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18
May
Hola Chicas,
If you follow the blog then you know that I am a lover of steaming my hair. It provides so many benefits. Hair Steamers infuse moisture and help deep conditioning products penetrate every follicle. It’s also great with henna treatments; no more 4-6 hour waits, slap on the henna, sit under the steamer and in about an hour your hair has penetrated all of that goodness. Now the first time I ever heard of steam treatments was after reading Textured Tresses by Diane Da Costa and the first time I ever saw a stream treatment getting done and hearing about the benefits was when I dropped in on my friend who had scheduled and appointment with Diane Da Costa a couple of years ago. I sat and listened as she explained the benefits and I thought to myself this is nice but not something that I ever would consider because at that time I thought that my hair routine was fine as it was and none of my stylists, that I can recall ever gave me an option to purchase a stream treatment. Fast forward a couple of years later and hair steamers are all the rage on sites such as LHCF (check it out and run a search and you will find a plethora of great information). I was intrigued and I was able to find a coupon so I began my journey with hair steaming and started with the LCL Ultra Light Professional Grade Tap Water Hair Steamer (you can read my initial review by selecting the link). Now my steam journey started off great then I kind of fell off and also broke some components of my steamer and caught myself doing a Macgyver trying to put things back together. When I had had enough, I ran another search and found that the LCL Beauty Site had updated their steamers and now the Pro 165 was on the shelf and the Ultra Light Professional was gone.
I will tell you that I was pleased that the new steamer now had an option for Low and High (the previous only had one setting) and added a reservoir tank and the hood now was able to be pulled down completely (one of the things that I had hated about my previous steamer). The cost was also pretty decent ($88.77 + free shipping) so I thought wow this is a good steal let me get it. One of the things that I really like about LCL Beauty is that they are no joke, you order and your sucker is immediately shipped. I waited about 5 days and bam my steamer came in the mail.
Ok let me describe one thing I didn’t like, there were no instructions on the blasted thing except how to put the base together. The company emailed me a pdf with full instructions a couple of days later (without me asking ) but I still thought damn the minute I ordered the product is when that should have come through so I was a little disappointed in that but I was able to figure out how to put everything together and what I needed to fill and where.
One big pro about this steamer that differs from the other steamer is that you have two areas in which you can fill water. The bottom tank and the reservoir so that’s what I initially did and let me tell you that by doing this it provides a continuous amount of time that you can sit underneath the steamer without having to refill which is a huge bonus because that is one of the things that I hated about the previous steamer (you could get 20 minutes max and I always had to have a cup of water nearby).
First Test
How long does it take to heat up? One first use, it took about 5 minutes as the instructions stated that it would. On subsequent uses, I feel like it takes a shorter amount of time, perhaps it’s because I turn on the steamer and run around doing other things and then turn around and it’s ready, not sure but to me it’s quick.
Results: 5/5
Second Test
I assembled everything and ran the steamer (w/o sitting under it) to see how hot the High setting performed and the Low. Results: 5/5
Third Test
I applied henna to my hair (had a pesky gray hair that needed to be annihilated), sat underneath the steamer and tested both settings. High is too high for my hair (you gotta have some cojones for high) and Low with the holes closed on top is still too much for me so I keep it on low with holes halfway open. So Good Lawd this baby produces a lot of steam. Results: 5/5
What I like
One big bonus for me is the mini cup that collects the water that may occasionally drip down when using your steamer. Previously, the way that it was created and positioned was a complete hassle because every time I used the steamer, the back of my chair would bang against it and cause issues. Now with a combo of a new cup design and also the hood having the ability to go completely flat that is no longer a worry.
The price point is pretty good in my opinion depending on how often you use it. I have no idea how much steam treatments are because I rarely go to a stylist and when I do it’s to have my hair blown out and trimmed (something that I’m doing by myself at this point) only so not sure if treatments are $10, $20, $30 but I know that at the rate that I’ve been using my steamer it has paid for itself.
You can use tap water (I use filtered tap) so no need to run to the store for distilled water but at least once a month you should run the steamer with vinegar to clean up any residue that might build up by the usage of tap water.
Low Porosity Tips
My hair is low porosity, it takes a long time for moisture to penetrate and when it has moisture it holds on to it for dear life so having a steamer is a plus for me especially when it’s time to apply my leave ins. I am a huge advocate of using my steamer to have my leave in penetrate my hair shaft, allowing my hair to cool and then sealing with oil.
Should you buy it?
It really depends on your hair needs. If you currently have a method that works for you and your hair is doing well then by all means continue with that and don’t bother with the purchase of a steamer. If you’re on the fence, go to your local salon and try a steam treatment first to see if it’s right for you because even though the price is nice, make sure you’re really going to use it.
