You Spin My Hair Right Round Baby, Right Round
Sometimes, professional performance matters. It’s good to know you’re getting what you pay for, and things work as well as they’re supposed to. Even though it’s amazing to find a low cost steal, the trial and error can be exhausting and it can even end up costing more than just investing in the best to begin with. I’ve gotten lucky before in finding a low priced tool that works, but I’ve also literally gotten burned.
I wanted to focus on a tool that would give me the results I need (and want), so I started looking on the professional side of things. I know with my straightening irons the professional ones always outperform the low cost ones, but I didn’t know if that’s the same case with curlers.
The BabylissPro Miracurl Steamtech comes with a titanium curling chamber and provides professional style in a super cool, new-fangled way. Instead of wrapping hair around the barrel, the barrel carefully draws the hair into a chamber and pulls it around to curl. That’s a huge difference from previous methods, and it’s much less likely to burn you.
Rolling For A Reason
My first concern when looking at this model was the idea of a device that pulls your hair through it because it might get stuck. The chamber on this one though, is designed to keep that from happening. It’s possible for hair to get caught (in a way), but the device will stop turning and even reverse so it doesn’t get tangled. You can then easily release it, change the position or reduce the amount of hair, and try again. Pretty simple huh?
Heated From All Angles
This thing curls, and does it super quickly. I’m amazed at the small amount of time it takes. The way it gets away with this is by doing what a flat iron does. A good straightener is able to straighten hair quickly because it squeezes the hair together and the heat gets it from all sides. The enclosed chamber on this curler does the same thing. It doesn’t quite squeeze as much as a flat iron does, but it does a pretty good job of making sure the appropriate amount of heat gets on every strand.
The Touch of Steam
The water reservoir
The good thing about steam is that it’s much gentler to your hair, and your curls will hold longer as well. The downside is that it takes longer to curl your hair, especially if you have thick and long hair like me. This is because the reservoir can’t hold much water (and it shouldn’t – or the unit would weigh too much) which means you’ll have to refill quite often.
I totally like the idea of steam and I love to give it a try, but given the extra time it would take me I’m not entirely sure if I’d use it. It’s still a nice option to have though, even if I would only use it on occasion.
Curl Direction? There’s More Than One?
If you’re like me, you didn’t know you can curl in more than one direction. And if you did know this, perhaps you didn’t know that it makes a difference which direction you curl in. On the MiraCurl, you can set the direction before you curl to make sure you’re getting the same look all around. Or instead, use the alternate setting for a more natural look, with right and left twisted curls mixed up.
You Can’t See What’s Inside
The enclosed chamber makes it much harder to see, but the internals of this baby are a solid titanium that so many good irons have nowadays, and it has the nano technology that keeps your hair smooth and frizz free. It’s a little hard to believe that all of this is wrapped around the circular chamber in so many different ways, but it totally is.
Pick All The Settings!
There are several time/temperature selections that can be made on this device so you have all the control. Aside from the fact this device does all the pulling, you get to decide how long you want it to run for and how much heat you want. You can also choose what direction the curls go in. The temperature setting goes up to 450F which should be enough to get anyone’s hair curling. Meanwhile, the longer you curl for, the tighter the curls are. You can set it for 8, 10 or 12 seconds, but you can run it for longer than that if your hair needs more attention.
At 12 seconds you should get the tight, bouncy curls you want, but if your hair is a little more difficult under heat you may need slightly longer than that. Remember (and I know I say this a lot), but you should always use the lowest heat and time setting first to make sure you’re not putting too much pressure on your locks.
Keeps Your Safe From Yourself
Several different things about this device make it really good for clumsy people like me. The hot part of the wand is encased in the outer chamber which means there is less to burn yourself on. Then, the edge of the circular barrel that is exposed is covered with a protective exterior so the hot part is guarded.
Turns Off When The Times Off
The auto-off on this thing is so important, and I really like that it has one. I don’t buy these things if they don’t have an auto off, and so many professional options don’t have it. I’m not sure what it is about professional styling tools, but so many of them are missing the important extra perks that make these more usable.
Miracurl doesn’t skimp on this though and even goes a step further. Besides auto-shutoff you also have sleep mode and a motion sensor, allowing it to heat up quickly again to the right temperature, without the risk of burning yourself in between usage.
Willing To Attempt Miracurl
An iron that protects me from burning myself while still giving me the curls I want is totally ok by me. I like the perks it has, and while I’m still not entirely sure how to get it to work properly, I’m pretty sure it’s possible to make it work without substantial trauma (IF you read the instructions and take your time).
I like that it isn’t an exposed curling wand because it grips the hair for me, and I also like that it isn’t an old-fashioned curling iron. No matter how you look at it this thing has a lot to offer.