I will have to say up front that it’s me, not BaByliss. When I tweeted to say I was going to try Big Hair I got so many tweets back from people who have it down as their ultimate essential hair tool. I was SO excited. However, in reality, for me, using this was a bit like trying to hold a fish. I just couldn’t get it to go through my hair, and with two buttons that make it twizzle up or down through the hair – which I discovered when it more or less wedged itself into my scalp – are far too easy to press by accident.
Reading through the instructions again, they said try it with your hair 80% dry (I have the BaByliss Boutique Italian dryer and hand on heart, it is the best I’ve ever used) and finish it off with the Big Hair. It was NO better… it just either wafts through some of the hair or spins it into a kind of ringlet which is so not what I was after. I can’t do it. I give up and it’s a messy, frustrating hour of my life I won’t get back.
None of this was helped by Phyto Gloss; a new colour enhancing treatment that again I was very much looking forward to using. And, again, it’s (mainly) my fault. You get a pair of plastic gloves in the lid of the bottle. The instructions say use them every time. But they are massive…bigger than man-size.. so I didn’t. And now the palms of my hands look like they had two weeks in Ibiza without me. The Phyto Gloss treatment smells like chocolate and needs leaving on for five minutes after washing and before rinsing.. I mean, what do you DO with that five minutes? If you have to get out of the shower, it’s just enough time to dry off and then it’s really a bother to get back in and repeat the whole thing. Or, you hang about in the shower with not really enough to do to kill a whole five minutes. If you have the patience, and do wear the gloves, it does seem to have given some depth to my colour. But, frankly, I am beyond caring.
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21 comments
I am so so glad that I am not the only one! I keep vowing to go back to the BBH with renewed patience and give it another go but – it was such a messy (and at times painful) process that I’ve got no enthusiasm to get it back out of the box. It did say somewhere in the leaflet that you may need “practice” but as something that markets itself as a fast track cheats route to amazing hair – how many of its target market actually have time to practice doing their hair over and over again, I’m also worried that given the amount of practice I am going to require – I may have no hair left by the time I master it. I ditched them and bought myself a set of sleeprollers and had fab results with those.
I think you should give it another go. I only start to use it when it’s 90-95% dry otherwise it would take hours! Start on the slowest setting first and get used to just curling the ends under and then start moving it up and down. I know how it feels because I hated it and first and now I really like it. I felt so cackhanded at first but I think it definitely takes practice. Ruth from amodelrecommends does a great tutorial on youtube x
It really does depend on the length and thickness of your hair but I adore the BBH! All it takes is a little practice, I give my roots a quick blast with my hair dryer first as my hair is too long. I section my hair according to my layers and work from the bottom up to the crown. Drying small sections at a time is the key to not tangling your hair in the rotating brush, time consuming yes but I find it’s worth it when I have time. I love how I never have to straighten my hair afterwards and it always looks super shiny, like I’ve had a professional blow dry.
I got a shock the first time I used Big Hair too… the secret is using small sections (pin the rest back to avoid tangles) and PULL gently on the section you are spinning to avoid the brush (& your hair) spiraling out of control. It’s SO worth the effort & gives me better results than a salon blow dry.
Nic x
If you’re good with a hair dryer (or have invested in a decent one like yours) then no hot brush will ever compare I feel (given that hot brush is really a short cut to hair drying prowess). Now My mum swears by her BBH as she has a very short bob, limited time and finds hair dryer + brush tricksy.
Sorry you had such a run of hair disappointment. I used to have the BHH and LOVED it – but broke it and haven’t really had the budget to replace – bought a decent hairdryer fairly recently and can’t justify more spending just now. That said, I only learned to love it after (a) drying most of my hair with a regular hairdryer and (b) watching a YouTube video on how to use it. I always felt I had ‘expensive’ blow-out hair afterwards.
I have this and I love it! I use it on mostly damp hair, only dry the bottom of my hair and then use this to straighten out the rest. Well not straighten but smooth. If my hair dries on its own or even with a normal hair drier, it’s frizz-city, but this works really well. It is time consuming and it takes some practice, but after about 3 goes I’ve really got the hang of it and I use it when I have more than 10 minutes to dry my hair. Give it another go! Oh and don’t use the top speed as it spins much faster, I use the second speed setting and it works great for me.
BBH: a cautionary tale…
After successfully using it for a number of weeks and following the instructions to the dot (and basking in the glory of having bouncy hair) I started to notice severe breakage on my hair. This has now resulted in me having a 2-3 inch layer on the top of my head. My hairdresser said she’d seen quite a few people suffering with this and all had been using the BBH.
I threw mine in the bin- it has completely trashed my once all one length hair. Back to good old fashioned brush and dryer for me: the BBH destroyed my hair.
I have the BBH and absolutely love it ! In fact I used it last night lol. It does take a bit of getting used to but I have never been able to get the results I get with this with a hair dryer and a brush. I just don’t have the co-ordination lol 🙂
Preserve with the BBH, it is worth it. I threatened to throw mine through the window, take it back to the shop & strangle my husband with it. That was 12 months ago, now I have volume like I never thought possible, daily. I have to use a crazy 2 handed approach using a vent brush to lift hair the place BBH in position before rotating it. Takes a while but results revive a blow dry from a high end salon.
I have fine, shoulder length hair and I use it for a couple of minutes every morning after quickly drying my hair through. Personally, I don’t find it tricky to use and it does give a nice smooth effect and some volume. However, I’m interested to read the comments about it causing breakage. I suspect that it does have a tendency to create a bit of breakage a few inches from the top of my hair (crown area?). I’m watchful though and put a bit of conditioner on the area (which I never used to have to do – which is telling in itself). However, the main reason for posting is to say that the BBH breaks too! Seriously I bought one when they were first launched and I’m on my 4th or 5th one now. They seem to last me about 6 – 8 months and then there’s a puff of smoke from the end, a burning smell and they go kaput. I keep it clean by clearing out the hair that gets trapped in the bristles but the cord gets really, really twisted (my hairdryer cord isn’t twisted nor are any of my other gadgets so I know it’s not me). If (*when*) my current BBH breaks, I’m definitely sending it back to Babyliss to get a refund. To be fair, I have taken 2 back to Boots and they’ve given me a replacement with no quibbling, but when it happened a 3rd time, I was mortified! I should go back to using a good round brush and a hairdryer but I’ve become a bit lazy.
Am I alone in being left aghast that someone would have a product “blow up” 5 times with smoke and a burning smell and continue to reace and use the same product daily in their home and close to their face??? once then yeah, I’d replace, but why someone would have this experience 5 times and still be comfortable using the product is beyond me???
My experience has been similar to those of the ladies above – BBH definitely takes a bit of practice. I also got into a real tizz the first couple of times but I then watched a Youtube tutorial and took my times and it all clicked into place. BBH makes my hair look so glossy and full of volume (I also use a L’Oreal volumising spray and M-label thickening cream) and often get compliments from my friends. Once my boyfriend even asked me if I’d had a blow dry!!! I can’t live without this. I was always useless with a hairdryer so this is a godsend for someone like me!
Regardless of the fact that I look after the PR for PHYTO, I am completely addicted to PHYTO Gloss. It isn’t a ‘timesaver treatment’ – but the effects are amazing and give you such a rich colour and glossy shiny hair that I think it’s worth it. The effects last a good 4/5 weeks so spending an extra 15 minutes on a Sunday afternoon for example – works for me. I did use the gloves, rinsed them and then left them out to dry for a few hours before packing away again in the lid.
..and if you’d been just a little more patient, you would have discovered that I’m also now a complete fan.
I know sorry! Just too passionate! X
I LOVE you for writing this post. I tried out BBH back last year and I just could not get to grips with it.
I have STRAIGHT (despite what I want) hair which is fine but I have a LOT of it. I have to run straighteners over it or else it looks like Monica’s on that episode of friends where they went to Barbados.
I just can’t do it. My hand eye co-ordination is rubbish for a start, I’ve only just mastered the irons!
I got the babyliss big hair for christmas, i expected to hate it and i love it! Gives my flat hair a bit of umph and its so easy to use!
Asleigh, I didn’t say it “blew up” – that suggests explosions and flames! My guess is that when it overheats it burns out the heating element which act as the fuse, once that’s gone it breaks the circuit and stops working .I’ve never really looked closely but I guess there are two things that might cause it, hair getting into the back or fluff on the rear filter will restrict the airflow and it’ll overheat eventually stressing the element until it breaks. I keep it clean, I only use it for a few minutes a day and I’ve got soft, baby hair so it’s not like it’s getting clogged with very long, thick/coarse hair. So, yes in my opinion it’ s not well made and a bit cheap for that to happen so frequently, but it’s NOT dangerous and I wasn’t suggesting it was.
However, it does the job and until there is an alternative brand on the market for me to purchase, (is there? suggestions gratefully received) I’ll probably put up with it! Oh, and it’s my 4th BBH not 5th! My local Boots didn’t seem overly concerned that I’d had problems but I will send this one and the previous one (which i’ve kept) to BabyLiss.
PS – Ashleigh and anyone else who may be a little concerned. I forgot to say that they’ve never broken while I’m using them -so the BBH is nowhere near my face/head. What happens is, I go to switch it on, it makes a pathetic ‘pfft’ sound and switches itself off, I smell burning and see a puff of smoke. Kaput. I think you should be more concerned about getting your hair tangled in the BBH brush while it is rotating – not only is that a bit ‘ouch’, but it’s not good for your hair and you could cause the tool to overheat v. quickly (if the airflow is restricted) and it might break, much in the way I’ve described.
Boots have packs of cheap non-latex non-enormous gloves in their first aid section. Probably not cheap compared with buying in bulk, but for occasional hair dyeing they’re great. I use henna, so mine end up a sinister green and look quite disturbing drying in the bathroom, but apart from that they last me several uses.