@1tuffcookie I ordered the Calista Ionic Rollers when I saw them presented... the long ones. QVC sent the wrong short rollers and of course they were sold out, so I purchased them using an online coupon directly from Calista.
I watched her video when it was available originally to see how to roll longer hair vertically (your length), to get the look as shown in your picture. She starts about 3/4 the way up the length of the hair you want to use in that curler, rolls the hair around the curler just like the Dyson Airwrap does, then finishes that strand by rolling it up onto her head. Place the large clip and repeat until all 12 rollers are used.
I MUST use my styling products before using ANY hot roller, curling iron, Perfecter, waver, etc. or forget my efforts. My hair won't last. So that's a tip I got from watching videos.
Another tip would be if you are using the short rollers on your length hair, it might be too much length to wrap onto those smaller rollers. When that happens, the entire strand doesn't heat up enough to make a curl. There is just too much hair. You can try smaller strands. They also say allow to cool while putting on makeup, etc. which takes a good 10 minutes at least.
For your length hair, if you have the short rollers, you might want to return them while you still can if they still don't work to your satisfaction after reading all these comments. Then you can always check with the Calista website and purchase the long rollers, after watching youtube videos and her videos, anywhere you can watch how to use them for the best result if you still want hot rollers.
Oh! I use a heat-resistant glove on my right hand that is always holding the rollers. They DO get hot and my fingers really feel the heat without the glove! Ouch!
Hope you can figure it out. I like using different tools depending upon my mood and time because getting ready should be fun haha.