From the Infomercials

I'll tell you straight. I've become a bit infatuated with infomercials about beauty products and have come to giddily love watching QVC beauty nights. It's a guilty pleasure. It's also resulted in some terrific finds! Allow me to introduce the TOPSTYLER!!

*Picture courtesy of some dude probably on ebay, I just google-imaged the picture of what all came in the box I purchased as opposed to what the infomercials sell. (They sell less C-Shells and have an extra comb and some weird little prong thingys that are a styling aid. I don't have those and actually don't really want them anyway)

I have a lot of color treated (boy howdy is it color treated), wave-tending , fine hair. When I blow it out, I like to blow it out with a round brush and get what my stylist (HI RENE!!) calls Porn-Star hair. Straight but with BIG volume and body. However, I love love LOVE a head full of curly, bouncy hair. 

From the people that brought you the Instyler (google it, it's a brush with a barrel rolling curling iron attached. It looks like a good idea from a stylists point of view {styling someone else's hair is a WHOLE 'nother ball game} but terrifies me because all I can see is my hair getting trapped in it and having to tearfully cut off sections of my hair.) this looks like a strange and mysterious set of....very strange and mysterious things!

When I first saw the infomercial I was curious. Having grown up in the 80's with a mother who LOOOVES my hair curly (HI MOM!!); I've always considered myself to be a bit of a curling implement expert. I've had Hot Sticks, traditional hot rollers, sponge curlers, Caruso Molecular Hairsetter (sponge rollers with a steam unit), teeny tiny curling irons, plastic heated curlers that looked like little buns in my hair, sleeping on wet braids, sleeping on numerous wet braids rolled up in sponge curlers; all to get that wave, that pouf, that volume, that CURL I so desperately HAD TO HAVE! In my adventures in curling, I was always disappointed in the very ends of my hair. From my roots and middle of each section I would have this lovely bouncy wavy curl and then *GAH* my ends would pouf out like dry straw. Completely ruining the look. Especially when the look inevitably falls (which they ALL DO) the ends would look so strange and crispy and  let's face it...UGLY!

What first intrigued me to the TopStyler was, HOW IN THE FRAK DO THEY GET IT TO WORK??
Answer: It's old school "pin curl" type thinking. Pinning a hot/warm curl up always ALWAYS results in better curl. Why?? Because the heat goes AWAY and the hair will cool in the same position, CURLED! It works on any kind of hair type (so says the manufacturer).

When I first tried the TopStyler, it took me about 30 minutes to put all the C-Shells where I figured they should go. Now, when I use it, it takes me 15 and I'm always trying new section combinations of the 10 large and 5 small C-Shells all over my head. Sometimes I use a little light hairspray (American Elnett hairspray is the finest mist I've found) before wrapping the hair around my FINGERS, tucking and pinching the curl at the base of the section and then putting the C-Shell around the curl and letting go. There are many MANY youtube videos out there to show you how to do this. I'm not going to post my own video. Mostly because I don't know how...I'm just starting out this place!

The important thing to remember is to begin with dry hair. If the hair is even the slightest bit damp, the curl won't hold. But that's try with any heating curling element really. Frankly the ones that are damp to dry tools freak me out. The steam looks like smoke and smoke coming from my hair is terrifying.

Like any new fancy toy, this one takes some getting used to. However I've completely fallen in love with the consistent results and the fact that it's shaved off nearly an HOUR of my morning routine. AN HOUR people!

*I've been using a "two finger" curl (wrap the hair sections around two fingers instead of one for a looser curl) in regular, large and small sections and THIS has been the result almost every single time! The other times I used too much hair or twisted it before wrapping it and it gave an interesting result, but not exactly what I wanted at the time.

The TopStyler is terrific! It also comes at a terrific price. I had seen it on an infomercial, but then saw a more in depth QVC beauty night demonstration. The infomercial had less product (the C-Shells) than the QVC version. I was all set to order the QVC version when the price tag popped up. $99.99 plus shipping and handling and taxes. Yikers. I thought "Ok, I want it, but I'll wait" so I did. But I would watch wide-eyed every time it came back on the screen. Confessing my newest obsession to my bestie and roomie, Amanda (HI AMANDA!) she too confessed that she'd been drooling over it too!!

How lucky to find it AT A TARGET!!! The same unit, 10 big C-Shells, 5 small C-Shells, comb, instructional DVD and booklet! Hang on, again with the $99.99 US. Ok. So the thing is expensive....I bought it anyway and I'm so glad I did! It takes the place of every curling set I've ever purchased (which reminds me I need to toss or donate those bad boys, anybody need some Hot Sticks??) and have make my hair shiny, curly, big and bouncy.

Ok, enough of my prattling on. If you have any questions feel free to leave it on the comments or if you want to comments, please do the same!

Bottom Line: I love the TopStyler and highly recommend it to anyone who wants an easy way to get great results in hair curling!