Hot Tools Pro Artist Black Gold Digital Curling Iron

Most Helpful Critical Review

Pretty Tool, Disappointing Results

In all honesty, I've never been more disappointed with a curling iron. I'm a licensed cosmetologist and have been using Hot Tools styling tools for a decade and never have I had a tool under-perform like this, sure I've broken more than one marcel iron due to excessive wear & tear, but they always d...id their job - the curls came out beautifully smooth and held their shape for a long time without any added product, but I can't say the same for this tool. I've tried everything, clean hair without product, hair with heat protectant, using working spray, finishing with hair spray and nothing will keep the curl in the hair for longer than 3-5 hours tops. Using smaller sections and a higher heat initially appeared to curl the hair better, but it fell out by the time I got done curling the rest. I'm not sure if the barrel is just heating unevenly, causing the hair to be unable to fully take shape, or if this iron requires an abnormally long contact time with the hair. This is my first time using one of the newer, digital styling tools and I'm sad I bothered to try this instead of the standard gold iron that I'm familiar with (and always gives superb results). While the look of the tool is sleek, more functional (love the built-in stand that you don't have to constantly take out and tuck back in, plus a longer barrel), and modern (the digital aspect is quite nice and the orange light when it is heated up helps remind you that it's still on), the tool itself does not produce the results I expect from a Hot Tools product.