My hair and I are constantly fighting. When I want my curls to behave, they’re unruly or refuse to curl. When I want my hair to be straight, it decides that’s the perfect time to get curly. Normally I just use some mousse, a diffuser, a 3/4″ curling iron and a quick prayer to The Hair Gods to tame the wild beast, but it isn’t always enough.
For reference, my hair is somewhere between a 2C and 3A on the curly hair charts and frizzy as all hell most of the time. This chart will show you what that looks like and help you determine your own hair type if you’re interested.
So this Valentine’s Day when Mr. M surprised me with a $100 gift card to Ulta, I decided to see if I could find something to give me the advantage in this battle I’m fighting with my hair. The MiraCurl is normally in the $130+ range, so while I’ve had it on my wishlist for months, I never could justify spending so much money on my hair. I figured since I was armed with the gift card and a coupon, this would be the perfect opportunity to finally pull the trigger and buy it. I’m so glad I did!
The Basics
First off, it has 3 heat settings, 3 curl times (8,10,12 sec) and a switch to set curl direction (left, right or alternating for a more natural look)
It’s surprisingly light! It’s roughly the same weight as a regular 1″ curling iron, which I’m a big fan of. I was expecting it to be heavy.
Operation is amazingly simple. It heats up fully in a minute or less, which is indicated by a little light on the side. When the light goes from blinking red to solid red, it’s go time!
Moment of Truth Time – Is This Thing Gonna Work? (Spoiler Alert: Yup!)
Since my hair is wavy, it works best for me if I comb out each section before I place it in the chamber. There were a few times that I didn’t comb my hair first, which prompted it to beep obnoxiously and refuse to curl my hair until it was smoothed out. I suppose this is a safety mechanism to keep it from eating my hair.
All I had to do was put a section of hair in the chamber and clamp it shut. The curler beeps to let you know when to release the curl, and it spits out a perfect, tight spiral every single time. Seriously. Every time. It’s some sort of wizardry.
I’ve used the MiraCurl about a dozen or so times so far and my hair has been amazingly bouncy and way more bodacious (ha!) than it has ever been outside of the salon. I didn’t think my hair could actually look so nice without somebody styling it for me.
My curls typically last for 2-3 days with only minor touch-ups needed. I love this part too, because normally I have to take time to fix all of my curls after sleeping on them, which annoys me.
When I use a regular curling iron, it takes 30-45 minutes to go from straight hair to full curls. With this, I can do my whole head in 15-20 minutes. Yes please!
The Drawbacks
I have to admit that the MiraCurl does occasionally eat my hair. It doesn’t happen often, but it is a little alarming when it does. It has not pulled any of my hair out or burnt my hair, but that is something to keep in mind. I’ve also read a lot of reviews that say this curler isn’t very time-saving for girls with really long hair because they have to curl their hair in such small sections.
The Verdict
All in all, I consider this money well spent. It’s a very good replacement for my old curling iron, and it’s something that will easily pay for itself in terms of convenience and usage. I highly recommend it for anybody who hates spending tons of time on their hair.
What’s your favorite curly girl hair trick?