The Easiest Up-Do: The 3-Minute Vintage Roll

By now we’re all familiar with the headband roll hairdo. I refuse to believe you don’t know what I’m talking about if you have ever been on Pinterest, but just in case, it’s a snazzy way to dress up day-old hair and keep it off your face. I’ve never been a huge fan because the top of the headband shows — it’s cute and casual, but I normally save up-dos for special occasions, and my tattered hair-washing headband doesn’t match my favorite gown. Bummer.

But by the graces of the up-do gods, I spotted a solution while wasting time at a Walgreens last week. Conair — aka the company who made every product I longed to own in the 1990s — sells these weird little elastic/sponge combos in the beauty section of drugstores for $7, and it creates the perfect vintage roll in just a few minutes without the visible headband.

ohjuliaann beauty hair tutorial - easy conair vinatge roll with round circle sephora barette (1)

If you’ve ever used a hair donut, it’s half that and half clear hair band. You slide the monster over your head, keeping the clear part on top, and you suddenly achieve vampy pin-up hair without any real skill or understanding of why it works.

ohjuliaann beauty hair tutorial - easy conair vintage roll gif

It’s amazing and you have to try it. Also I’m the proud owner of a bitching new barrette. Really, it has just been a very exciting week for my mane.

ohjuliaann beauty hair tutorial - easy conair vinatge roll with round circle sephora barette (2)

So, how does it work exactly?

Step one: Pretend it’s a mustache. After that it’s pretty self-explanatory.

ohjuliaann beauty hair tutorial - easy conair vinatge roll with round circle sephora barette (5)

Pull the headband around your head with the puffy butt in the back. Wrap chunks of hair from under the band over the top and tuck back in. Continue all the way around, pin as required, and top with a barrette. I liked keeping it lose and messy, but you could tighten the roll up if you’re a bit more… ya know… obsessed about fly-aways. It’s a losing fight for me so I surrendered a long time ago.

OHJULIAANN beauty hair tutorial - easy conair vintage roll with round circle sephora barette (11)

I went with this gorgeous Feelin’ Fancy barrette I was recently sent from Sephora. Who doesn’t want to look like they’re straight from the Céline runway for less than $10?

ohjuliaann beauty hair tutorial - easy conair vinatge roll with round circle sephora barette (4)

I didn’t have any problems keeping this hairdo in place, but I did use more bobby pins than came with the package. It might be because I have layers, or it might be because I fidget a lot and need to secure the hell outta my tresses. It’s a toss up, really.

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Final thoughts? The Conair Classic Vintage Roll is super rad and way worth $7. My hair feels classy and I didn’t blow my latte savings. I’m calling it a win.

4 Comments

  1. November 24, 2017 / 11:14 am

    That little clear plastic cord has to stay at the front of your head?

    • November 26, 2017 / 10:36 pm

      Yeah, it does. It was less noticeable when my hair was curled more!

  2. karen Bryant
    December 4, 2017 / 10:57 am

    I have this it’s great . I have very thin hair an it looks thick like this .

  3. Monica
    April 19, 2019 / 7:53 am

    Thank you for this! I found this (your post) on Pinterest after worrying about what to do with my hair for my sister’s wedding. They don’t appear to sell this thing in Canada so I ordered it online. Perfect for my kinda-vintage aesthetic 😀

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