Philips HP 4696 Salon Geometricks 8 IN 1, HP 4696 Geometricks 8 IN 1, HP 4696 00, HP 4696 Geometricks 8-IN-1 /Tresemm, HP4696, HP4696 Geometr, HP4696/17, HP 4696/07

This appliance basically enables you to create many different styles in the comfort of your own home using just one base unit with four interchangeable attachments.

So, I’ll just run through the various attachments and their uses, I’ll try not to be too boring about it.

The Spiral Tongs
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These create a corkscrew effect curl, it has a spiral along the barrel of the tongs to guide you, although if you have longer hair, you will end up with straight roots as there just isn't enough room to wrap all your hair around it. It does look really nice when done, but you may be surprised as to how much shorter your hair will look with the end result.

Crimpers and Straighteners.
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These offer a crimping plate backed with a flat iron. They just unclip, holding the cool touch ends and turn over and clip back into place ready to use. The crimpers work very well and the finished style will look great if you are going clubbing or to a seventies night or fancy dress night or something like that.

I don't rate the straightener very highly at all, it straightens out the curls and kinks a little bit, but not quite smooth enough for me. This could be because my hair is quite thick and coarse from years of colouring, but the end result is nothing like the sleek and shiny picture on the box! This is the reason why I'm not giving this appliance a full, five star rating.

The Basic Curling Tong
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This is a good attachment for just turning your hair under or out at the ends or for making spirals on longer hair as you can wrap all your hair along the barrel and get a spiral effect right from the roots. It’s a generally good basic curling tong.

The Styling Brush
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Over the top of the basic curling tong you can fit the plastic styling brush which comes with the kit, this can be used for larger curls and waves and it too works perfectly.

Don't worry about it being plastic, it doesn't melt.

Finally the Zig Zag attachment
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This makes what you would describe as Z shaped curls, which I think is a great tousled, funky kind of look.

This is my personal favourite as I found it to be the quickest to use and I could wrap all my hair around it curling all the way to the roots. I think the price is an absolute bargain for something so versatile.

It may take time to begin with, at first it took me an hour and a half to do my hair with most of these attachments but my hair is quite long and thick, but now I can style it in about 35 minutes so that's not too bad.

My tip is to invite a friend round to your house to get ready for a night out together then she can do it for you-even quicker!

One last point, add some mousse or styling spray to your hair and allow it to dry before you begin, this will allow the tongs to gain a good grip of your hair and make the whole process a lot quicker and easier. A little bit of styling wax applied afterwards will help to replace some of the lost shine and help to hold your style too.

P.S. The price is around £21.50