Revlon PerfectHeat Ceramic Professional Styling Iron Model RV051C Review

A few weeks ago I realized that my curling iron is nasty so I pitched it and bought a new one.  After perusing the curling iron section at WalMart I decided to get the Revlon PerfectHeat Ceramic Professional Styling Iron with the one inch diameter.  I'm not crazy about it.

It has 30 heat settings, 30 second fast heat up, and the packaging says that it has a ceramic barrel for "softer, shinier curls".  Those facts, as well as the low price tag of about $12, sold me so it came home with me.

The first time I used this curling iron I was fairly disappointed with the result.  Sure, it did heat up really quickly and I like the shape of the handle which fits comfortably into my small hand.  The problem is with the ceramic barrel which has a somewhat brushed finish to it. I'm used to a shiny, smooth curling iron barrel which allows me to slide it easily through my hair to straighten and smooth most of the length of my hair but lightly turn the bottom 2 inches or so under so it has a slight bend. 

I was totally unable to slide the Perfect Heat Ceramic through my hair at all and ended up with actual curls and the ends turned under like the kid on the can of Dutch Boy paint.  I was not happy.  After about a week of trying I finally got the hang of this curling iron but it still does not slide through my hair as easily as the shiny models and my hair still does not look exactly like I would like.

There are 30 heat settings on this model and the packaging says that levels 1-6 are for fine, thin hair, levels 7-14 are for wavy to medium, 15-22 are for thick hair, and anything above 23 is for coarse hard to curl hair.  I think I agree with this as my hair is fine but there is a ton of it and it is a total pain to curl.  So I generally jack the thing up to about 26 or 28 and it does the job.

I was going to give this curling iron only a 2 star rating because the brushed finish makes it very hard to slide the iron through my hair and leaves it more curly than I'd like.  But for those days when I want it more curly, this is the iron I reach for.  Also the brushed finish keeps the hair from sliding out of the iron when I'm trying to create actual curls so that is nice.  My hair is very healthy so it sometimes falls right out of curling irons or styling tools but this curling iron grabs ahold of it so it is good in that area and earned an extra star.