“Do I like these enough to buy the company?”
For those of you old enough to remember, Remington became quite famous in the 1970’s 1980’s for his men’s shavers that contained the quote “I liked it so much, I bought the company.” But as well as me using it as a witty way of starting this review, the point I’m also trying to make is that Remington were known then as a premium brand synonymous with quality goods – can we say the same for the Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static Ceramic Hair Straightener?
Purple Rain
It’s not often that I feel I need to start a review by mentioning the color but I am doing so here as it’s probably my favorite thing about these straightening irons. The purple is definitely ‘bang on trend’ and not tacky or forced. In fact it is almost somewhat understated and that makes it look kinda classy. As my teen daughter is always saying, “that looks so Tumblr”, and if you leave these out to cool, they look almost ornamental. I normally prefer the black, salon professional look so my love for these purple beauties has taken me back a bit, but it is definitely love – well done Remington. But now to performance …
MMM bop
Well it’s ‘MMM bop’ but without the ‘Ba Duba Dop’ for me. There’s a UK saying that goes “all fur coat and no knickers” and the Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static Ceramic Hair Straightener reminds me of that. The straighteners look all fantastic, but underneath that showy purple exterior a just a bit lack lustre. Sure they have all the features that a lot of the more expensive straightening irons have, like floating plates, but it’s less float and more, well, nothing actually. Of course these irons straighten as when you add high heat to hair and capture between two plates that is pretty much inevitable, but the results are not salon standard at all. But in the Remington’s defence, neither is the price tag which is almost like buying a couple of rolls of candy, so you can’t expect it to be amazing surely?
Long and slow wins the race
In order to get good enough results, I found that it was better to go really slow with your passes. The ceramic plates are fairly long and I sort of thought that by giving the heat enough time to work its straightening magic, it would counteract the Remington’s relatively weak performance. So if you’re on a budget, these straighteners can definitely do the job they are designed for, but allow yourself a lot longer to style your hair, and I do mean like double the usual time.
I’m going digital, di-digital, just watch me
Well if Justin Bieber can sing about digital, I can very definitely write about. Again, my apologies for my personality being a bit shallow when it comes to things like me liking the color purple for my straighteners, but in a similar vein, I love a digital display. I am totally aware that they do not have a direct impact on performance, other than if they are wholly accurate they will give you an excellent indicator of the temperature of the plates but I love them anyway. But assuming they are accurate, the advantage of a digital display is actually helps with a few things. Firstly, it means you can adjust the temperature depending on what your hair type is which minimizes damage.
Thinner hair is likely to need lower temperature and thicker a higher temperature. And it also helps with versatility, especially if you change your look from straight to curls and vice versa. When you find a temperature that works for you, simply file it into your memory bank then you know exactly what to aim for with the digital display next time which makes life just that little bit easier. And the digital display means that you get to your preferred heat quicker without having to ‘guess’ where you’re at. So it’s actually a useful as well as nifty bit of kit.
It all hinges on the hinge
Sometimes the smallest of details that would usually pass you by as being insignificant can make a big difference. Such is the Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static Ceramic Hair Straightener’s hinge lock. Being able to keep your straighteners, well, straight, is a huge bonus to me, especially for storing and when on the move. The hinge lock keeps them compact when not in use and that’s a feature I truly love.
Shut-off a your face Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static Ceramic Hair Straightener
What’s a matter you, hey? Gotta no respect? Well maybe you’ll respect the Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static Ceramic Hair Straightener’s a whole lot more when you find out that they have an auto-shut off feature. Whether you are prone to extreme or even minimal forgetfulness, this feature is always reassuring to have. These straighteners will shut off after an hour, so assuming you trust the technology, your house won’t burn down. Well not from the straighteners anyway…
So with a mixed bag of my opinions here, just what do I think are the major PROS and CONS?
PROS – love the contemporary purple color that is a touch of class as well as youthful vibrance, the digital display is a really useful addition and helps with your styling regime, the hinge lock rocks!
CONS – The Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static Ceramic Hair Straighteners are just not the best on performance, they take time to get a good result and not many of us have that on our hands
So in conclusion, I would sum the Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static Ceramic Hair Straighteners up as saying they are a budget performance at a budget price, but for some that is enough. It’s just that as my hair as fairly thick, these are not really straighteners that are up to that job. If your hair is fine, then they may well be.
