BaByliss Curl and Press

I was bought these as a birthday present last year, as I've always wanted to have curly hair, but always fail when I try to do it manually... I decided I needed curling tongs to do the trick! A quick look on eBay shows me that you can pick up a pair of these for around £10 which is fantastic value.

They are very easy to use, although detailed instructions are included. You simply plug in the curling irons and wait for a beep to tell you that they are hot enough to start using. It heats up very quickly, it takes about 2 minutes in total. once the curler is hot enough you simple section off a small strand of hair. You take the tip of it and place it at the bottom of the tong, and use the leaver to press it against the body of the iron. Then following the guideline marks on the tong you slowly wind your hair around it until you reach the root or just before depending on the style you would like.

How long you leave it held in the tong depends on the style you want, for loose waves only leave it for around 15 seconds, but for tight ringlets you should keep it help in position for around 2 minutes. I also find it helps if you spray some hairspray on beforehand and it helps to keep the curl in place. Obviously you can imagine this ends up being quite a time consuming exercise. To do a whole head of hair it takes me about 2 hours, by which time I am extremely hot and bothered and very fed up!

One thing to mention is to be very careful how you hold the curler! On more than one occasion I have accidentally pressed it against my ear and caused a very nasty burn, or even tightened up towards my scalp too much, and burnt the top of my head! It does get very hot, so be careful when using!

Having said that, I am really pleased with the effects. My hair looks amazing, and I always use these if I'm planning on a night out! The style does tend to hold for the whole day but as soon as I go to sleep it flattens the curls and I wake up looking a mess the next morning, so it definitely doesnt have the longevity that straightening your hair does.

All in all, it does exactly what you would expect, and for such a cheap price, how could you possibly refuse?!