Review (4/5): A Bit Difficult to Use but Produces Very Pretty Curls!
For many years I've always straightened my hair because I cannot seem to get the hang of using curling irons to make pretty spiral curls. Wearing the same hairstyle all the time with long hair can get a bit boring so I decided to search on Amazon for styling tools that are easy to use. I initially ordered the [[ASIN:B003FBI9LS Bed Head Deep Waver]] and really loved the results so much that I also purchased this Rock 'n' Roller styling iron, which I affectionately call my "bubble curler."
The Bed Head Rock 'n' Roller Ceramic Styling Iron comes with the iron itself along with a black protective glove to protect your hand from the heat of this iron since there is no clamp. The iron measures almost 15 inches in length, with the heating barrel measuring about 5 3/4 inches. The balls measure about one inch in diameter. The cord measures almost six feet so there is plenty of length to move around with it. The iron has a black ball at the top so you can hold it while using it, a safety stand that works well, an on/off switch, a temperature dial that allows you to choose among the low, medium, and high settings as well as the temperatures in between all of them, and a swivel cord so you can easily move the iron around as you use it. I found that it heats up quickly and cools off rapidly as well in case you need to pack it up in your suitcase soon after using it. The glove fits well but I didn't end up using it since it feels a bit awkward to use while trying to grip strands of hair so I took a chance and kept my hand bare, with no problems as long as I styled my hair in front of a mirror so I could watch closely what I was doing.
I found this styling iron a bit difficult to use at first but it gets easier with practice. I just winged it and have included some pictures of my end result. There is a chart in the instructions as to what heat setting is most likely appropriate for your hair type but they recommend you start with the lowest setting and increase the heat as needed. I have wavy to medium hair so I started off using the low setting but ended up using the medium setting. I have long hair and it was fairly simple to wrap my hair around the barrel. When I got toward the end of the strands of hair, I carefully wrap them around the barrel, holding my fingers as close as I can to the styling iron without actually touching it. Then I roll the styling iron towards my head as close as I can so my hair gets curled as much as possible. I hold my hair in that position for about 40 seconds and then release it and curl my whole head. It probably took about a half hour to style all of my hair and then I finished by spraying it with hairspray. I didn't add any product to my hair before I started although you probably could if your hair works better that way.
Overall, I am happy with this styling iron and really like the end result. Hopefully it will get easier to use with time. I found it a bit difficult to use because, without having a clamp on the iron, I had to hold both arms up in the air and my muscles got tired pretty quickly. I'm in fairly good shape but perhaps this will get easier with time. I actually prefer the [[ASIN:B003FBI9LS Bed Head Deep Waver]] because I feel it's easier to use and I love the beach waves I get from it so I will most likely use that one more but this one is still good to have. If you want spiral curls, I'd purchase the Rock 'n' Roller Styling Iron but if you prefer beach waves, I'd purchase the Deep Waver. The price is just what I wanted to spend and I like the fact that I can have more hairstyles than just straightened hair! I recommend purchasing this styling iron if you want to add some variety to your hairstyle and aren't comfortable using a regular curling iron to get spiral curls.