5 Steps to a Perfectly Smooth Roller Set on 4C Hair

Still from Jouelzy’s 4c roller set tutorial

Ever since a few readers expressed skepticism on whether 4c hair could be smoothly curled and wrapped to a straight/relatively straight style in this article by Chinwe, I have been hunting down the perfect video to showcase that it is indeed possible to smooth 4c hair out with a roller set. My hunt was finally ended today when the perfect video was uploaded by Jouelzy this week!

This level of smoothness was achieved by a stylist but you can replicate the technique at home.

Here are my tips:

1. Patience and Skill

You need a lot of patience and practice to get a perfect roller set. If you have not done a roller set before, I recommend practicing on a small patch of your hair with 4–5 rollers. Once you’ve perfected setting smaller sections,  you are ready to attempt a full head roller set.  It will take hours to put rollers in the first time and slowly with practice, you can whittle down the time.

2. Moisture and Flexibility

The way to a smooth set is to make sure the hair is flexible and soft. In the video, the stylist applied a small amount of hair conditioner which was not rinsed out to get the hair to soften up. Additionally a steamer was used and steamed hair can stretch more compared to wet hair. Roller setting was then done on damp and not soaking wet hair with a setting lotion to help with holding the created curl. Remember that wet hair is one of the weakest states. Therefore, allowing it to partially dry to a damp stage gives you flexibility and some additional strength to prevent breakage. You really do not have to replicate the method used by heart, you can choose to deep condition your hair with heat if that softens your hair or oil rinse or condition for longer etc. It’s best to utilize whatever means that you have found that makes your hair soft and pliable but does not let it snap when wet.

3. Detangling and small sections

The best roller sets rely on many rollers of an appropriate size applied to small sections of hair.  In this video, the dreaded fine tooth comb was used in the final stage of the roller set. It is really important to pick tools that suit your hair texture. If your hair does not lend itself to fine tooth combs, all you have to do is make sure that your hair is really well detangled and the vast majority of strands are not intertwined.

4. Tension and Drying Time

A good roller set relies on tension to smooth out the curl. If your hair looks smooth and taut over the roller, it will set smooth. If your hair is slack over the roller and has curls and kinks, it will set in this way and you end up with a stretched but not smooth style. Small sections and selecting the correct roller type/size will help you with winding hair with the correct tension. Finally hair must be completely dry before taking out the rollers or once more, you will ruin the set.

5. Products

There are some products you should avoid because they will destroy your roller set. Humectants in leave in products can help your hair revert fast! In rinse out products, they are not that much of an issue. You should also avoid using gels and opt for a setting lotion or mousse  if you would like to give your hair extra hold. Gels are perfectly fine for perimeter styling but not for the main hairstyle.

A final note would be to say, that this IS just a style, it is very time intensive and is absolutely going to be affected by humidity or rain.  You do not have to style your hair in a rollerset if you do not desire to, I did, however, want to say that if you want to do it on 4c hair, you can indeed do it successfully.