I know, I know. I said I was going to put my hair in some mini twists. But I thought hard about it and realized that I’d start up my swimming again in a few weeks (once I got an “ok” from my doc). Therefore, I decided to go ahead and straighten my hair once again.
I actually went out and purchased some new tools. My beloved Maxiglide, for whatever reasons, has broken! It still heats up, but I have to be very careful when using it and have to readjust it with each pass….very annoying!
My handheld hair dryer has been falling apart for the longest time. Someone asked me on my Fotki what brand it was and I could’ve even respond because the name has been smeared off that thing for ages.
It also overheats a lot and has to shut itself off…like the Maxiglide, also very annoying. So, I decided to go ahead and replace these annoying appliances with some of higher caliber…or really, just some that are not falling apart 
I’ve long been interested in the GVP (Generic Value Products) styling tools at Sally’s Beauty Supply. I’ve used GVP hair products and found them to be just as good as the “name brand” products they are compared to. I’ve also seen rave reviews for the GVP flat iron over on LHCF. Supposedly, it can be compared to the well renown Chi iron.
I went into Sally’s intending to just buy a nice dryer and flat iron. However, when I got there, I was made aware of a sale they were having: with the purchase of any GVP full sized appliance, get free travel size GVP iron.
First, I honed in on my dryer. I got the GVP Pro 1800 Dryer (also comparable to the CHI dryer, according to the package).
Here are the specs (taken from Sally’s Online Site):
- 2 speeds/2 settings (they both say “I” and “II” but we’ll just call them “Low” and “High”)
- Quiet Speed Motor (I dunno about all that, seemed pretty loud to me )
- Lightweight (tis true!)
It was $39.99. I bought a comb attachment for about 2-3 bucks. It does come with a diffuser and 2 concentrator nozzles.
How did I like it? It was fab. It cut my drying time down considerably. It does get very hot so I only had to make about 2 passes. With my old dryer, it seemed to take forever.
On to the flat iron. I don’t have a lot of experience with travel irons but it looked good. Here are the specs.
- Dual Ceramic Heaters reach 410 F.
- Adjustable temperature range
- Auto adjusting floating ceramic plates
- Beveled edges for all types of styling
- Tangle free 6.5-ft. swivel cord
The “temperature range” is not indicated in degrees but from numbers 1 to 5. I used it on 4, as my hair can handle a lot of heat. The plates are 1 1/2 inches and it comes with a insulated pouch for storage. Regular price is 29.99, but as I said, I got it for free.
This iron heated up pretty quickly, looks well made, not cheap. I did the job decently enough…HOWEVER, that sucker gets HOT. And I mean on the part where your fingers are.
I tried to just use it by grasping the base of the iron, but it did not let me close it as tightly as I wanted when holding it there. I would try to move my hand up nearer to the plates to get a better grasp on it (my hair comes out straighter that way) when the searing hot pain on my fingers would make me release it. Not fun!
This can be easily remedied with a heat glove, which I will purchase the next time I straighten.
Overall, I’m happy with my purchases. My hair came out nicely. More information on the products I used tomorrow…including a few pictures.
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