Go Straight - to Straight Hair without the Dryer (Remington Wet2Straight Wide Nano Gold Wide Straightener)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Remington Wet2Straight Wide Nano Gold Wide Straightener
Date:	09/02/09 (477 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No need to use the hairdryer before straightening, wide plates ideal for long, thick hair

Disadvantages: Wouldn't recommend using these every single time, heat protection spray must be used

When I was young, I longed for thick, wavy, long blonde hair. Sadly my hair has always been very fine and looks pretty awful once it gets past my shoulders, is poker straight and colourwise its mousy brown, so my dream was never to be.

My daughter, however, has the most beautiful hair - naturally wavy, thick and a lovely shade of blonde - everything I wished I had had when I was her age.

Of course given the fact the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence my daughter likes her hair straight. She first got a taste for it at the hairdressers last year after a haircut so I bought some Babyliss straighteners to use.

These are great straighteners on dry hair but the problem with my daughter's hair is the sheer length of time it takes to dry. She is autistic and hates the noise and sensation of the hairdryer so I would have to wait 3 to 4 hours for her hair to dry naturally before I could tackle the straightening. Then that process would take at least another 40 minutes - because her hair is so thick - all very tedious really.

My sister mentioned straighteners that could be used on wet hair - effectively drying the hair as they straightened and these sounded ideal.

So I headed off to the shops and found the Remington Wet2Straight Gold Nano straighteners in Currys, for £38.97.

The first thing I noticed about these straighteners is the plates - they are far wider than the plates you find on regular hair straighteners - which is perfect for long, thick hair. Remington also do a Slim version for shorter hair. The plates are gold in colour and are ceramic tourmaline with Teflon coating.

The box contains the straighteners, a protective bag which can double as a mat, and instructions. The straighteners have pretty basic controls which consist of an "on/off" button and a temperature control. A red light is illuminated when they are switched on.

The controls are quite small - the temperature control is a knob you turn up or down depending on the level of heat you want. The problem with this knob is occasionally it can be moved accidentally up or down so take care to ensure it is always at the correct temperature.

The plates heat up in 60 seconds, and then you are ready to go.

Remington advise you start straightening from the bottom of the hair and work your way up, so I followed their advice and got the first section of my daughter's hair and sprayed it with heat protector, as I always do when straightening her hair.

I then placed the straighteners on the section and was amazed at the sound they made - there was a bit of hissing and then the steam started to come out of the holes on the top plate. You are warned to take care when using the straighteners because this steam is very hot and you must ensure that you keep the holes away from the face and hair to avoid steam burns.

I had to go over each section a couple of times but I was immediately impressed with the results. To see the hair drying and straightened at the same time was really satisfying - I kept thinking of how much time this was saving me!

The one thing I realised quite quickly however was the fact that despite Remington's claims that this can be used on towel dried hair, its probably going to be more effective on hair that is just damp. I found myself having to go back to sections I thought were dry and redo them, which was a little frustrating. However in my case it would still save me time as I wouldn't have to wait for my daughter's hair to be bone dry.

We were both really pleased with the finished results however - sleek smooth and dry hair in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

When you have finished using the straighteners its advisable to clean the plates once they have cooled down. I found it took about 20 minutes or so for the plates to cool, and following Remington's advice, I cleaned them with just a soft damp cloth. This prevents product build up ruining the plates on the straighteners. The straighteners can then be stored in the heat protective mat/bag.

The straighteners can also be used on dry hair and the fact these have wide plates has helped speed up the process on my daughter's hair as I can tackle larger sections than I could do with the Babyliss straighteners.

I do have to say I worry about these causing damage to my daughter's hair. The box claims they have ionic properties and certainly they dry my daughter's hair with less frizz than the dryer, but prolonged use without heat protection is not something I would either do or advise - I use the Tresemme Heat Protector Spray every time I straighten my daughter's hair.

Included in the box is a form requesting you register your product - this gives you a 3 year warranty with Remington free of charge. You can either post the form off to Remington or register your product online. There is an annual £10,000 free prize draw that all registrations are entered into to further entice you to do so.

I would definitely recommend these if you have long, thick and wavy hair as they both save time and tame the curl. I wouldn't be in favour of using them every single time after you have washed your hair and certainly will be insisting upon my daughter having curly hair days from time to time.

For the price however these do a great job of taming long, wild locks.

Summary: Cut out the hairdryer to sleek, straight locks.