Revamp iGen Cordless Hair Curler Review: Automatic Style

Worth When Reviewed

Not but accessible within the US

The iGen automated hair roller is the newest providing from Revamp, and it solves all of the pesky issues of a standard hair roller. It’s cordless, so that you don’t want to aim to model with a wire wrapped your wrist. It robotically feeds your hair across the curling barrel, so that you don’t have to twirl. And because it begins the curl out of your scalp, you received’t endure frazzled and burnt ends.    

You is perhaps asking: what’s the catch? Nicely, there isn’t one. Nevertheless, the automation of the curl rotation implies that the iGen behaves slightly otherwise from a standard roller in methods you might not count on. 

The iGen cordless mannequin is just not but accessible within the US, however you should buy the corded mannequin for $119.99 from Revamp.

Design and look

• Light-weight
• Two methods to USB cost: backside of roller and charging base
• Keratin, argan and coconut oil-infused barrel

Whenever you first unpack the roller, the intriguing form would possibly strike you as paying homage to a Maglite: that iconic tulip-shaped flashlight you see in just about each American TV cop drama. In fact, it helps that the iGen is matt black and is properly weighted, with a diamond patterned grip.

The roller itself is 25cm lengthy. It’s 5.5cm in diameter on the high the place the automated curling unit sits, and 3cm in diameter on the backside the place you maintain the roller. It’s straightforward to carry and manoeuvre as a result of the burden sits within the curling unit when you maintain the tip. The curl barrel itself is 7cm lengthy, which has implications in case you have very lengthy hair: you would possibly want to twist strands of hair in two components.

You get UK/EU interchangeable pin plates for the facility adapter, which is nice for European holidays and journey. The USB energy cable is an effective 190cm lengthy, and you may both cost the roller by plugging it straight into the cable or into the dome-shaped charging base.

The battery is lithium-ion. One of many solely downsides of the iGen is that it takes upwards of three hours to totally cost to 100%. It’ll take round three hours if you happen to plug straight into the roller, and three and a half hours utilizing the stand. From this, you get 40 minutes of curling time.

This quick operational time is right down to the power required by the curling tong: not solely is the highest temperature 210°C, however there’s additionally a motor that rotates the curl barrel.

Revamp has added hair-protecting components into the ceramic and ionic curling barrel: keratin, argan and coconut oils to make sure most shine and gloss in your curl. Nonetheless, like different Progloss merchandise, we don’t know if this may put on off over time.  

Management

• 4 temperature settings
• Proper and left curl rotate
• LCD show

Alex Greenwood / Foundry

On the entrance of the iGen, there’s a single energy and temperature button, an oval LCD show, and two higher buttons: one for left rotation and one for proper.

Whenever you activate the roller, it can beep and robotically carry up a flashing 190°C on the LCD panel. You merely press the facility button once more to scroll by means of the 4 temperature settings – 150°C, 170°C, 190°C or 210°C – and select, then depart it to warmth up. The temperature will cease flashing when it’s reached the chosen warmth setting.

Revamp suggests that you simply use 150°C for beach-style waves and 210°C for tighter curls.

The LCD panel additionally exhibits you the battery stage each in proportion and as a battery icon indicator, and you employ the left and proper rotate buttons to manage the route of your curls.

One oddity, nonetheless, is that if you happen to place the roller into the bottom stand whereas in the midst of curling your hair, it turns off. This flummoxed us the primary few instances, nevertheless it’s a security characteristic designed to stop you from unintentionally leaving the roller on.   

Efficiency and styling

• Studying curve
• Curl impact just like heated rollers
• Uniform curl outcomes

On to how you employ the roller. The recommendation is that you simply separate your hair into 2cm-wide sections, which for most individuals would require first dividing the hair into higher and decrease sections. You feed the highest of the hair part over the entrance dip, down the aspect of the curl barrel and out of the again area of interest, so a lot of the hair size falls out of the again area of interest, and then you definately press one of many rotate buttons. The roller will then robotically wrap your hair from the highest downwards, not from the tip upwards.

Now this isn’t a troublesome course of, however it may be slightly complicated at first as a result of it’s the reverse of the best way you’d curl your hair with a standard roller. We discovered it helped to look at a number of YouTube movies to see precisely thread the hair by means of, and the place to place the roller with respect to your hair (the entrance dip ought to at all times face your head).

One other tip is that if you need a longer-lasting set, you’ll most likely have to pin your curls till they cool.  

After some time, we started to develop our personal approach, which made the threading faster and simpler, though we had a slight tangle panic at first.

The largest boon of this roller is that your fingers by no means get anyplace close to the heated barrel, and the barrel by no means will get anyplace close to your ears, scalp, brow, or neck.

We started our take a look at at 190°C on European 1A sort hair that reaches the underside of the shoulder blades. It took about 40 minutes to do the entire head, plus pinning time, so that you would possibly wish to go for a corded mannequin in case your hair is longer than this.

At this temperature, we discovered the iGen gave us good ringlets of the identical diameter all the best way down the hair shaft, which was simpler to then re-concertina and pin to the scalp. Because the roller curls downwards from the highest of the hair, the ends of your hair ends aren’t instantly subsequent to the warmth barrel, so there is no such thing as a frizzing or frying.

Nevertheless, as this course of means the curl begins from two to 3 centimetres away from the scalp, you don’t get the foundation raise you might get from a standard roller. The method additionally means you can’t curl the hair beneath in any respect. So if you happen to use a big barrelled roller primarily for root raise and quantity, you might wish to look elsewhere.

We allowed the hair to chill and the consequence, when unpinned, was extraordinarily ringletty, an entire heap of enjoyable, and really 17^th century. The shine, softness and really feel had been exceptional. A shake out and a finger comb by means of made it slightly Farah Fawcett within the ‘70s, and an additional brush by means of calmed every part down.

We felt that the impact at this warmth was similar to ragging hair or utilizing medium-sized heated rollers. There was a terrific quantity of physique and motion that lasted all day with out hair spray, even by means of to the next morning, and there was not one of the static or dryness that always accompanies a heated curling course of. 

One phrase of warning although: whereas the oil infused barrel offers unbelievable shine and appears to guard the hair, it additionally appears to coat it. So in case you have high quality hair, you might uncover it is advisable to wash out the model after a day or two to get well your pure root raise.   

Worth and availability

The iGen Progloss Cordless Hollywood Curl Computerized Rotating roller mannequin is Revamp’s latest mannequin in its hair styling vary and it’s dear, at £149.99.

On the time of writing, you should buy it direct from Revamp, or from Very, Amazon or Sephora. However if you happen to like the thought of the curling mechanism however aren’t offered on the necessity for a cordless mannequin and wish to avoid wasting money, there’s a corded mannequin accessible for £89.99-£90. On the time of writing, it’s in inventory at Very and Argos.

The cordless mannequin is just not but out within the US, however for $119.99, you should buy the corded mannequin from Revamp.

Revamp makes a whole vary of hair styling instruments which might be good high quality and mid-range in worth. We’ve additionally reviewed the Liberate compact cordless straightener, the ceramic scorching straightening brush and the steamcare straightener.  

Verdict

For good curls, the iGen is terrific. You get shine, softness, and we discovered there was no warmth injury to the hair itself, and also you simply can’t burn your fingers. That stated, you pay for security by dropping instrument flexibility. You’ll be able to’t actually curl beneath and are restricted in curl measurement by the skinny barrel.

However all-in-all, it’s a fantastic hair styling equipment.

To see some multi-styler choices that can allow you to simply model curls, take a look at our opinions of the Dyson Airwrap and the Shark FlexStyle.