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 > Reviews (11)

My hair is straight and boring. I tried perms, potions and lotions with disasterous results. I had a set of curling tongs which in the 80's were great..... Remember those Farrah Fawcett flicks girls? I needed a product that was more up to date, more versatile. I half heartedly looked out whenever I was in any electrical department to see if I could find such a thing. It took a long time.
Some 4 years ago now I found such a product. It was the Philips Geometricks 6 in 1 Styler. It was advertised in Argos for £24.99. When I saw the category for it on Ciao I was suprised. But a quick check in the Argos catalogue confirmed not only do they sell the Philips version but several more besides, typically now they're retailing at £19.75. Now they are sold with a storage pouch and hair clips.

☼ Outside Packaging:

When I purchased this product it came in a long box with a clear cellothane window, To show the product inside. It showed it part assembled, with the Curling Tongs

on display on the base unit. The Box was a pink. On The outside along the edge of the front it said ' PHILIPS GEOMETRICKS STYLER ' Then lower across the foot of the box it said ' 6 in 1 Styling Set '
On the back of the box is small pictures of each attatchment and a brief description of each.

☼ Inside:

The Styler is stored in a plastic mould with each of the attatchments on display. I must admit at this point I was wondering where the 6 attachments were as there only appeared to be 4 and a hollow brush end. On closer inspection I realised that there were infact 6. I will explain why I was confused later lol.

☼ Main Unit

Overall the main unit was 15.5 cm long and 14 cm circumference at its widest point. The majority of the 'handle' is in a metallic silver but the end where the attatchments fit is a light grey and is bulbous. This is because you twist this part to fit the attatchments. There are two lining up arrows on this bulbous part. This is known as the lock ring. It has an electric cable and plug fitted the cable is 1.85m in length.
On it are the words 'PHILIPS BEAUTY' at one end and GEOMETRICKS 6 IN 1. There is a light to be able to tell if the product is on. To fix one of the attatchments place into the main unit, Turn the lock ring (bulbous part) on the power handle until the bold arrows are in line. Ensure that the heel rest is at the underside. After connecting switch on the power and the red light will come on. The whole unit once connected to which ever attatchment you require will take around 5 minutes.
Once connected to one of the attatchments the whole unit measures 30 cm. Quite long but not un -managable. With the addition now of the storage pouch it will be easier to store (mines in an old shoe box as the original box was too much of a mess about to package everything away each time.

☼ Large Curling Tong Attatchment:

This is 17.5 cm long and a circumference of 8.2 cm. It is a standard tong design with a 'ready dot' (when this goes dark from the bright red it is ready to use). There is a handy stand which flips under the handle when not in use.

This is very handy as it can be left on most surfaces whilst heating up, without the worry of heat damage.
This attatchment is ideal for long hair for the wavey effect of chunky flicks. Simply wind the hair around the wand, release the pressure from the trigger clamp and wind the hair around it gently. Hold for 5 - 10 seconds then release, unwinding slowly. I use this attatchemt most for the back of my hair when I want it to flick upwards. A short blast of hairspray ensures it stays in place.

☼ Smaller CurlingTong Attatchment;

As above but the circumference is 6.5 cm this has the same height as its counterpart, but is essentially for small tight curls or ringlets. It is always advisable to make sure the ends of the hair are wrapped smoothly around the barrel of any of these attatchments before releasing the spring released handle. This is so when clamping the hair into position you avoid kinks. This attatchment would be best used for shorter hair. I only use it in conjuction with the brush attatchment below.

☼ Bristle Brush Cover:

This is a Cover that slides over the smaller tong so it can be used as a Hot Brush. Its stays in place and works well for soft curls or turning the hair under (or up). It is made of hard plastic and is very strong and I still have it intact with no breakages whatsoever. I like to use this when I've blow dried my hair and want it to have that extra hold.

☼ Spiral Tong Attatchment:

This is similar in appearance to the other tongs except for there is a spiral all the way up this tong. It has a smaller hold clamp for easier hair winding. Its circumference is 5.2cm. This is a quite difficult gadget to get used to. Just working out which way to wind the hair is quite an art, but with a bit of persaverance can be done. The advice is ' wind a tress towards the head following the spiral profile on the spiral ' *A tip is to check the hair is curling in the right position quickly before the 5 seconds is up then it wont be awkward to curl the other way afterwards! This tool is useful for if you have your hair up to make nice ringlets of the side straggly bits you get (or is that just me?)

☼ Crimper Attatchment:

This is a large white plastic rectangular shaped object which is 18.5 cm long and 4 cm wide and 4.2 cm depth. When opened it reveals 2 metal plates with 3 crimps set onto each side. These aren't as big as some crimpers I've seen but nevertheless effective. Just place the hair you want crimping in between the plates. As high as you can near to the roots and hold in position until crimped ( I found this to need longer than the tongs around 30 seconds) Then lower the crimper to the next section until all the hair in that length is done then repeat as required. I rarely use this tool but my daughter does she likes to have 2 2 inch sides of her hair done. Once its set I usually give her hair a quick spray with hairspray and it stays in all day.

☼ Straightener Attatchment:

This is where I got confused lol. The Straightener is on the reverse of the Crimpers.

They are fully reversable plates. Simply slide each section out turn and slide back in. But they do get bloody hot so be careful not to do this when hot or even cooling down. Best to decide crimped or straight before you heat up! I use this product regularly. Sometimes I just want my hair straight no fuss. There are better products out singularly for this purpose and I would think if you were buying it solely for this purpose you may be disapointed, but my hair is mainly straight so it suits me fine.

☼ Conclusion:

A very versatile piece of hair taming equipment. To say the you get 6 impliments in one it is a bargain at the price. As I say I've had this product for at least 4 years and its in regular use. I havent even had to change so much as a fuse in this time. So its lifespan speaks for itself. I would highly recommend these 6 in 1 stylers to anybody. A sound investment well worth even the £24.99 I paid.

☼ Website:

www.philips.com