To Curl, Or Not To Curl? {Product Review}

Good afternoon, y'alls! A couple weeks ago, Flat Iron Experts contacted me about doing a review of some of their products. Well, as some of y'all probably know, I love doing reviews and thus the idea of getting to review a straightening iron thrilled me. 

The folks at Flat Iron Experts generously sent a Karmin Professional Titanium hair straightener/curler as well as a wall mount for it and two hair styling products.  The photo above demonstrates my hair as is, without anything done to it. So yeah, it's already quite straight. In summertime, with all the humidity  it curls a little on its own, but on a normal day? This is it. 

Before I go any further, I should mention that my lovely mother helped me do this review and try the products. I gave the iron to her, actually, because she had wanted one for some time and this one works great for her. Here's what her hair looks like, as is.

As the title suggests, the idea of curling/straightening one's hair with heat has carried some debate., especially in the conservative, natural-product/natural-remedy favoring community. 

Some suggest that curling your hair(or straightening it, if you already have curly hair) can be seen as comparable to dying your hair...E.g., changing what you already possess because you're not satisfied with it.

This can, indeed, be true for some people, but overall, I think it is fine, and really just depends on how often you curl/straighten and what your motives are for doing so.

Personally, I think that curling without heat is my favorite method, but this is just my own opinion. In Mom's own words, "I[mom] would use it [the straightening/curling iron] for some soft curls around the face, if you have a special occasion, or am going out and want to look a little more dressy. It's good for medium or shorter hair."

As you can see in the above photo, Mom's hair is much shorter than mine. I have tried various means of curling my hair without heat, and some have been successful, such as sock curls and "beehive" curls which you let sit overnight. However, the curl never stays put! It will become straight after about an hour, typically. 

So, apologies to you gals with longer hair like me, because this review may not as prove very useful to you as it would you ladies with shorter hair.

Now, let's find out what was in the package!

-KQC Thermal Shine Spray

Smell:  Not impressed. It carried a very artificial, chemical odor. 

Ingredients: This was the worst part! A list of very unnatural, artificial ingredients with so many syllables you can barely figure out how to pronounce the names! As a natural, 'green' loving girl, I prefer to use products which only use ingredients which are natural, non-synthetic and ideally, organic. This didn't fit that criteria. Plus, it was made in China.

Effectiveness: It did indeed make Mom's hair shinier/glossier. But she didn't like the scent or ingredients either, so...end of that discussion! 

- Macadamia Natural Oil Nourishing Leave In Cream

Scent: Eh, so-so. It wasn't horrible, but at the same time neither Mom or I were too thrilled with it. 

Ingredients: While, on one hand, they weren't as horrible as the Thermal Shine Spray, they weren't much better, either. There was actually macadamia oil included in the list, but it was #17 down, behind a bunch of preservatives and other chemicals. :P

Effectiveness: Once again, so-so. I tried it in my tresses, which, already tend to be very oily if I don't wash them frequently, and I can't honestly say that this is a product I'd use day to day. Mainly, because my hair's already moisturized enough as is...I don't need any extra oils in it, really, of any kind!

Another thing included in the box....

 - Flat Iron Experts Iron Holder (the photo is a little ways down)

Here we have the actual hair iron. 

All the items.

The controls on the hair iron are very simple, and easy to function. 

It's also a small, light-weight instrument and doesn't take up too much space.

SO., this was probably the first time I'd ever used a hair iron at home. 

Like I said previously, I'm half-scared of the things because I'm utterly clueless about them and have heard these horror stories of people burning hair off and....well, never mind. So anyways, I've never been too keen on the pieces. Mom however, doesn't mind them and she likes getting a little flip to the ends of her hair. 

My hair is too long to really get any ringlets or spirals with an iron like this. Butttt, I did manage to get a little curl at the ends of my braid!

Mom's finished product...well, part of it anyways. She likes to do "flip-ins". 

Another attempt at flip-ins. 

My attempt (strictly note, attempt) at beachy waves....although truth be told, some of the curls looked more like flip-outs than anything else! (And I obviously have NO idea what I'm talking about here!)

My overall review of this iron is, that it's a fine product and definitely works great IF....

1., you actually know how to use it right. and 2., you have short-medium length hair that isn't extremely thick or heavy. 

I guess for utter beginners, this iron wasn't bad. If you are kinda clueless about hair straightening/curling, than this iron is really simple and easy to figure out and you might like it for that purpose. As stated previously, also, it's lightweight and doesn't take up too much space. There's a wall-mount you can purchase separately  to go with it, but we didn't find it very practical. (it kept falling off the mirror and the suction cups didn't work very well with the iron placed in the mount) 

Mom likes this iron and she is pleased to get to curl her hair again. She gives it a thumbs-up!

Thanks again to Flat Iron Experts for supplying the items to review! If you'd like to check out their site, click here. They have some great deals and discounts on hair products and supplies, which you might like to check out for yourself!

Also, why not head over and "like" their Facebook page, or follow their beauty blog  while you're at it? 

What do you think of hair curling/straightening using heat? Do you have a favorite method or product? 

I'd love to hear about it, let me know in the comments!

Hope y'all are having a blessed week! 

I was provided these items from Flat Iron Experts in exchange for giving my own honest opinion. 

P.S. Have you entered the APOC big group giveaway yet?? There's still a little over a week left to do so! Get your entries in while you still can!!