First Impressions | Redken Steam Infusion Iron

hair steamer
It's been a little while since I first shared my heartache after loosing my beloved Babyliss steam flat iron. As a person with an extensive flat iron collection, I thought they were all pretty much the same. But of all the options I've owned, the Babyliss stood out as exceptional. The steam function seemed to take my flat ironing process to a whole new level. So you can imagine my dismay when the iron no longer could produce it's amazing steam. I did what anyone else in my situation would do. I sought to replace my Babyliss as soon as I could. Since my exact iron was no longer in production, I tried my best to find a suitable alternative. Little did I know that I'd find an even better option. Redken jumped into the steam flat iron game and decided to go "all in" with a professional level product made for stylists. Luckily for us, this professional tool is available online.
I tried to hold out as long as I could but, honestly, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Steam Infusion.  So far, I've tried it twice.  Since this tool requires a pretty decent investment, I'd like to share my honest opinion on what I love and what I don't like about the iron based on my first impressions.  

First, impressions are that this iron is built like a professional level product.  It's body is sleek and somewhat bulky at the same time.  I think the best term to describe the Steam Infusion would be sturdy.  Out of everything I love about this iron, thee one feature that makes it worth it's it weight in gold.  Is the water holding tank.  Unlike my Babyliss which had this tiny little reservoir that would require refilling every 15 minutes or so, this lovely iron has a standalone holding tank.  It's smaller than my hand but big enough to hold quite a bit of water.  And.....according to it's instructions, you don't have to use purified water.  YOU CAN POUR TAP WATER INTO THE RESERVOIR.  I have owned over 1dozen steaming tools in my lifetime.  This is the very first one that didn't require me to use purified water. For that I am grateful!  To be honest, I still used purified water out of pure habit

I also want to make a really big deal about what happened the last time I used it.  Flat ironing my hair can take me a multitude of hours to complete.  I'm parting my hair, detangling it, adding product, and so on.  With my old iron, I would be rudely interrupted by a steam less iron that required constant refilling.  This wonderful piece of machinery lasted several hours proving steam with each pass of the iron.  I almost cried with happiness.
Not having to use purified water is a huge selling point.  Not to mention how blown away I was to have the ability to iron my entire head with out running out of steam.  Seems like this iron could do no wrong.  Right? Well....there's one thing I wish was different.  If you take a look at the pic below, you'll notice a row of small circles along the edge of the iron.  This, I suspects is where the steam escapes.  To me, it seems like the steam should come out closer to the plate. That would be my preference.  But, in all honestly, this iron provides amazing results just the way it is.
The Redken Steam fusion straightened my hair easily with just one pass on lower heat settings.  I noticed that my hair didn't feel distressed by the heat.  Meaning it was soft and healthy looking when everything was all said and done.  Overall, I'm extremely happy with my purchase.  It's probably one of the best investments I've made in a while.  Yes, I'm sad that I lost my Babyliss but, if I were to have a choice, I would prefer to have the Steam Fusion (over the Babyliss) on my healthy hair team.

8 comments

  1. I'm not really aware of how steam irons work. Is this something that would be suitable for someone with natural hair?

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  2. Hi Neo! Steam iron would be just like your other irons except it also incorporates some steam to help boost moisture levels. It doesn't give off too must steam to cause reversion. So naturals could use it as well.

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  3. Hi there. I heard about these and know the benefits of steaming hair, but when I looked it up, a lot of people were saying it was like boiling your hair and scared me away! So are these any better or worse than regular flat irons?

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  4. I'm not familiar with steam irons. Very interesting. I'm a tad afraid that the water would cause the heat to boil the hair and create weak spots on the strand. However, you've used them before and your hair looks great so that's a testimony by itself. I also know that your Komaza results were favorable. I'll play chicken for now until I can research it a bit more.

    Divachyk | Relaxed Thairapy

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  5. Looks very nice.
    I have a (neglected) Maxiglide, I loved the original years ago, but the newer model doesn't work the same. Have you tried the Maxiglide, and how would you say that it compares to the Redken?

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  6. @Alana J. yes I've heard the same thing, and I've heard gradually over time your hair will become irrevocably damaged due to the steam damaging the inner cortex. I would really love one of these, L'oreal brought out a similar flatiron last year, and all of the reviews were really good. however when I looked into the effects of steam on hair it scared me, I'm not sure what to believe.

    @Nadege have you noticed and gradual of effects of using a steam flat iron over time?

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  7. You ladies make a good point about steam and the potential damage that can occur. Perhaps that could be why they chose to place the holes away from the plate so it doesn't cause the issues you mentioned. One thing I notice with the Redken is the steam doesn't seem as obvious as with the other iron. The steaming effect seems milder. Almost like the water particles are smaller. It reminds me of when I use the MicroMist steamer versus my old hair steamer. There's a difference.

    Regarding long term damage, I still apply the same rules of using heat infrequently + applying heat protectant + using lowest heat setting possible. I noticed more heat related concerns with my hair during the time when I went back to using regular flat irons when the Babyliss broke.

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