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It’s frustrating, for sure. But it can be way worse. A faulty hair dryer can KILL you.

This morning in my news-reading, I saw the horrifying tale of a Pakistani diplomat who died of an electric shock while using a hairdryer in the bathroom,

M Khan Afridi, political counsellor at Pakistan’s High Commission here, collapsed after taking a shower late on Sunday, a Pakistani diplomat said. “It was probably caused by an electric short circuit,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity. The 47-year-old was rushed to the Fortis Hospital in New Delhi but was declared dead.

This is not the first time something like this has happened – in fact, it’s a well-documented danger, and that’s why – as eager as we are to have great hair – we HAVE to take precautions each and every time we pull out that dryer. (Or ANY heat tool for that matter.)

Here’s some quick tips I follow, ALWAYS, no matter how busy/in a rush I think I am: # 1. Always “unplug it” after use.

1 – Always unplug after use. Always. No matter what. Even if you think you may be using it again in an hour.
2. Do not keep your tools in a place where they can fall or be pulled into tub. Toilet. Or sink.
3. I know we like to multi-task. I’ve been known to brush teeth in the shower, even. But do not use  use your heat while bathing or have the sink/shower even on.
4. If dryer falls into water, unplug immediately. Do not reach into water and retrieve it.

5. If you hear/see a spark. Turn it off. It’s not a good sign! In fact, it’s a sign to start looking for a replacement.

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Faulty Hair Dryers Can Kill You

It’s super light weight (just over 12 ounces) with 2 speeds and 3 heat settings, has seals in moisture with ceramic tourmaline.

The way it works is by combining Nano Ti + Nano TiO + Nano Ag – all this crazy nano action keeps hair shiny and healthy – I also love the cool shot setting, which can be used in a lot of style choices.

Plus it comes in pink…I think we all know how I feel about that!

Image: H2Pro

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My New Favorite Hair Dryer

A couple of weeks before I started writing for Beauty Gizmo, funny thing happened to my really old hair dryer. It just died. It just completely blew up and died. It was one of those funny things but not really. Know what I mean? It was an old hair dryer though so it wasn’t really a surprise. Nevertheless, I considered it a major beauty disaster. I also found it ironic how and when it happened. See, my routine after shower is as follows :

• dry up
• brush my teeth
• moisturize, moisturize, moisturize

Then I would apply mousse all over my hair for volume. I kind of massage my hair with the mousse to make sure the whole head gets the treatment. The last process would be to blow dry with the hair dryer.

This is when the adage “something happens when you change your routine” creepily comes true. Instead of doing that step by step, I applied mousse on my hair after I brushed my teeth. I proceeded on moisturizing after that. When it was time to blow dry my hair, my old trusted hair dryer wouldn’t turn on. I was screaming in the bathroom to which my husband thought was funny which then irked me even more. It wouldn’t have if I wasn’t going anywhere that day. That’s the reason why I applied mousse on my hair and planned on blow drying in the first place. At home I usually just brush my hair as is after shower.

If I didn’t put mousse beforehand I might not have reacted the way I did but with the volumizing component sitting in my hair, I just knew I would be sporting a slightly slick set of hair. It’s really not a good look for me especially with my choppy bangs. Talk about a bad hair day. I braved that day with a hair full of mousse. As luck would have it, Wal-Mart was my first stop that day. A new Vidal Sassoon hair dryer was my first purchase.

Lesson of the day : Test your hair dryer before applying mousse on your hair.

Now it’s your turn. What was your major beauty disaster ever? C’mon, don’t be shy .

(Image : Wal-Mart)

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When My Hair Dryer Died

WOW. I knew that I was scouting for a hair dryer with my puffy hair, but I didn’t know I was looking for love til I found this online! ( now, that was way too cheesy! haha! )

Hellloooo my future CHI Pink Ceramic Ionic Hair Dryer! Pink, pink, pink!

Checking its features, I’m already sold with this feature,

Ionic Technology produces positive energy and infuses moisture into the hair shaft. Negative Ions also help reduce frizz, static electricity while leaving hair shiny and healthy.

and of course, it being pink! I seriously want to say goodbye to frizz but I don’t want to have my rebonded for now. Lazy me must wake up early to fix my hair ! ( repeat ten times before going to bed ).

My, my, this is a girl’s ultimate hair dryer. I want this in my room!!!!

Chi Pink Ceramic Ionic Hair Dryer sells for $129.95 at Folica.com.

Image Source : http://www.folica.com

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CHI Pink Ceramic Ionic Hair Dryer – in PINK!

So, one day, I finally found an old hair blower, and tried “heating” my eyelash curler. Well, let’s just say that I learned my lesson the hard way, thank God I’m still in one piece! No, no, nothing serious happened. Haha.

Anyway, here are my three tips from my experience

1. Heat the eyelash curler no more than three seconds.
You don’t want a very very very very steaming, heated eyelash curler to fry your lashes, do you?
2. Let it cool down a bit – maybe wait for it to be just a bit more than warm, but tolerable.
3. If your lashes are short, don’t do it the usual way in such that you curl your lashes near the roots of your lashes. Again, wait for the curler to cool down a bit – maybe blow some air to it, and carefully curl – not too close.

In fairness, it sure worked for me! My “curled” lashes held for the rest of the day, and I shall be doing this more often! I hope this helped!

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Beauty Gizmo 101 : Heating the Eyelash Curler

But the thing is- I don’t want stick straight. I want bouncy, bouncy, beautiful hair. I also want my layers enhanced with some mini-wave. And I know, it can only be achieved via a hair dryer that has a high wattage – something that salons use.

I could always buy one for my own use and I think if it were as easy as it seems, I’d always have beautiful hair as if I just came from a salon. The problem is – I don’t know how to use it effectively as stylists would do in the salon.

To my dear readers, would you have any secret that you’d love to share with me?

I’d appreciate it!

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A Hair Dryer Frustration

It was a superb day for me as I visited the ultimate favorite place of mine – the salon! ( it is revered. Haha! ). I had my hair cut ( so long, my precious crowning glory ) all because of my envy for Phoebe. No, actually, I’m to attend a wedding this Saturday and I need a new ‘do to sport with the dress that I pained to fit in for an entire month.

Anyway, I had a haircut! I was extra happy that the stylist did a great job on my hair as she promised to give my hair some body. I would ask her tons and tons of questions on what she’s doing ( such as, why aren’t you using thinning scissors? turns out thinning scissors wreak havoc on rebonded hair ). I would regale on how she would use a round brush, and a huge hair blower to dry my hair and dry it to perfection, while giving it the bounce that I always wanted ( yes, I love love bouncy hair! ). I told her, “hey, I never got to learn how to use a hair dryer properly.”, and even if it meant that I had that roller brush with me for ages.

To get the salon hair-dried effect, a very strong hair blower must be used, and not those moderate travel hair dryers. What I want for Christmas? Definitely the T3 Bespoke Labs Evolution Dryer.

Why? I’ve always wanted a blow dryer that would kick a**. It works at 2000 watts, and would pretty much work well with my overly thick hair. T3 is the ultimate brand for hair dryers and hair irons, so I’m all for it. If this were a mobile phone, then I would have to say that it would be either an Iphone or Nokia N95 – fully packed with features. Aside from its 2000 watt operation, it has two speed settings, and four heat settings ( totaling a whopping eight settings? out of this world ). It has an ionized concentrator, generates negative ions and far infrared heat, and is a true ceramic heater. With all those features, the effect would be frizz-free, silky locks that would last you all throughout the day, no giving up even to the thickest hair, so why wouldn’t I want that? I can be my own hairstylist at home!

Looks like I want to have a makeshift salon in my new room, huh! *wink*

Anyone? Merry Christmas and thank you just in case! Hihi!

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On My Beauty Gizmo Wishlist : T3 Bespoke Labs Evolution Dryer

One of the most intruiging products come from home tv shopping – innovative kitchen gadgets, automobile accessories, and even beauty gadgets. Although the beauty gadgets that are given great airtime by these tv networks, it definitely is a challenge for the consumer to see which products work, and which don’t.

Years way back, when home tv shopping started selling beauty gadgets, my local forum was flooded with excited posters, wanting to try the RevoStyler. Revostyler is a rotating hair brush that promises to make hair shine, get more volume, and give it some gorgeous bounce ( like commercial models have them ). I myself, a beauty gadget junkie, got smitten and started planning to buy it. I was still in college then, and with allowance money, it took me a while before I could gather the funds to covet my precious beauty hair styling gadget.

A few weeks after, I still haven’t purchased the RevoStyler, and I read alot of forum posts that were saying that it didn’t work , some were selling their used units, and alot were dismayed by it. I felt disappointed because all the more I would watch the TV commercial, I was more convinced that I needed that hair styling gadget. Hair rebonding wasn’t introduced yet, so I was in dire need of a tool that would give my long, thick hair some bounce. ( Bouncy hair was so in that time ). With that, I went to the mall to check out the RevoStyler. RevoStyler , was also found in a hardware store ( surprisingly! ) in the mall, so I asked the sales person to show me the unit.

When I saw the unit – the nylon and boar bristles were prominent ,alright, but I think my frail, thin wristed hand could not hold on to it properly – it was too heavy for me. The thought that I would be using such a heavy tool, with a hair blower on my other hand – well, it just seemed too much for me. I left the story empty-handed, disappointed that my hair wouldn’t be able to bounce with RevoStyler. ( take note that this is the old type of Revo Styler, not the new one )

Don’t get me wrong, it might have worked wonders for some, of course! I also have read some reviews that said it worked for them, and definitely worked wonders for their hair. A few years after, I think they re-did the product to have a way to dry hair and style hair without the help of a hair dryer. This experience did not make my love for beauty gadgets fade, or lose hope with home tv shopping channel products – I still watch commercials of beauty gadgets over and over again ( the tourmaline ceramic iron, Susan Lucci’s microdermabrasion system, and the velcro rotair brush , etc. ) So I ask my dear readers, what home tv shopping beauty tool have you tried, and how did it work for you?

Image Credit : Mediasmart.org.uk

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Beauty Gadgets and Home TV Shopping