I have the biggest hair ever. And its thick, and long, and curly. This means that since being a teenager if I have had my hair cut too short I look like a have a triangular poodle on my head. However, this product not only smooths my curls down into calm waves and ringlets, it also softens my hair. A lot of styling products make hair very hard and even sticky, but Umberto Giannini keeps your hair feeling natural, but stops it being a state.

The packaging is very bright; a lovely hot pink and its style very simple, kind of the opposite on what hair the product is designed for. It’s a simple tube which you just squeeze, and for the price you get a lot of ‘jelly’.

On the packaging it says, ‘Long lasting curl creator for defined sassy smooth curls.’ It sounds customer friendly because it doesn’t make you feel your fighting your hair, rather embracing it.

It also smells quite sweet so it doesn’t make your hair smell harsh like some hair sprays do, and is quite subtle. It looks like a normal gel, and is see through. Although it doesn’t make your hair sticky, it does leave your hands feeling like they have glue on them, so I advise you to wash your hands after, but I think thats the only downfall.

Curl Friends also has the option of a smaller, travel size package which is perfect for your handbag, but also you can you buy the smaller (and cheaper) option to find if it works for you hair as a kind of tester.

My hair as I said is curly, frizzy and quite thick, but I only need 2 small squeezes of ’scrunching jelly’. I buy Umberto Giannini from Boots as they have many good offers usually on the product range. Curl Friends comes with matching shampoo, conditioner, quick fix spray, moose etc. Therefore you have many options to pick and choose, and the brand branches into products for straight hair, coloured hair and more.

I would recommend this to anyone who has curly hair, and for less than a fiver, its definitely worth investing.

(reviews by larissa19)

As a big ghd convert I’ve always been reluctant to try any other straighteners – before ghd I had Remington and Braun straighteners, but these did nothing compared to my ghds! So, could BaByliss convert me again.

On opening the box I was smitten… a gorgeous ruby red pouch greets you (included, not an extra) and a heat protective mat wraps around and clips to it. The straighteners themselves are also a delicious ruby red. So, for looks you can’t go wrong!!

I found the straighteners a little bulky to hold – they didn’t feel as light or as comfortable in the hand as the ghds – this made it a little awkward to get easily to all sections of my hair, but with practice this may become a more natural hold.

They heat up very quickly and there are five temperature settings from 170C to 230C. On my hair I found I needed at least 215C, the lower temperatures didn’t really do enough for me, but finer hair types should try the lower temperatures first. A lower temperature is also ok if you have the time to slowly straightener your hair – I’m impatient so that’s no good for me!!

These straighteners have ceramic-titanium plates – they seemed more slippery than other ceramic-only straighteners – my hair didn’t grip quite as well. Perhaps this is why BaByliss have added (and I quote!) “retractable de-tangling fins” to one of the plates – this is extremely helpful as it helps guide the hair into position between the plates. There are two settings – one for thicker hair and one for less thick, or you can switch them off. I didn’t think I had particularly thick hair, but I found the thick setting much better.

Straightening this way didn’t give better or longer-lasting straightening than my ghds – it did a very good job, but not quite enough to make me want to replace my current straighteners and for BaByliss to claim “straightness that lasts twice as long” I was yet to be convinced.

BUT…… BaByliss has steam!!

And this makes all the difference, it really does. After straightening as usual, a final sweep on the steam setting does wonders for straightness!

Not only did my hair look much, much straighter, this is where the long-lasting straightness comes from – I didn’t need my usual coat of Wella SP Polish – it just didn’t need it as I already had tamed frizz and a shiny finish. It lasted well into the evening on a humid day and next morning my hair was still straight(ish) and only needed a quick once-over to get it back to straight. One concern would be whether using the steam setting every day is more damaging to my hair than the standard straighteners, but if you’re going to straighten you’re likely to ruin your hair – it’s rather like sun-bathing – use protection!!

So… I am torn!

I love the comfort of hold of my ghds, I love their portability and I cannot fault the quick and easy straightness just from the standard ceramic plates. But BaByliss have the wonderful finish on the steam setting that I just don’t get with the ghds.

For now I shall keep both! BaByliss will definitely come out when I’m going out or for special occasions, ghd are ideal for quickness and everyday use. For travel I’m unsure – there’s not much difference between the size of the pouches – ghd are slightly smaller, but there’s no real space-saving in your bag.

Price-wise there’s no real difference – BaByliss are selling at £100 with the pouch and ghds are around the same price (though you’ll need a set or kit to get a pouch – they don’t usually come as standard).