A blazing hot curling iron can do serious damage to hair. Especially if that hair is fine, short, thin, or delicate. Instead of damaging your hair with a scorching iron, hot rollers are gentle. Yet, they’ll help you create a fantastic look in your short hair.
Short hair might be coarse, too. Hard-to-curl hair comes in all kinds of lengths. Women with short hair have problems finding suitable styling tools. They’re constantly disappointed because most tools address long hair. Hot rollers are the answer.
These are some of the best hot rollers for short hair out there today. These are updated versions of the traditional hot rollers that your mother or grandmother had. These hot rollers work faster and leave hair in much better condition than other heat styling tools.
Table of Contents
- Top 7 Hot Rollers for Short Hair Review
Hot Rollers for Short Hair Comparison Table
| Model | Feature | Size | Count | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BaBylissPRO Roller Hairsetter | Ceramic roller | 3 | 20 | Check price |
| Conair InfinitiPro Rollers | 12 temp: settings | 3 | 20 | Check price |
| Conair Compact Hot Rollers | Ready signal | 3 | 20 | Check price |
| Remington Ionic Hair Setter | Indicator Light | 3 | 20 | Check price |
| Calista Tools Ion Hot Rollers | Indicator Light | 1 | 12 | Check price |
| Conair Instant Heat Rollers | Quick heat | 1 | 5 | Check price |
| Caruso Steam Hairsetter | Dual voltage | 5 | 30 | Check price |
Top 7 Hot Rollers for Short Hair Review
1. BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Roller Hairsetter
The company has been around since the 1960s in Paris. The hairstylist Lelievre improved on the styling tool. He started selling them to salon stylists and other professionals. For years, you couldn’t get these devices, but now, many styling tools from the company are available to home users.
With this titanium hot roller, you’re getting plenty of small and medium rollers. There are 6 small and 6 medium; ¾ inch and 1 inch respectively. It includes 8 large 1 and ¼ inch rollers, too. Big rollers like the large can be good on the crown for volume. Varied sizes make curls look more natural.
Inside these rollers, there is a nano-titanium ceramic structure. It’s covered with velvety flocking. The materials generate their own ionic properties. Hair won’t look dry. It’ll be shiny and nourished when you’re finished curling. The flocking also helps to hold the hair on the roller. It won’t slip, which can be so annoying when you’re trying to use curlers.
The hot rollers come with two types of clips. There are regular clips and butterfly ones. They’re color-coded to fit on the right roller. The rollers heat really fast. The ceramic in the rollers hold the heat longer and spread it evenly across the hair. There’s an on/off indicator light, so you’ll know they’re getting hot.
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Great positives
Short hair can be fine or coarse. These hot rollers for short hair have a nano-titanium core as well as a ceramic core. It’s going to be enough heat to curl, but it won’t burn hair. The ceramic makes the curler’s heat spread evenly. That’s a must for thin hair.
All of the clips are stored in with the rollers. You’ll never have clips go missing like you would if they didn’t have a space. That’s always a concern with other clips that don’t fit in the unit.
I love that there are two types of clips. I’ve had friends and family talk about the type of clips they like. Usually, there can be some real debates about the merits of each. It’s fantastic that there are two, so everyone is happy.
Mild concern
This set could do with a few more small or medium rollers. If you want volume, there are 8 big rollers. There should be more small or medium ones. Although, together there are 12 smaller ones.
2. INFINITIPRO BY CONAIR Instant Heat Ceramic Rollers
The company was founded in 1959. Since that time, they’ve been providing consumers with small appliances and personal care products. It’s no wonder they are so well-known since they have created some great things. Their headquarters are based in the US, so they follow the strict US guidelines for appliances.
In 1959, they started with hair rollers. It’s not hard to imagine that they’d be a leader in the beauty space since they started with curlers. This hot roller set comes with 20 curlers. There are 3 roller sizes in this unit; small ¾ inch, medium 1 inch, and large 1 and ¼ inch. They come with 20 plastic clips, too.
The interiors are made of ceramic. They’re covered with flocking to help hair stay in place. That is extremely helpful for curling shorter hairstyles. The unit has an ionic generator along with the ceramic elements. They will work together to make hair smooth and shiny while curling.
This unit has a few features. There’s the obvious ability to heat 20 curlers at once. It has an on/off switch on the front. The light will tell you when the unit is heating. The unit heats at a variety of temps, too. There are actually 12 choices for heat settings. You’ll have to experiment based on your hair texture and thickness. It’ll be easy since it only takes 2 minutes to heat.
While this isn’t a small unit that you’d expect to be travel-worthy, it does have a retractable cord. You could slip it into your bag easily without the cord getting in the way. Unfortunately, it’s not dual voltage, but that won’t matter if you’re traveling to a friend’s house or vacation someplace in the US.
Get Conair InfinitiPro at Amazon
Great positives
There is much to love with these rollers. There are multiple sizes with more than enough for short hair. The flocking will keep the hair from falling out while rolling. Once you put the clips on, they’ll stay in place.
With this unit, you’re getting ion generation. From the ceramic to the generator, they will remove frizz from your hair. They have an Argan oil infusion, too. That’s an oil people use to moisturize and remove frizz.
The biggest plus for these rollers is the time it takes to heat. You don’t have to wait long at all. In less than 5 minutes, you’ll be rolling your hair. You can do many of your morning chores while letting the rollers sit. It’ll definitely get you out of the house faster.
Mild concern
There’s no place for clips. You’ll have to keep them near the unit, but they won’t fit in the unit. That might be an acceptable trade-off for you. You’ll have big, plastic clips instead of wire ones.
3. Conair Compact Multi-Size Hot Rollers
This is another set of hot rollers from Conair. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the company has more than one kind. Rollers and curlers are where they started. This is a compact set of rollers with multiple sizes. It might be your next go-to for styling when you’re away from home.
It has 3 sizes of rollers. There are 6 large, 6 medium, and 8 small. The small ones are ½ inch, the medium ¾ inch, and the large 1 inch. With 8 small and 6 medium, that surely is plenty of curlers for your short hair. With these rollers, you’re not getting flocking. You are getting ones with ridges to keep hair from getting tangled.
The rollers come with color-coded clips. The clips fit over the rollers with no chance for hair to escape. They have a patented Starter Grip to easily roll your short hair. The unit has a signal light when it’s ready to use. It’s definitely great for travel. It’s compact and dual voltage.
Get Conair Compact Roller at Amazon
Great positives
Getting your hair stuck in the curlers isn’t much fun. It can still happen with short hair, but not with these. They’re able to roll without tangling and have a Starter Grip. It’ll allow you to play with your style without worrying hair will get stuck.
The compact nature of the curlers means they can be carted with you anywhere. You can even keep this set over at your boyfriend’s house. He won’t complain because it takes up no room at all in his bathroom.
Having the clips inside the unit makes it much easier to keep it all together. It’s dual voltage, so you could even take it on vacations with you. Business trips across the ocean won’t stress you out because you’ll have this roller set to make sure you look your best.
Mild concern
These curlers do not have an automatic shut off. You’ll have to be vigilant about turning the unit off when you’re done with the rollers.
4. Remington Ionic Conditioning Hair Setter
Remington is another company that’s been around for years. The company was established in 1937 in NY. Since that time, they’ve branched out to many types of products. In the area of beauty, they really excel. This is one of their biggest sellers. It has so many great features.
First, there’s the amount of rollers you get. In the unit, there are 20 rollers in three sizes. There’s small at ¾”, medium at 1”, and large at 1 ¼” with colors to differentiate them. The company also has extra sets of rollers that can be purchased separately. Not all the companies do this. For your short hair, you can purchase more small or medium rollers.
The inner core of the rollers is a thermal wax core. The cores will hold onto heat much longer. Instead of a roller that instantly cools, it will continue to deliver a slow, even heat for a long time. If you have hard-to-curl hair, that’s a huge game changer for you. They are covered with flocking to hold hair snugly on the roller.
There are J-clips for holding hair without causing creases. They hold hair as tight as you need, too. There are 3 size clips for the 3 sizes. Each one is color coded to match the curler type. Another nice touch with these rollers is the light on them. It indicates when they’re hot enough to use. They have ionic conditioning for less frizz, too.
Great positives
This set of rollers has more medium and small than it does large. Your short hair can definitely be curled beautifully with these. The large is good for volume in the front, too. It seems they picked just the right amount of smalls and mediums.
The flocking really helps to keep hair in place while rolling. Fine, really-thin hair won’t be a problem with the flocking. They won’t slip, either. The J-clips are going to really snag the hair in the roller.
With a lightweight roller and flocking, the rollers are exactly what short hair needs. They won’t fall because of weight. A great feature of the set is the light on the curler itself. You’ll be able to see if they’re ready instantly.
Mild concern
This set of rollers isn’t able to travel out of the country. It’s not dual voltage. It can still be used on the go – whether it’s a friend’s house or to the gym, this will fit easily into a gym bag.
5. Calista Tools Ion Hot Rollers Long Style
The founder of Calista, Maria McCool (love the name), was constantly hearing frustration from her clients. They wondered why they couldn’t duplicate styles with the same tools as those in the salon. She wanted to give people products that were a bit different. The company wants people to feel in control of their style.
That happens with the right kind of styling tools. For example, Calista has made these really long rollers. They are good for long or short hair. Since we’re looking for the best hot rollers for short hair, that’s where we’ll focus. The curler has nubs on them for catching hair and holding it while rolling.
The kit includes 12 long, thin rollers. They’re all the same size. You can alter your style based on how much hair you roll in each. Hair styles can be changed based on how you roll hair along the thin rod. Your style – your choice. The clips are long enough to hold the rollers securely in your hair.
The rollers generate ions for really smooth hair. It rids your hair of frizz and makes curls shiny and bouncy. Along with this fusion of ceramic and ions, there is also a PTC heating element in the rollers. It takes less than 3 minutes for the rollers to heat. You can see when they’re done by looking at the top. The indicator dot will change colors.
Great positives
If you have people in your family with different hair lengths, this is going to be a great roller set. It’s long yet thin enough to get a ton of hair into the rollers. Whether it’s spiral curls in long hair or extra volume in short, these can be adapted.
The clips don’t seem to be long enough for the roller. It actually secures them fine. With short hair, you’re not going to need to cover the entire roller. Long hair keeps itself on the roller with minimal help from the clips.
It’s not dual voltage, but it has a slim base and a travel bag. You can take them anywhere where there is 110v. The gym, a friend’s house, or on vacation – it’s easy to fit in your luggage or travel bag.
Mild concern
These are very hot to touch. There’s no cool tip for handling the rollers while wrapping hair.
6. Conair Instant Heat Travel Rollers
It’s hard to stay away from the Conair brand. They have some of the best hot rollers out there. Some of them are for multiple hair types. Others seem to be made specifically for a certain type of hair or situation. These are full of features that make traveling easier.
There are 5 very large rollers in this set. That might not seem like it would be good for short hair, but they are. You’ll be able to get volume in your hair. It gives you bounce and shine while working. You also won’t have to hold a curling iron and curl hair by hand for 15 minutes.
The rollers are 1.5” and come with large clips to completely cover the hair. You can definitely get lovely waves with this roller set. They have velvet flocking to keep hair in place while you’re wrapping. The ends are cool because of the Stay-Cool rings. No need to bring a glove with you.
It’s dual voltage for travel anywhere. It can travel anywhere from 110v to 240v. The kit comes with a zippered pouch. You can even heat the rollers in the pouch. Simply pop them back in the base when you’re finished. The soft pouch will zip, and you won’t have to worry about packing and unpacking it.
Great positives
According to the company, they have 2x more flocking than their competitors. I’d have to agree that there is more flocking on these. It means that you’ll be able to curl short hair without the strands constantly falling.
They’re not too heavy, either. Fine hair can get tugged when the rollers weigh too much. Not a concern for this set of rollers. They will sit easily on the head and not pull hair from the scalp, which can be painful.
It doesn’t take long for them to heat up. When you’re on vacation or a work trip, you don’t want to spend too much time waiting. These will heat in less than 5 minutes. The time you leave them on is up to you. More time means a tighter curl.
Mild concern
The cord is fairly short. At home, you can put it wherever you want. In a hotel, you’ll be stuck in the bathroom or trying to find a mirror near the plug.
7. Caruso Molecular Steam Hairsetter
This is an entirely different type of hot roller. Instead of just heat, there’s heat and steam. It has extra features focused on curling hair while drying and making it shiny. It’s good for hair that’s hard to curl since it provides superior heat through steam. Styles last longer with this kind of styling tool.
It comes with many rollers of various sizes. Short-haired women will find 3 sizes they can use. There are 6 of each size; petite, small, medium, large, and jumbo. The petite through medium will work beautifully in short hair. Curls tend to fall out in short hair. It’s often because the roller can’t really hold the hair well. That’s not going to be a problem with this one.
The clips fit snugly on the roller. They’re actually part of the roller. Creases are not going to be a worry anymore with these roller shields. There are also 3 extra roller shields in case you need them. One for each size; petite through medium. The rollers themselves are made with foam. The material lets the steam move through each strand.
It comes with a storage bag for travel. It’s great just for storing in your closet or under the sink at home, too. A storage bag keeps everything organized. The steam roller kit is dual voltage for travel, too. You’ll be able to place the unit in the storage bag and bring it with you anywhere.
Great positives
There’s so much I loved about these steam rollers. After letting my hair air dry for a little while, I used the steam to further dry it. At the same time, it also created stunning curls. They were shiny and didn’t have any frizz.
Minimal spray was used to hold the curls, and they lasted for 2 days with almost no touch up. The rollers didn’t take much time to heat on the stand, either. Each one took 5 to 7 seconds on the unit before putting in my hair.
Realistically, I could have done my hair the next day and still been happy with the time of my curls. They were fast and easy to set. A quick touch up would have been fine with me.
Mild concern
There is a one-year warranty on the unit, which is fantastic. No real warranty on the rollers or clips. The foam might need to be replaced years and years from now. They don’t provide replacements.
The Important Questions about Short Hair and Hot Rollers
Only you know what kind of hair you have. That’s why you need to ask yourself some questions. I’d love to be able to help you pick a roller specifically for your hair. Sadly, we’re not real-life friends. I will tell you what the questions should be, and that information will help you make decisions.
- What Kind of Heat Can My Hair Handle?
Just because your hair is short, doesn’t mean it’s one certain texture. Short hair can be thick or thin, coarse or fine. For short, fine hair, you’ll need to keep the heat to a minimum. High heat can scorch hair and cause damage. It’s not needed for thin hair anyway. Your hair will curl with less heat.
Short hair that is coarse and thick has its own demands. Coarse hair can be really resistant to curling. The higher the heat – the better curls you’ll achieve. You might need to control the heat or use hot rollers with high heat.
- Do I Want a Few Sassy Styles?
The size and shape of the rollers are going to influence the type of curls, of course. That’s not really a light bulb moment. It’s important that you have all kinds of sizes in your kit of hot rollers. One day, you might want tight curls. The next day, it might be a slight wave for a tousled, sexy look.
If you don’t buy a kit with different sizes, you will only be able to achieve one style. Most women want to play around with styles – to see what looks best. For your short hair, though, you’ll want to stay away from jumbo rollers. They won’t give you enough curl.
- Will I Know How to Set Them Myself?
There are normally two different clips involved with hot rollers. An easy-to-use style is the alligator clip. It might be called the Jaws or clamps. Once the hair is wrapped around the curl, you’ll open the clip and surround the roller. Hair won’t escape.
Hot rollers can also come with J-clips or pins. These are a bit harder to use. The clip slides into the roller and keeps it in place. Lastly, some hot rollers come with a clip that is attached. Usually, they’re attached to steam rollers.
- What is Flocking, and Why Do I Need It?
Plastic isn’t the best material for use as rollers. They aren’t used in hot rollers, but in ones you wore to bed when you were little and mom wanted you to have curls. Instead, you’ll have flocking on your hot rollers.
Flocking is a velvety material. It holds heat in it for a long time. The material will hold hair better than slippery plastic or other elements, too. Your short hair needs help to stay on the curler. The flocking makes it easier to wrap short strands.
- Why Do the Cores and Materials Matter?
There are foam rollers, those with flocking, and some with textured nubs. The materials help hold the hair in place. With flocking, it’ll be harder for hair to slip and slide. With foam, steam will seep through and set the hair. For textured nubs, it’ll also make it easier to hold hair.
There’s also the material itself from ceramic to titanium to wax cores. The materials provide ionic conditioning. Especially those that are ceramic or tourmaline. The wax cores stay hot for a longer amount of time. That provides a deeper curl.
- Can the Amount of Rollers Do My Entire Head in One Go?
Sometimes there are only a certain amount of small or medium rollers in the set. Usually petite, small, or medium rollers will give you a variety of curl patterns. Hair looks more realistic that way, too.
You can definitely use the rollers for a variety of styles. Big rollers can also give you volume instead of defined curls. The style you choose can be particular to you. Feel free to play around with all the rollers in your set.
- Where Will I Use These Rollers?
Think about where you’ll use these rollers the most. Do you travel locally or into other countries? The dual voltage will matter to you if you travel outside the US. Sometimes, you want the travel rollers to fit into your gym bag. They don’t need to be dual voltage for that.
The cord length should be taken into consideration, too. In hotel rooms, you have no control of where the outlet is located. Most of the time they make it convenient, but not every hotel or motel does. Make sure it’s long enough to plug in anywhere.
Conclusion
The best hot rollers for short hair will be adaptable for your length. They’ll hold hair in place while you roll and clip it with the right kind of clamp. You’ll have to ask yourself a few questions before making a choice. Things like the texture and health of your hair will matter.
The rollers you choose might lift hair to give it volume. The rollers might make tight curls depending on the size of the rollers. To determine your need, think about the styles you want to achieve with your rollers.
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