Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm puzzled by the reviews for this, since I have had a really good experience with these. I usually air dry my below-shoulder length hair, which is naturally just a bit wavy and fine but a lot of it. But for my wedding rehearsal dinner, I had my heart set on using rollers to look a bit more special and I've been using them since. I tried the Remington travel set off Amazon, and didn't like them since a) three prongs didn't work, b) 10 was too few and too small and c) they never got hot. (http://www.amazon.com/Remington-H-1015-Ceramic-Compact-Medium/dp/B000EPJNMW) I also tried the Conair Instant Heat Compact set, and no dice. Too small, too few, not hot enough. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002G21GI/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00). Neither set did much for my hair to make or hold a curl, even with hairspray. However, these! They worked like a charm and were perfect. They're like the old school ones my mother used to use on me and I love them for that. (No ionic crap, which I suspect is more marketing gimmick than science). I didn't do anything different, just shampooed my hair with my usual organic shampoo, no hair spray or product otherwise. The middle curler has a little indicator that goes from red to white when they're ready, and I found that would take about ~10 minutes. Not instant, I know, but not too long and it's worth it to wait it out. Also, make sure you heat them with the lid closed--this is what the instructions say--otherwise, yes, they won't get hot enough. I liked the combination of sizes, though they're a bit smaller than the old school ones I remember (maybe my head is bigger now?) I rarely used all 20, but I definitely mix up the sizes depending on how much curl I want. Very nice that they have 8 of the smaller ones and 6 of the other two sizes as a result. Personally, I like the pins and not the clamps. The clamps I find make ridges that look funny. These pins have a good tension so when I put them on the curler in the opposite direction of the roll, they stay nice and steady. Also, the case has a little slot for the pins, which the other curler sets didn't have. Nice touch. All this, plus the size is hardly bigger than the compact sets. Overall, I'd recommend.