This affordable hair tool might seem a little rogue, but it gives me a professional-looking blow dry in 7 minutes flat

I’ll just come right out and say it—I’m ridiculously lazy with my hair. Sure, I’ll make an effort with my make-up, but when it comes to hair trends? It will take a lot for me to dig out a pair of hair straighteners or a curling wand. I’m usually a ‘run a brush through it and go’ kinda gal. That was, until I found the Remington Proluxe heated rollers.

Hear me out—I know hair rollers have a bad rap for creating the sort of ringlets a Victorian child would be proud of, but I’m pretty sure I’ve managed to hoodwink the heated roller system. Using this tool, not only do my curls look more ‘expensive blow dry’ than ‘expensive baby doll’, but it also takes me well under 10 minutes to style my hair from start to finish. 

The rollers themselves look pretty chic, with their matte cream and dusty pink colour scheme (they’d make a pretty great Valentine’s gift if you ask me). Plus, unlike the eye-wateringly expensive hair tools available on the market nowadays, the rollers cost well under £50. If there’s one thing we adore here at Marie Claire UK, it’s an affordable Dyson Airwrap alternative—and this is my unconventional alternative of choice.

Without further ado, shop the Remington Proluxe heated rollers for yourself below, and keep scrolling for my tips on how to get an expensive blow dry effect in under 10 minutes.

Before using the rollers:

Firstly, doing this style on freshly cleaned and blow-dried hair is essential—it gives me the shiniest result and ensures my curls last for over three days. I make sure to use a heat protectant and shine-enhancing oils beforehand to give me the best result.

The rollers take about one minute to heat up, during which I section my hair into two parts with a claw clip, and I’m good to go.

How to use the rollers:

Once heated, the rollers aren’t hot to the touch thanks to the foam coating, so you can use them without fear of burning your fingers. I simply roll large-ish sections of hair around each roller, clip it in place and move on to the next section.

I use larger chunks of hair than I would normally for curling wands to avoid the hair getting too curly. This next point is crucial in avoiding the too-curly ringlet effect—I don’t leave the rollers in for too long. 

I only leave my rollers in for as long as it takes to complete my full head, and remove the first roller I added as soon as the last one is in. This ensures I get more of a bouncy, wavy look rather than the dreaded baby doll curls. If you have a curtain fringe, curl this section—wrap it upwards and away from your face—and remove it sooner than any of the others.

All in all, this technique takes me about seven minutes from start to finish—including heating the rollers up, sectioning my hair, putting the rollers in and taking them out. I let the curls set while I do my make-up and brush them out after 10-20 minutes for a glossy, bouncy finish. Seriously, this hairstyle never fails to get me compliments.

The results:

The longevity of the results will of course vary depending on your hair type, but I find that when styled immediately after washing and blow-drying, my fine, wavy hair holds a nice bouncy curl until around day three of my hair wash cycle (as shown in the picture above). 

I’d highly recommend the products below to get the most out of your rollers—from shine-enhancing oils to my go-to hair dryer.