Honest Huetiful Steamer Review & Opinion

June 19, 2012 by · 11 Comments

I’ve been preparing my Huetiful Steamer review for a white as I was sent it quite some time ago, so I’ve had plenty of time to test it out; those who read regularly may remember the first time I reported using it during my wash day routine. First, let me just say for those who are wondering if steaming really does make a difference when deep conditioning – I am officially a card-carrying member of the ‘church of steaming works’ lol! I was a bit skeptical about all the raves I read when Huetiful first came out thinking it may be just another bandwagon (ahem Tangle Teaser) and an unnecessary expenditure. Well, now that I’ve used one, I’m not saying I feel it is necessary per se, but if you are considering the purchase and wondering if it is worth it the answer is yes. Steaming makes a difference.

Now, that being said…I have mixed feelings about the Huetiful steamer specifically.  My review and opinions are broken down list style below.
Pros about Huetiful:  
·   Black owned
·   Cute box with a Black girl featured (I’m pretty sure she is a vlogger, she looks familiar!).
·   Ya’ll know I love supporting Black businesses and seeing one of “us” on the box is a nice touch.
·   The new website has a few how-to tutorials, which is also nice.
·   One year warranty.  I’ve read reports of ladies saying their heating elements burned out within a year’s time so this is nice.  Remember this fact for later on in the review though…
Assembly:
·   Not foolproof but not difficult either.  Directions were sufficient but could have been a bit better, particularly when switching the hair steaming hood to the facial steamer attachment.
Steaming performance:
·   Heats up quickly – within two minutes.
·   Most of the steam is concentrated in the front and back of the hood, which doesn’t bother me but I’ve seen complaints from other users that their hair does not all reap the benefits.
o   If you pin your hair up and rotate your body throughout the steam session, all of your hair should be steamed evenly.  I feel it performs well.
·    Automatic shut off once the water levels in the reservoir reach a minimum level, about 20 minutes of steaming, for safety reasons.
Cons about Huetiful:
·   Price:  There are suspiciously similar looking steamers available on Amazon for literally half the price of the Huetiful version.  Not quite sure what, if any, the difference is.  In addition, for less than the price of the Huetiful you can get a full standing steamer…not just a tabletop version.
·   What the heck is the friggin Ozone feature?
o   So there is an on and off switch for the steamer and another for the “Ozone” feature.  I have no idea what this feature does.  It doesn’t state anywhere within the pamphlet that accompanies the unit and after several searches on the website and online turned up empty…I asked the company.  The PR person I had been working with closed her company but forwarded the info to the “new” contact person and provided me their info.  No response.  So I sent another message directly asking exactly what the ozone feature was and how it benefited the hair.  No response.  What really gets me about this is that within the pamphlet, Huetiful suggests using their conditioner because it is specially formulated to work with the ozone feature.  :-/ You look realllllll suspect for even including that without ANY info about it.  The best I found was a post from MsKibibbi when she was sent the steamer a couple years ago but the info was posted on Huetiful’s OLD website…nowhere to be found on their current site.  And quite frankly as someone with a tiny bit of medical knowledge, the explanation I read made no sense to me.  Not saying it’s not true, just saying it didn’t add up according to my logic and without any information, I just don’t buy it.  Basically the idea is that somehow it “oxygenates” the water…I’m assuming they mean creates free radicals? The same concept as anti-oxidants?  But who knows?!!! Since I feel so strongly about it, I’m not posting this random info.
Distilled water:
·    Ladies on LHCF all say that only distilled water should be used.  Several of them burned out their heating elements on both Huetiful and other brands of steamers by using tap and even bottled water.  Remember that one year warranty I mentioned?  That’s a great thing to have, but this is the type of info Huetiful should have included with their unit so that a warranty isn’t necessary; And how about beyond a year?  I’d be upset if I spent $120 only to burn out the heating element doing something that could have been avoided!
The bottom line is that my hair felt more moisturized than using my hooded dryer or electric heating cap to deep condition.  Plus I now use it to prepoo instead of doing it overnight.  I can’t arbitrarily say it was 5 or 10 times more moisturized…so I won’t assign a random statistic.  My thoughts on Huetiful?  They haven’t done enough to separate their unit from the generic $69 ones on Amazon.  Ya’ll know me.  I love spending my money with a Black owned company, but not to the detriment of my pocketbook!  I feel there should be more information with supported facts.  Since I don’t own any of the generic versions…I can’t say if it works as well as the Huetiful.  You will have to decide for yourselves where to spend your money.  Hopefully you enjoyed my Huetiful Steamer review and if you have any of the generic versions let us all know how you like it below!

 

Filed Under: Conditioning, Hair Tools, Healthy Hair Talk, Reviews · Tagged With: , , , ,
Soul Seed Tees
  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/03120629729708730031 Erratic Assassin

    I just got my steamer last week & got to put it to work. I’m still trying to figure out the right amount of water to add when I first turn it on. I tried out the facial steamer first & added the water to just below the MAX line & when it heated up all this hot water came spewing out of it. After that I figure half way is good enough & when I used the hood attachment I did the same thing but added more water after it heated up. This eliminated the water shooting out at me & I didn’t have the water leaking everywhere although I still can’t figure out where it’s even coming from.

    I watched the videos huetiful has on youtube about how to use the steamer and it says that you can use tap water but be sure to wash it afterwards – even if you use distilled water. As for the ozone they just keep saying it’s good for your scalp and something about neutralizing. I have no idea what it’s trying to neutralize.

    Despite the water level thing I think I will continue using this as it cuts my wash day time down. I also wish that they included more information online and in the owner’s manual. They include troubleshooting information but not for the things that most people are complaining about.

    • http://www.blogger.com/profile/09787288751070351540 Blutiful Blaq

      Exactly how does it decrease your wash day time? Anything that decreases wash day time catches my attention. I spend alllll day on wash day it seems.

    • http://www.blogger.com/profile/03120629729708730031 Erratic Assassin

      This comment has been removed by the author.

    • http://www.blogger.com/profile/03120629729708730031 Erratic Assassin

      So far I’ve gotten the same results of a plastic cap & hooded dryer for my pre-poo & DC in less time using the steamer. That cuts out at least 2 hours from my wash day routine (even more if you consider I fall asleep during my pre-poo every time). That’s a huge plus for me.
      This is after one use though. I hope this continues.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/15052230433866178860 BHI

    Great review Ebony. You know how everyone just KNOWS that pibbs is the best hair dryer out there bar none? I assumed that is how it was with the huetiful in the steaming world. I had someone write to me to tell me that the secura hair steamer was just as good if not better than huetiful and this business of distilled water would just make it awkward to use. I’m thinking same as you. Steaming good, huetiful not the best.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/02592618054090025991 Phoenix

    Ladies, regarding the ozone feature, I had this gadget, an Ozone Spa which I used in the bath. The sales guy had a LONG presentation about it and all the benefits that I can’t even remember half of. What I remember is what the Ozone Spa did for me. Best baths EVER (turns the tub into what resembles a jacuzzi) and my skin was softer and more supple and more moisturized than ever, regardless of what brand of lotion I used. Prior to that I could only use expensive lotions designed for super dry skin. After using the Ozone Spa I could start using cheapy lotions and my skin still felt and looked better. So…I’m guessing this steamer’s ozone function should do the same thing for hair. What I’m saying is if I had this steamer, I would ALWAYS have the ozone function running because of the experience I have with my little spa and the benefits my skin reaped.
    Regardless, very nicely written review Ebony.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/09787288751070351540 Blutiful Blaq

    Ebony I love your reviews because they are always straight forward and honest. You give a through review and I can honestly say if I’m between buying a product your review can help push me in a certain direction. I hate reading reviews where everyone loves the products and there are no cons. It’s just very unrealistic. Keep it up!!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/06143572721055835018 Tai Nycole

    Great review as per yoush, Eb. The boo got me a steamer for Christmas and it’s gotten maybe 2 uses. 1. I’m too lazy to set that sucker up every week. 2. That water gets hot and splashes all over! Maybe I’ll blow the dust off and try using it bi-weekly. No promises, though lol.

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  • dbanks

    excellent review. this is an investment, so it’s nice to get a well-balanced opinion re: this product. it was soo balanced i don’t quite know how to proceed! lol! thanks for the honesty!

  • Brian

    Hey guys, I just ran across this review and thought I might share with you what I know about Ozone. Forgive me if someone has already mentioned this ( I haven’t read through all the threads here). Anyway here we go:

    Ozone is a molecule, that when in contact with any other molecule, breaks it down. If you’ve ever been in an operating room, you can actually smell the Ozone; it’s almost like a smell of burnt wiring. Hospitals use this to kill germs (bacteria). Germs die when in contact with Ozone. When it comes to hair coloring and using conditioning treatments, Ozone can break down these molecules, and these particular molecules keep getting smaller and smaller. The smaller they get, the further they can get inside your hair shaft. Color can process in as little as 7-8 minutes, and the right conditioners can penetrate very deep into the hair shaft, where they can protect and moisturize from the inside.

    Now, having said that, I’m assuming that there is something on your steamer that creates the Ozone. Usually this is an interesting little bright light somewhere inside the hood of the steamer unit. If you don’t see anything my guess is that this steamer isn’t producing enough Ozone to even make a difference. Ion hair driers and irons have this same problem. They create negative ions, just not even close to enough to do anything for the benefit of your hair.

    The steam from the unit is quite beneficial though, and I would still think worth the money.The addition of Ozone is helpful for the scalp because it kills all bacteria, and also is able to make color or conditioning molecules smaller and better for hair.

    Have a great day!