Like most downtown residents, I am drowning in twenty-percent-off coupons from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  But since I live in a 450 sq ft apartment, I don’t like to accumulate a lot of stuff.  This makes using the coupons a challenge. 

Last week, I decided to brave the Snowpocalypse to purchase a Conair You Style ($35), the styling tool that does double duty as a straightener and a curling iron.  After watching the instructional DVD twice, and using the iron several times, I am finally ready to provide you with an honest assessment of the You Style’s performance:

This product sucks harder than an industrial ShopVac.  Save your money.

First off, the iron’s plates are “nano tourmaline ceramic,” which is apparently the marketing equivalent of calling a tiny basement apartment in a bad neighborhood, “charming, cozy and up-and-coming.”  Unlike more expensive ceramic irons, the device and the plates weigh next-to-nothing making it impossible to get a good grip on fine hair or smaller sections.  This results in a lot of loose, half-formed curls that look more like a serious case of bed head than sexy, beachy waves.

Secondly, while the You Style does a passable job on longer hair (shoulder blade length and longer), it barely bends shorter sections.  This could be another unfortunate side-effect of the anorexic weight, but I think it’s probably because the plates don’t get very hot.  Either way, people with layers shorter than shoulder length need not apply.

Lastly, because the You Style plates aren’t flush with the housing (like on a normal flat iron), your hair gets caught in the little gaps in the casing.  This results in a significant amount of breakage, which left me with more than two dozen strands of hair broken off three inches from the scalp.  Not cool.

If you’re in the market for an iron that will both straighten and wave your hair, spend the money and purchase a high quality flat iron.  With a little practice, you should be able to master the technique needed to get the modern, flirty waves that everyone seems to be rocking these days.  And if you need a little help learning how to curl your hair with a flat iron, try You Tube.  The site is positively crawling with helpful tutorials.