 15 mins or so on our sets before bed, really helps the volume and wave. I also give our sets a good spray before taking the rollers out. It gives us a lot of flexibility in how we style our next-day hair (up, down, back in a headband, etc.) and we get compliments and “How do you do your hair?” questions all the time.
Staci Roslein
06/28/2015I have been sleeping in rollers my whole life, my mom set my hair from a very early age every night and I still do. If you want to see a different you need the hard plastic rollers in different sizes to get the effect you want volume curl or volume on top and curls on bottom. Set your hair wet but dry with some heat to set the hair before you go sleep use a couple roller pins or roller clips to secure each roller. Before you go to sleep place a roller net over your rollers and you might want a scarf as well. It takes a few times before you get used to sleeping in head full of rollers. Honestly back in the day women had amazing hair that held forever, but there was a price. If you go to a real salon they do the old way hard plastic rollers and pins on wet hair under big hair dryer. No quick Velcro or sleep in rollers
Isobelle
05/27/2018How long do the curls/volume last?
Chris
04/24/2020I really would recommend a hairnet just in case.