Got my rollers yesterday! I will be giving them a whirl tomorrow. I will post pictures and my thoughts tomorrow.
Hey ladies! It has been a while but I am back! I missed this thread. Unfortunately, I have no pictures but I did want to post my comparison:
French bouffant rollers
Great for kinky hair. Costly AND hard to get. I use them with roller clips, I do not use the pins
Setting: These are easy to set with. My ONLY complaint is that when using the R-R-P method, these rollers can snag the hair.
Setting time: Wider, so I don't need as many rollers. That means that I can set a lot quicker. I can set my hour in an hour flat.
Durability: These things are SOLID. You will not have to replace these.
Smoothing ability: Because they are so stiff, there is no give. This helps get the hair as taut as possible. My hair is left smooth and shiny.
Drying time: It takes my hair two hours to dry (my hair is dense and WL) BUT it took nearly 3 with magnetic rollers. So, these definitely cut my drying time down.
Hourglass/Ethiopian rollers:
Great for kinky hair but costly. I use them with roller clips, I do not use the pins.
Setting: Very easy to set with and I love the little 'teeth'. Great for the R-R-P method.
Setting time: These took longer to install because they don't hold as much hair (they aren't as wide as the FB rollers). It took me about an hour and a half to set.
Durability: These are not as sturdy as the FB rollers but they are sturdy enough. They aren't as flimsy as magnetic rollers.
Smoothing ability: Even though these aren't as stiff, I got pretty good results due to the 'teeth'.
Drying time: It takes my hair a bit longer to dry than the FB rollers. It took about 2.5 hours to dry which still cut down on drying time, but not as much.
Advantages: Nearly NO breakage when doing the R-R-P method. These gently grip my hair while giving the right amount of tension to get my hair smooth.
For ME, I definitely prefer the FB rollers because they are more durable, I can set faster, and they dry my hair quicker. Hope this helps someone!