Not For The Impatient. (BaByliss Straight & Shine Steam Straightener)

Member Name: twisted-gem

Product:	BaByliss Straight & Shine Steam Straightener
Date:	03/09/03 (335 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Affordbale, Steam Function

Disadvantages: Bulky, Doesn't work too well, No power indicator

Let me start by saying that I'm surprised there are so many good reviews for these straighteners. Unfortunately, my experiences aren't as great. I'd only ever got my hair straightened at the salon before, and decided I'd like a pair for myself - especially for those bad hair days.

I didn't want to spend too much, and seeing as my hair is pretty much straight anyway, I thought a cheap pair of straighteners would do the trick (I only wanted to make my hair sleeker, after all). I looked around at a few places and at the time Boots were doing an offer on these (£17 - a bargain, I thought!) on the newer version - the white and purple colour, model number 2012A.

Got home, and couldn't wait to try them out. They have a couple of attachments to them as well, which I thought was pretty cool - one to make your hair shine and another to comb as it goes along. I thought it was great. It took about a minute to two minutes to heat up and away I went. I wasn't getting salon results, but the frizziness from my hair was certainly disappearing and it was looking sleeker. One of the things I noticed on the first day and I was vary about was the fact that there's no indicator to show whether the straighteners are plugged in (there's no switch, so as soon as they're plugged in, they heat up until you unplug them). Fortunately, there are no kids living at my home but it's a potential hazard for someone who may accidentally forgets to unplug them after use.

However, it's when the "testing" period was over, and I was using it wanting to keep my hair sleek and frizz-free all day that I realised you get what you pay for. The actual straighteners are quite bulky. For someone like me, who has very little patience and isn't the most dexterous person when it comes to styling my hair, the process can become quite frustrating.

Firstly, you either have to go through the same segments a few times and
s-l-o-w-l-y work your way through the section of hair. Otherwise, forget it. It's not easy when they're not exactly that light either. By the time I got through my hair, the parts I did at the beginning weren't as sleek so I'd quickly go over them again. Plus, I started to find that I wasn't getting perfectly straight hair. There were a few kinks here and there.

Within a few hours, my hair would still be straight, but not sleek. I may as well not have used straighteners. The first time I asked a friend if she could tell I'd used straighteners (she's the one that suggested I try them), she said that she hadn't noticed. They obviously weren't having the desired effect.

When I bought them, I had long hair. But a few weeks ago, I had my hair cut shoulder length. I thought it would be easier to use my straighteners on shorter hair. I was wrong. If anything, the problem got worse. My hairdresser had cut and straightened it so it looked so sleek. I didn't want to wash my hair because I knew it would never look the same.

But of course I had to wash my hair. I added some straightening serum, and attempted to use my straighteners. The ends wouldn't stay straight, they kept flipping up. My hair is really thick and it was just a bob of volume. No matter how much I went through it, I couldn't create even a slightly sleek look. I have to admit it actually looked a little better after about half an hour, but it was still bad.

My Mum even tried to straighten it for me later that day. She did a better job of it than me (I just find them too bulky to use on myself). However, my hair still wasn't perfectly straight and it wasn't as sleek as it could be.

I must add that most of the time, I didn't use it with the steam function, simply because I found it tended to make my hair a little frizzy after about half an hour. My hair seems to hold in moisture, which when it dries, causes sli
ght frizziness.

So that's my experience with these straighteners. I do think that they would be suitable for someone who has thinner hair than me...my hair is just too thick for these. I also found they are a bit difficult to use. Not the functions - just the size and weight. These may also suit someone who's looking to get their hair straight, rather than sleek. I already had straight hair and unfortunately it's not good enough to make your hair sleek.

I know that I can get my hair sleeker than what these did for me, because I have since bought a new pair of straighteners and I am actually amazed at the results (opinion on that coming up soon). But if anyone still would like a pair of these...I have them for sale, second hand!

I was inclined to give these a two star rating, but am opting for average, because they are quite cheap and I know I'm too impatient to actually take the time to use them. If you want to spend 45-60 minutes a day straightenening your hair, then it probably can be done (and I know many people do). But I need quicker solutions, and these weren't the right ones for me.

Summary: