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The announcement of Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album came with a selection of social teasers. Quick clips housed a medley of notes from the ’60s and ’90s—spinning vinyl and a typewriter sharing space with a skateboard deck—creating an imagined, eras-encompassing slumber party aesthetic. To put a pin in the point, Rodrigo paired her current trademark black manicure with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it throwback beauty moment: hair wrapped around Coke-can rollers.
The look also featured in her Spotify album artwork, the better to punctuate “All-American Bitch” and its lyrical reference to the classic method. “Coca-Cola bottles that I only use to curl my hair,” Rodrigo sings, her face pouting past two sections of loose brunette strands wound around the iconic cans. (Note: Bottles may have been the better choice syllabically, but cans make for better curls.)
“Can curls became popular in the 1960s when big, bouffant hair was fashionable,” says Rachael Gibson of The Hair Historian. “Although rollers and other professional styling appliances were available at this point, using cans was a cost-effective alternative and provided the desired lift from the roots. The first aluminum drinks cans hit the market at the very end of the 1950s, and by the 1960s they were in common use, so it wouldn’t have been hard to get hold of a few and style your hair on the cheap.” Since then, cans have starred in a myriad of editorial images—one of the most memorable featuring Vogue cover star Naomi Campbell—offering a somewhat fantastical note to captured getting-ready routines.
On TikTok, #CanCurling sits at 2.1 million views, with creators utilizing aluminum cans in the place of hot rollers and in innovative new ways, the better to revolutionize the throwback approach (as Gen Z is wont to do). “One type of can curling that we’ve been seeing on TikTok is placing your hair through the hole of the can and heating it from the outside to create a cascading kind of natural curl,” says celebrity hairstylist Adir Abergel, go-to for the likes of Anne Hathaway and Kristen Stewart. “The other is the way that it was used in the ’60s through the ’90s: doing a set with the cans and setting under a bonnet or hooded heater, letting them cool down, and getting a very sexy, Cindy Crawford kind of effect.”
Though the method is indeed effective, it’s also more laborious than utilizing a curling iron or rollers. The cans can overheat unexpectedly, burning hands and fingers, and come with their share of sharp edges. So what’s this resurgence all about? “It’s nostalgic, it’s fun!” says Abergel. Gibson agrees: “My inclination is that this trend is more about the in-process aesthetic—because who wouldn’t want to look like Naomi in that iconic Ellen von Unwerth shot?”
After you’ve enjoyed your can-curling moment, opt to achieve the same supermodel-worthy oomph through modern means. Abergel recommends reaching for large Velcro or hot rollers, and starting with combed-out lengths and a spritz of volumizer at the roots. “For the ends, I recommend something creamier like Virtue Strengthening Split End Hair Repair Serum Treatment so that they feel smoother and more healthy-looking,” he says. Next, wind sections of hair around the rollers, ensuring ends are polished and cleanly wrapped and hair is rolled away from the face. “For the Velcro method, add some heat on dry hair using a diffuser on your blow-dryer: low pressure, high heat,” says Abergel, who notes five to seven minutes will do the trick. “This will lock in the curl and not create extra frizz.” Allow hair to cool before removing rollers for maximum bounce, and finish with a mist of hairspray for hold.
Classic glamour touches everything, from generous manes to readying routines. So next time you’re prepping for an evening out, consider that some of your most memorable (and documentable) beauty moments may actually occur en route to a finished look.
