I’ve Been Obsessed With This Hair Straightener for Two Years. Here’s Why
Maddy is Adore Beauty's Retail Media Specialist. She spends most of her spare time listening to podcasts, perfecting her slicked-back bun and searching for her next almond latte.
If you’d told me before I started at Adore Beauty that my future ride-or-die hair straightener would actually use steam to smooth my hair, I would’ve laughed.
Cackled, in fact.
I’m an avid hair straightener and humidity is the very thing that would typically make my hair frizzy - so why would I trust steam to tame my hair?
But friends, let me tell you. It does.
And boy, does it do it well.
So well in fact that ever since I snagged a L'Oreal Professionnel Steampod 3.0 in late 2021, it’s been the only straightener in my hair tool rotation.
I know, right? Big call.
Let me explain why you should snag one too.
What Is the L'Oreal Professionnel Steampod 3.0?
Where traditional straighteners just use heat, the Steampod 3.0 uses both heat and steam to straighten your hair and lock in the style with less damage.
Imagine a wrinkled shirt, and then a gorgeous freshly ironed one - the difference between those two things is steam and heat.
See where I’m going with this?
Aside from gorgeous hair, the main Steampod 3.0 benefits include:
- 78 per cent less damage.*
- Long-lasting frizz control.**.
- Styling is twice as fast and twice as smooth as what you can achieve from a blow-dry and brushing.ˆ
- More efficient results at 180°C compared to a traditional straightener at 230°C because the steam detangles as well as straightens hair.ˆˆ
- A detachable comb for faster and smoother styling.
How Does the Steampod 3.0 Work?
The Steampod 3.0 handle houses a refillable water cartridge that allows the tool to evenly distribute steam throughout the whole styling process - from the first to last pass of the straightener, steam is delivered to your hair.
Pro tip: use demineralised water in the machine. It’s easy to get from the supermarket, and in the same way, you use it for your iron to prevent buildup, it’ll do the same thing here.
Now the technical side of this straightening process is steam to heat.
The steam infuses moisture into the hair cuticle before the heated plates come in and smooth everything out.
There are arrows on the machine so it’s really clear what way you should be passing the tool through your hair to get this effect.
The original iteration of the Steampod was released in 2012, and has gone through various technical developments since.
The biggest difference between the 2.0 to 3.0 is that the water cartridge I keep talking about used to be housed separately from the actual machine. Whereas now it’s in the actual handle of the straightener itself.
A big tick for ease of use.
My Steampod 3.0 Review.
I’ve been road-testing this product for almost two years, and long story short, I love it. Like, love love it.
Let’s start with the con since there’s only one for me: the fact that you do need to remember to fill up the water cartridge.
The maximum impact this has though is the three minutes it takes to find the demineralised water and fill up the cartridge itself, so it’s no biggie in my eyes.
Now on to all the things I love about this product, with the most pertinent being that this straightener really gives me the most gorgeous, healthy-looking straight hair I’ve ever had.
While it can definitely curl hair too, I love this product for its ability to reduce frizz while creating a straight hairstyle that lasts without the normal damage you’d see from your traditional straighteners.
And trust me, it lasts.
I’ve straightened my hair on a Monday night, played Netball on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning at work I’m still rocking straight hair (albeit with a bit of dry shampoo).
Another big win in my books is the little comb that is actually built into the product.
It’s such a small thing but I’ve noticed that with the combination of the steam, the separation of hair through the comb and the hot plates, it takes me less time to straighten my hair as well.
Healthy-looking hair that stays straight through workouts and workdays? Obsessed.
*vs regular styler after 15 applications.
**vs natural hair.
ˆvs blowdry + brushing.
ˆˆInstrumental test with Steampod at 180°C vs traditional straightener at 230°C.
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