What are you looking for?
15 February 2014

get ready with me (or not)

for those of you who are regular readers of this here blog, you'll know of my past failures when it comes to 'styling' my 'hair' in any sort of 'style' that isn't a 'top knot' or 'straight' or 'milk braids'. i have successfully tried and subsequently failed to master the curling tong, the soft wave styling tong and all other tongs in between. the only tong i have been able to master appears to be culinary in nature. so. when the hair care folks over at argos suggested i try something from their hair care range - like the babylis curl secret thingy*, i was hesitant.
 
but then i researched it. this thing basically does all the hard work; it sucks in bits of your hair, curls it, and spits it back out all glamourous like. it's what i needed in my life. so i said "yes, yes please!".

attempt one was... dire. i brushed my hair within an inch of it's life, preparing for the ultimate groom fest that was about to be unleashed on it. i used the recommended hot hair pre treatment gunk that everybody recommends you use before bashing your brittle hairs with heat, and i sorrrta read the instructions to make sure i was doing it right...
 
turns out, i wasn't. let me tell you this; the thing makes a lot of beeping noises. at first i thought the beeps were good news (the instructions said it would beep when the hair was sucked in). then i re-read the instructions and realised the beeps i was hearing were of the warning variety - as in "stop what you're doing, cos you're doing it all wrong!"



ok, so i started again, on the other side. it was... just as bad! how hard could it be?! feed it in, it does all the work, it spits it back out!? i soon realised that it was making the bad beeps at me because the amount of hair i was putting in was too much. i reassessed the quantity, and tried again - this time, hearing the right kind of beeps! four slow beeps in succession means "yes, well done champ!" while a hundred short, sharp beeps mean "noooooooo!". aim for the four. it's better for your hair.
 
so, with this in mind, i did have more luck. the whole mechanics of the...machine were really smooth - providing you brush your hair first, otherwise the tangle does get a bit ouchy. i did worry a bit about how it would know when to stop curling, or if it would actually shut off or whatever, but it was easy!
 
the thing though...? it takes a lot of damn time. this wee photo shoot here took about half an hour. that is too much time to be spent on hair alone. too much. nobody wants curls that bad, do they? this guy doesn't, that's for sure (me, i mean). i'm a no-fuss kind of girl (as proven by my three go-to styles), and unless it was for a special reason, this is extravagant.


 i was easily fed up of the whole thing, and had other, more important things to do, so what did i do in the end? i gave up and whacked a clip in it and called it a sorta-wavy, almost-done day.
 
have you ever tried the babylis curl secret styler? how were your results?
 
 
 
*post written in collaboration with brand*

Add your comment

  1. I saw this being used on "this morning" on itv and I was impressed! Although it was a professional hair stylist using it. Judging by this post it looks a lot more difficult and time consuming than it did on the tele! x

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is really interesting - my initial thought at seeing this device was that it seemed too good to be true. Any hair-curling does take time, even if you are quick at putting curlers in, you still have to wait for the curl to set, so it's never instant.

    Thanks for such an honest review, sounds like it wasn't for you! Maybe it would suit other hair types better.

    As for the top knots and milk braids - these are things I can't do!! Tried and failed. P x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have pretty terrible results with most curling tongs/wands/irons/whatevers. The only thing I've found works (pretty) consistently for me are my hot rollers. Even then I have to leave them in for an obscene amount of time for the curl to hold. If they're in less than and hour or two the curls will be flat in no time! I have difficult hair though, I suspect.
    Thanks for doing this review! While the supposed ease of use makes this style of curler look appealing, I have really fragile hair and feel like I'd be tempting fate to use one like this!

    Amber Jade
    Fairytales and Following Trails
    http://fairytalesandfollowingtrails.blogspot.com.au/

    ReplyDelete
  4. I only saw one other review and demo of this product, on youtube and it worked for her (forgot who exactly) but as someone said, maybe it suits better for other hair types.

    imeowlife. ,Dixx

    ReplyDelete
  5. I thought this looked ace the first time I saw it too! My hair is fine, which means that curls stay in for about half an hour before becoming waves then disappearing completely and just looking like I haven't brushed my hair! I'm always keen to try different ways of curling but always end up back at velcro rollers. These are quite expensive at about £120, I'm wondering if a heated wand might be better?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh dear, this sounds complicated! It seems like it might actually end up being less work doing it yourself than feeding the absolutely perfect amount of hair in to have it do it for you!

    XOXO
    Becca | Ladyface Blog

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ha. I've never tried that contraption, but I've always wondered how well (or not well) it actually worked! You have the best hair though, and that hair clip is adorable!

    xo
    Amy
    http://artoftheheartblog.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. aw, well you're the pro! i bet you can whip these curls up in no time ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. tell me about it! haha, i think i just need more patience :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. well i literally suck at that too. i'm all thumbs which is why i thought this would be the best option for me!

    ReplyDelete
  11. well, i mean it definitely worked, it just took a bit of practice! i'll get there, with a little patience :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. me too! and thick, too, so it drops right out after no time.

    ReplyDelete
  13. well those styles were born out of sheer desperation! your hair is lush!

    ReplyDelete
  14. don't they always! x

    ReplyDelete
  15. The advert makes it look so easy. Gutted it doesn't do what it says on the tin.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I thought this may be too good to be true, i'm totally the same with time, anymore then 10 minutes and i've lost interest, so half an hour is a big no for me. xx

    ReplyDelete

thank you for your comment, you lovely thing you.