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(More customer reviews)Choosing a hair straightener can be a rather intimidating process these days. A lot of people throw around advice, and most recommend high-end hair straighteners costing from one to two hundred dollars. Some recommend basic ceramic plate straighteners, while others say only the Tourmaline plates should be used, since they emit negative ions, which straighten hair for longer and leave a shiny look to your hair. My oldest daughter was asking for one of these "professional quality" straighteners recently, even though she already owns two lower priced straighteners. Over a hundred dollars for a couple of heated plates in a squeeze handle? I just couldn't see spending that kind of money, so I was delighted when I had the opportunity to receive and test the TRESemmé Philips HP4669/05 Thermal Creations 1" Straightener. It sounded like a decent product and can be had for a reasonable price. This model does not boast the Tourmaline plates, as my daughter's other straighteners claim to have, but instead comes with "Nano Diamond" ceramic plates, which are supposed to provide smooth gliding and shiny hair.
Upon opening the box, I found the following items contained within:
* TRESemmé -Philips Thermal Creations 1" Hair Straightener (model HP4669/05)
*Heat-Resistant Storage Pouch
*TRESemmé Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray (2.0 oz. sample size)
*Operator's Manual (small pamphlet)
*Warranty and Registration Paperwork
The operator's manual is rather simple and easy to understand. Of course it contains obvious warnings, which is standard for nearly any electrical device. Some of these warnings made me chuckle, such as "Never use while sleeping" and also advising you not to let your eyes (or any bare skin) touch the heated surfaces of the device. So after giving my teenage daughter a stern warning about not straightening her hair while taking a nap, and to not jam the heated portion of the straightener in her eyes (I guess Philips figures the non-heated parts of the device are safe for your eyes!), I turned the device over to her to compare against her other straighteners.
The HP4669/05 Thermal Creations Straightener comes with a generous 9 foot power cord, which is attached to the handle with a handy swivel base. This allows easy maneuvering of the device without fighting with a tangling cord. Pressing the on/off button powers up the device, and the default 230 degree heat setting is displayed. This is the lowest heat setting, but it can be increased up to a maximum of 425 degrees. The temperature is displayed on the integrated backlit LCD display, and can be controlled using the + and - buttons, located on each side of the on/off button. These buttons are quite small but easy to operate; a little too easy, as I will explain later. The ceramic plates heat up very quickly, and the heat up time can be shortened if you leave the plates locked together when the device is powered on (usually within 30 seconds or less). Once the device is ready for use, the word "READY" will appear in the LCD display, just below the selected temperature. The device is now ready to begin straightening hair.
My daughter has used this straightener on her hair, both when wet and dry, and has stated that this device is definitely not as good for straightening wet hair as her Tourmaline straighteners. However, when used on dry hair she said that it works extremely well, and that her hair glides through the diamond-ceramic plates effortlessly. She really likes the included TRESemmé heat tamer spray, but it is such a small bottle that she used it up within the first week. Larger bottles can be acquired from local retailers, but prices vary a great deal so you need to do some research to find decent pricing. My daughter loves how quickly the HP4669/05 heats up, as she is usually running behind when getting ready for school in the morning. Her hair is fairly thick and moderately wavy, and she has shown me the results after using this straightener on her hair. Within minutes her hair comes out very straight and rather shiny. She wanted me to remind everyone that you should never brush or comb the treated hair until it has completely cooled down, otherwise it will upset the straightening treatment before it has had a chance to set. This is also noted in the operator's manual as well, but it is easy to miss if you aren't reading it carefully. As a parent, I really like the auto-shutoff feature of this device as well, since it is not uncommon for my daughter to rush out the door, forgetting to shut the thing off. Once powered on the straightener's built-in timer is automatically activated, and will shut itself off after an hour if left on. The LCD display show a series of bars, which indicate how much operating time is left before auto-shutoff occurs. If one should want the device to operate beyond the one hour limit, you simply power cycle the device off and back on, which resets the timer. Once you are finished using the device, and it has cooled down, you can lock the plates together with the handy lock switch located under the hinge area of the handle. The operator's manual also recommends that you wipe the plates and outer surface of the appliance with a damp cloth after each use. The device can then be stored in the included travel/storage pouch if desired.
Overall I am quite impressed with the TRESemmé Philips HP4669/05 Thermal Creations 1" Straightener. It has a look and feel of high quality, and the results of using this product are excellent. It is backed by a 2-year limited warranty, to protect against defects and any potential design flaws. My daughter is extremely pleased with how quickly the device heats up, and how well it straightens her medium length wavy hair, while also producing a moderate shiny appearance to her hair as well. Does it perform as well as a high-end, $150.00 hair straightener? Well unless my daughter raises enough money to buy one of those herself I guess we will never know. However, the HP4669/05 seems to perform very well and meets all of her current needs. In fact, the only thing preventing me from giving this product a perfect 5 stars is the button placement on the handle. While using the straightener it is too easy to accidentally change the temperature or even power the unit down entirely. Both instances have occurred when being used, which resulted in wasted time and/or poor results. One of my daughters other straighteners has a setting lock button, which can be used to prevent accidental button presses. Philips should either relocate the buttons, design them to require a firmer finger press, or at least redesign the device to produce an audible beep when any button is pressed (so the user would be aware that a setting had been changed). Although we don't consider this to be a huge flaw, it is enough to prevent a perfect rating. But for the price, and for normal household use, I feel this straightener is a solid 4-1/2 star product, and I would easily recommend it to anyone other than maybe a professional hair stylist.
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