Hair Tools/Other

Price:~$80.00

Product Claim:

“MAXIglide is the revolutionary styling tool that makes traditional flat irons irrelevant. It is the result of almost seven years of R & D – and over one thousand prototypes! Its unique design creates smooth, shiny, straight hair up to five times faster, without the need to blow dry your hair smooth first. The key to its performance is its multi-patented design which includes multiple rows of detangling pins, steamburst system, protective ridges, and ceramic technology. MAXIglide is the world’s ONLY straightener with detangling pins, ASTA (Advanced Seamburst Technology), and protective ridges that can take your hair from frizzy to smooth – to shiny and straight – in ONE STEP, with one tool – period! Accept no imitations!”

Website: MyMaxiglide

I got this flat iron a few months ago from a store that was going out of business. Since these usually run about 80 bucks, the 50 dollar price I ended up paying for it seemed like a good deal.

What makes this flat iron unique? It’s got tiny little teeth on it that supposedly help to detangle while you flat iron. It’s got a steam burst option that is supposed to really help smooth out “stubborn” hair and is controlled by the user with a button on the side of the iron. It’s a ceramic iron, which is always good and you can change the temperature setting. It also comes with a smooth (no teeth) plate  if you want to switch them out.

There are three types, I think. One is the Maxiglide XL, which is what I have, and has a 2 inch plate for coarser, thicker hair. The next is the Maxiglide MP with a 1 1/4 inch plate for all hair types. Both of these have the steamburst and the detangling pins.

Maxiglide MP

Then there’s the Miniglide which does not have the steamburst technology, has plate that measure 1/2″x3 1/4″, and is about 10 inches in length. This is meant for touch ups on the go or to just get your roots.These usually come with the bigger Maxiglide if you order the package.

Miniglide

I like the Maxiglide that I have. I did not like the teeth the first time I tried it. Maybe it’s because I just airdried my hair in a fro and then tried to use it. Little teeth for kinky hair that has not been stretched it a no-no (you would think I’d know this by now LOL!) I guess the demonstration on the website of the iron detangling the hair tricked me!

The next time I used it, I just used the flat plate and it worked out well. The last time I used it, I used the teeth plate after having stretched the hair.  Bingo! Good combo and now I like the teeth.

As for the steamburst…I can do without that. I tried it on a few sections before and it seemed to make my hair more poofy. It’s a good iron even without the steam. The steam comes out in these tiny holes that I notice really get gunked up with product when using it.  It’s a pain to clean them.

Something else I don’t like about it is how the temperature setting is from 0-10 and not specific degrees (ie 400 degrees, etc). But supposedly, it can get up to 430 degrees Farenheit at setting 10. I’ve never used above setting 6.

Here’s an article I found that has good info on how to care for and tips (and warnings) for using the Maxiglide.

Remember, use of heat always comes with the possibility of damage to your kinks and curls. Use a good heat protectant no matter how good the iron is!

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As I posted not too long ago, I’ve had my Curls like Us cloth for awhile and have used it a couple of times, but I wanted to make sure that I’d tried it enough to give a proper review. Overall, I liked it.

It’s pretty, simply put. I love to see it hanging up in my bathroom and shower area. I am used to using either my microfiber turban towel or my DH’s t-shirts when I do a wash n go and neither one of them looks as cute hanging up (it has a little loop on it). Okay, the tshirts look downright ugly.

It’s very absorbent. The cloths are sold in packs of 2. I received one sample cloth, which absorbs about as much as 2 of my DH’s t-shirts.

Neat design. I like how the towel is tube like so you can rotate it as you dry your hair. It also makes plopping easier. (If you watch the video below, you can see what I mean by “tube like”)

The feel. It reminded me a lot of a t-shirt, but then it also was a lot different than one. It wasn’t as thin as most are and comparing it to a t-shirt on close inspection, they just looked different. It’s thicker than most t-shirts I have, for one thing.

It comes with instructions and there is also a video that shows one how to use the cloths.

The first time I tried it, I used the method in the video. The results were fine, but I think I can do with less scrunching and more plopping (with my hair type). I do like this towel for plopping. I squeezing the excess water and product out and  then plopped with the cloth. Since it’s tubular and stretchy, it works perfect for plopping. I just had to be sure not to drag it along my hair (which creates more frizz) when putting it on and removing it. Great results!

Oops, had it on inside out

I don’t like the brown color for practical purposes, though I like aesthetically. When I am going for curl definition, I use quite a bit of product and it seemed to buildup on the cloth some as I was drying. By the time I was finished, it was whitish all over.However, it does rinse out easily enough and is dry by the next morning when I hang it up. The creator chose brown for those  ladies who have dyed their hair, so maybe they would be more appreciative.

Also those who have longer or thicker hair probably need more than one, which is okay since they sell them in packs of two. I think one will do it for shorter hair though, say 3-4 inches, if you have really thick hair. I have very dense hair, so when scrunching, I only tried it on one side of my head as to not overwhelm the cloth

The side I used it on was not completely dry after using it, but I don’t expect miracles from any purchase. However, the reduction in the “drippies” was noticeable, especially when I compare it to other side that I used 2 tshirts to scrunch.

The cost may make some wince, but it’s $24 for a pack of 2 and $15 for a single one. When I went to visit the site, I saw that they are having a sale through NaturallyCurly.com: buy one set, get another half price.

I do have some areas, as I’ve mentioned before, that are always frizzing and nothing changes that, it’s just the nature of my hair and I love it. I just need to add (for my newly natural readers), that if you are looking for something to make curls magically pop out of your hair, this is not it. In fact, nothing does that. If you don’t already have curls, this cloth is not going to give it to you. However, if you’re looking for something to reduce frizz in your curls, this cloth does help that, along with proper technique.

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