I subscribe to numerous online shopping sites, and most of my new email come from them, but I normally just scan through and delete the email. The sale of the InStyler rotating iron, though, caught my eye.
I first saw the InStyler rotating iron on Home Shopping
Network. Every time I saw that feature, I would say, “wow that looks so easy!”
The thing could curl or straighten your hair, too. But of course nothing on
that show is cheap, with the InStyler costing a couple of thousand pesos, so I
just brushed it off as “nice to watch, but not practical for me.” See how it works by clicking on this link.
I saw the ad on Ensogo (now LivingSocial), and after much hemming and hawing, and because my brother's girlfriend asked me to buy something for her on the same site, I snapped up the deal too. And so far, I have not regretted it.
When I got home tired from work one evening, I saw the
package waiting for me. I picked it up and headed to our room, where I quickly
dressed up and opened the box. I was thinking, “Hey, the box is written in
Spanish! Maybe that’s why it’s cheap!” and dreaded that the manual would also be
in Spanish. Well, it was in English, thank goodness. :-)
The box contained the iron, a wide-toothed comb, a manual, a quick user guide, and a black nylon pouch. Well, at least this would be easy to slip into my luggage when I'm traveling.
The manual lists basic features/parts and instructions...
... while the user guide gives a few tricks to using the InStyler:
It’s auto-volt (can be plugged into 110 or 220 volts), and since I was too lazy to look for an
adapter, I plugged the round ends to our 110 outlet and set the InStyler to
work:
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| making pa-cute for the cam while working with the InStyler |
Tired as I was for the day, using this instantly buoyed my
spirits. I was thinking, “Wow, it really is
easy!” and was smiling while I tried out the different styles in the manual
(curl, flip-out, flip-in, straight). The iron gave my hair instant volume, and I only had to use
the wide-toothed comb to section my hair and comb it in place. And even though
the weather was a bit warm, I put off tying my hair up so I could see how long
the curl would last. Well – it lasted until my bath more than three hours later :-). Still, I was looking
forward to using it the next day.
I wasn’t disappointed. I commuted to work, and the wind
outside the jeepney blew my hair about my face and neck, but I easily put it
back into place by simply combing through with my fingers. Except for a few
(much fewer than had I just dried my hair with the electric fan) tuchang, my hair did not look buhaghag
at all. Looks promising!
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| my hair "volumized" |
All through the day, I kept checking myself in the mirror.
Take note, though, that I loathe doing that even though I, too, have a little
vanity in my five-foot body. I'm just not too comfortable being with other people who seem to have nothing better to do than
preen in front of any reflective surface they come across with. But -- I couldn’t stop myself
that day because I wanted to see if my hair was already all tikwas or not (yeah, right).
The good thing is, until I reached home, it was still in practically the
same shape I had styled it to that morning. Thank goodness. So I can safely say
that this one works for me. My hair looks softer and, though not as straight as
rebonded hair, has that nice volume I like. I know, I know, it doesn't look like much, but trust me when I say this looks much better and softer than my usual hair (even without a "before" picture).
The downside
Let me tell you, though, that I still find it a bit
difficult to tame the flipping ends of my hair at the back of my head. I
really, really regret that I had it layered at a salon other than Jesi, who has
taken such good care for my hair (so sulit
for the expense). This other salon cut the shortest layers too short to my
liking. Anyway, that’s another story, but as soon as I grow the layers out to a more
reasonable length, I’ll have my hair at the back cut to just one length so that
styling would be more uniform, especially for a non-expert like me.
Before I purchased the InStyler, I searched for reviews on
the web. Of course there were mixed reviews. There were even reports of scams.
Some also said that the cheaper ones are made in China. Heck, what isn't made in China? Well, I figured, this
is just less than a thousand bucks so even if I get what I paid for, I would
have enjoyed it for all its worth, without hurting my pockets too much.
There were also reviews about getting burned, and to tell
the truth, you could get burned if
you’re not careful because the backs of the brush and the rotating iron itself
get hot. But hey, common sense, this is
a heating device so of course you’d have to be careful – not only in touching
it, but on whatever surface you put it on. Also, allow the device to cool a bit
before putting it in the nylon pouch (again, that’s common sense). To be safe,
always start at lowest temp, especially for fine hair like mine. This also
makes it easier for the InStyler to cool down more easily.
You also have to take a little bit care with your hair
getting caught in the barrel. The manual expressly states that you have to
section your hair, and each section should not be wider than the barrel. Use
the comb to set off the section you’re going to iron and make sure that your
hair is at the center of the barrel. Getting some strands stuck at the ends of
the barrel can become irritating, or painful, or discomfiting, depending on how
much hair gets stuck, and it’s not easy extracting those strands – unless you
want to cut them off and end up with unevenly layered hair in the process.
Subjecting your hair to heat a lot will also require you to
condition and treat your hair often.
Online availability
This blog is not really an ad, but if any of you are
interested, I saw at least five sites to date selling this at different prices:
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| P898 on Ensogo/LivingSocial (previously P3,000) |
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| P745 on Deal Amigos (previously P1,300) |
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| P780 on Deal Spot (previously P1,600) |
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| P999 on Groupon (coming soon, previously P4,200) |
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| P999 on MetroDeal (previously P2999) |
As you can see, the most expensive “promo” is with
MetroDeal. It's interesting to note, too, that they have different original prices - MetroDeal and Ensogo said the original price was at P3,000, Groupon says it's P4,200, while the other sites have their original prices pegged at less than half! Hmm...
Apparently, I had not done my research well (prior to purchasing) because I bought mine at
Ensogo and the other sites were cheaper and had free delivery. With Ensogo, my
delivery cost P65. Then when the package arrived, I saw on the courier’s
receipt that the delivery charge was just P55. Imagine that, pinagkakitaan pa ng Ensogo yung delivery charge?! It just so
happened that I trust Ensogo na because I’ve bought a lot of times from them
before, and the quality is usually good, but I’ve found that changes in their delivery for policies suck. But
that’s another story (again).
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The InStyler may not work for others – different strokes for
different folks. But for now, I will have to say I will use the InStyler for
what it’s worth. That is, probably until my next rebonding session. :-)
