Yesterday my Caruso Molecular Steam curlers arrived, these curlers have great reviews all over the interwebz and after a personal recommendation from a very glamorous vintage loving friend I decided to take the plunge and just grab myself some.
The company making them are US based but also have a factory in Germany, so I managed to snag some German ones from UK eBay from this seller. They arrived very quickly, were well packaged and, as the instructions were in German, the seller had gone to the trouble of writing their own guide on how to use them. (Though I'm trying to get hold of a proper set of instructions anyway, I'm a stickler or stuff like that.)
This set comes with the base, and 6 each of the following roller sizes - mini, small, medium, large and extra large, as well as a selection of other clips and bits that I have no idea how to use yet!
Its a nifty little idea this, the curlers are made of a dense sponge with a plastic core and a plastic case holds the hair to the roller. To set them up you fill the tub with water or a water / setting lotion combo and just plug it in - it heats in about 5 seconds! You then place the curlers over the steamer to heat.
You can only heat one curler at a time, but as they only take 3-5 seconds to heat that isn't a problem. You then roll your hair and secure the curler with the plastic case/grip (which you can also heat if so inclined - I've tried with and without and it hasn't made any difference so far.)
Once you have rolled the whole head you are recommended to leave the curlers in for around 15 minutes - though the instructions state that you can speed this up by blasting your head with a hairdryer. You then take the rollers out and style as normal.
The idea is that as the rollers do not get very hot, then damage to your hair is limited. Always a good thing when you put your hair through as much stress as I do.
So, my first set.
I added a little setting lotion the the water and plugged the set in, it really was a matter of seconds before it started chugging out steam and I had to evict two intensely curious cats from the vicinity for fear they would burn their noses!
I curled my hair in the mini, small and medium rollers, heating each roller for 4 seconds:
I then left the curlers in for 15 minutes before taking them out and giving my head a good shake:
Attractive huh?
I then brushed the curls out very gently to achieve the below.
I'm not 100% sold on it, its a much softer look than I'm used to and I keep seeing the late 1950's, but perhaps I should have combed it out more gently for my preferred, slightly stronger, 40's look.
I'm definitely going to keep using it and might try to get hold of more of the smaller sized rollers for a tighter curl.
All in all I'm happy with the product so far, its certainly more effective than normal hot rollers or curling irons on my stubborn hair. It will definitely be useful for those days when I haven't set my hair the night before.
Have you tried these? Do you have any hints and tips?
I set my hair only in pin curls as it is very thick and I don't have the Patience be the truth told to fiddle with hot things.I have heard many say the hot sticks are better than the curlers,you could always give them a try.By the way I think it turned out marvelous!
ReplyDeleteThese are what I started on, for the most part. Like you, I got softer waves and curls and was looking for something a bit tighter. That is when I moved to perm rods. (This was many years ago by the way.) I no longer use the steam rollers for a few reasons, 1) I found the curls to not be as strong and tight. By strong I mean the hold. It was far too easy to brush out the curl and a set would never last more than a day. 2) the curl diameter varied in each curl far too much. The ends would be super tight, but the closer to the root the wider the curl. It made styling difficult. 3) My hair texture would never allow for a 15 min set. I definitely need to set for a day for nice strong tight curls and they were far too bulky to sit on my head all day.
ReplyDeleteThat is why I moved to perm rods. They were easier to sleep on. Yes, they are still very bulky, but much less. The curl size is pretty much equal throughout and I have found that I can get the voluminous curls that the steams provided just with proper brushing.
Now that I have purchased a soft bonnet dryer, I find that I can get a sweet style with perm rods in 3 hours, versus 24. Now I know that sounds like an awful long time, but for me alone, and my hair thickness and texture, 3 hours is heaven sent! Naturally if I let it set 24 hours I get a 3 day set. The 3 hour bonnet dryer set only provides a nice 1-2 day set.
The biggest thing I can say FOR the steamers, is that they taught me a lot about what my hair needs and how sets work. Which direction to go, ect.
In the end, I prefer the perm rods for my hair.
With all that said... your hair looks very beautiful!! I can see what you mean by more 50's feel, however you and your hair are still GORGEOUS! xoxoxox
Your hair colour looks absolutely gorgeous! I love the finished style, it really suits you, but you're right, it definitely has a late 50s vibe, let us know what its like if you manage to get hold of the smaller ones. I love the idea of the steam, and the design is really nice too.xxx
ReplyDeleteFabulous! Invest in more of the small ones, the others only seem to make hair straighter (I look like a Republican with straight hair, it's scary). And I found wrapping the curl as tight as possible at the beginning made a big difference too. I haven't tried putting setting lotion in the water, nice tip.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else, it will make a great back-up if you get caught in the rain, or some other horror. The softer look is very pretty. Might be useful if you're going to do an updo as well.
ReplyDeleteLike the leopard print, by the way!
I've never heard of these, but interesting although I would just need all small ones. I have a set of old (mid 90s!) electric curlers which are all small curlers and honestly I don't know what I will do when they finally give up! In fact they're not even mine, mine did give up, but then my friend who doesn't set her hair anymore gave me hers, phew!
ReplyDeleteOne day I will need replacement and so I always love that people say what they use! I can't sleep in curlers or anything, my hair so thick and I have to use so many my head is about a foot from the pillow, ok maybe not quite but you get the picture!
thanks for all the comments - wowzers! - I generally prefer pincurls or perm rods, I must admit, but what I really need is something quick. The hotsticks are OK but the curl doesn't seem to last and I really don't like using heat on my hair too often. And thanks for the sweet compliments, I needs 'em at the moment! x
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