Review: The InStyler

We've all seen commercials for the supposedly revolutionary styling tool: the InStyler. Seeing the product do fairly well consistently for a while, I finally decided to give it a try. After all, the commercials did claim that the product would work wonders for any hair texture. Well, this tool taught me not to believe everything that I hear.

How the heck do you hold this thing?! This had to be the most awkwardly impossible styling tool that I have ever held - or tried to, at the very least. Personally, I feel a little more in control when I can touch the end of a styling tool and guide it, such as with the plastic tip on curling irons or flat irons. Since the InStyler is essentially a spinning curling iron stuck to a bristle brush, I figured it would be about the same. With the InStyler? No go, folks. This thing gets way too hot to touch or guide, even at the tip which means that we're left to let the InStyler perform on its own.

Commercial claims: true or false? A discussion of the promises made on the InStyler infomercials is necessary. So, what's true and what's false? The claim that the InStyler doesn't crease your hair - true! I was impressed to see that my hair was crease-free after using the tool. The claim that the barrel polishes your hair was it straightens - false. After both my sister and myself used this tool a few times, I could conclude that the only way that this tool will make your hair look shiny is if your hair is already coated and moisturized with shine-inducing products, sprays or pomades - much like with any other heated hair tool. Without them, it left our hair looking dry and rather limp. The claim that the InStyler will work on every hair type - false, false, false! At least, it certainly doesn't work well on every hair type. As I've mentioned in a few of my other articles, having a mixed racial background has given me a very interesting hair texture to say the least. But, I noticed immediately that they InStyler is too awkwardly shaped and too hot to get close enough to my roots to make them straight. The bristles from the brush did me no favors, either, making the strands of my hair appear even more tangled.

My verdict. I'd give the InStyler a score of 3 out of 10. Not only did it not live up to its claims, but it was not worth the $40USD we spent on it. If you are thinking about giving this a try, I would leave the InStyler on the shelf.