The T3 Curling Iron: Hit or Hype?!

"The Twirl 360 signals a quantum leap in hair styling."

A "quantum leap in hair styling"?

Yawn.

Anyone else feel it getting thick in here?

That's from the T3 website where you can get the rotating curling iron for $230.

"The groundbreaking curling iron utilizes gyroscopic digital technology to detect the motion of your hand, and automatically propel the barrel in the desired direction. The application of the technology, typically used in space exploration, is a first for the hair tools category. Precision curls, wondrous waves and languid locks are now effortlessly achieved. We have lift off."

Someone must have been real proud of themselves for that load of marketing content gobbledygook. 

But hey, I am not here to judge the copywriters, only to share my experience curling my hair this morning with this NASA-inspired curling iron.

Let's start off with what's good about this product:

1. It has super-quick heat up -- I mean like 60-second heat up.

2. It stays hot and gets the job done in one pass. I heat style my hair regularly, so the less passes with a curling iron or flat iron the better. (Deep conditioner and heat protection are my friends. Because I am not getting on this naturally curly band wagon. Ever. No. I won't go. And that is a whole other topic for a whole other blog.)

3. It has a sleek look. The white base with rose gold accents offers a nice aesthetic with a line of white LED light that is pleasant to the eye.

Now for the cons: 

1. The auto-rotation is a gimmick. But hey, some people like gimmicky products, so this could be a pro.

It's cool the first couple of times. You press a button, turn your wrist slightly, and the barrel continues to rotate in the desired direction. You hope. A couple times, it missed its space technology programming and rotated the wrong way. Unless you have really long hair paired some sort of wrist issue that compels you to want this auto-rotation, it is kind of a useless feature. I stopped using it after the first several curls. For me, it is just an extra step for no good reason.

2. The curls are not defined.

If you want to add some body or waves to your hair, this works great, but do not expect to go from straight to Curly Sue.

3. It makes a very subtle electronic hum. Of course, it makes sounds when the barrel rotates, but this piece of space tech is too advanced for its own good. As part of its auto-sensing technology, I can only assume, it makes a very slight but continual humming sound as it sits on your hair. For someone like me who is sensitive to sound, it would take some getting used to. Others might not notice it. It is very, very slight.

So is it a hit? Or is it just hype?

Well, it's a mixed bag here: The 360 is mostly hype. But I also tried the T3 SinglePass mini flat iron and the convertible collection with the cascading waves barrel (neither of which had the humming sound and both of which worked well.)

The convertible curling iron has one base and a series of different barrels. If you like the idea of being able to have varying sizes of barrels for a single base, this might be for you. For me, this falls back into the gimmick category with the 360.

If I am going to have various sizes of curling tools, I would rather have them operate independently, not have to switch out barrels, but that is a personal preference. 

The T3 products work well, look sleek, heat up quickly and stay hot with seemingly minimal damage to the hair shaft. The tip of the curling irons do not get hot nor does the outside of the flat iron.

My verdict is that the standard T3 flat irons and curing irons are a hit. But I would stay away from the auto-rotating T3 curling iron unless you are just into gimmicky products for the sake of the, "Oh, cool, the barrel rotates on its own." 

I say the auto-rotation isn't worth the extra hundred bucks. The convertible collection is also a pass for me at $100 for the base and $95 for each of the barrels, which are billed as specific for tousled waves, cascading waves, undone waves, loose waves, defined curls, polished curls and voluminous curls.

Most, if not all, of those looks can be created with a single flat iron or curling iron with different techniques.

Buy the T3 SinglePass Curling Iron for $129: https://amzn.to/2Wjwec3

Buy the T3 SinglePass Flat Iron for $180: https://amzn.to/2UgYrOy

Buy the T3 Single Pass Compact Flat Iron for $89: https://amzn.to/2Mwteo1

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