The Hairstyle Vending Machine

Maybe some of you remember the crazy skit from the Muppet Show, where they have a makeover machine, Vendaface, that the Muppets would go up to and it would remove their eyes, ears, hair, etc. and replace it with new ones. Then the next person would go up and the automated machine would continue, but it "reused" some of the features. :-)


That machine is what I thought of as soon as I came across this article from naturallycurly.com.

What's this? It's the wall-mounted "Straight Up" hair straightening (or curling) vending machine, from Beautiful Vending. It costs $2 for 90 seconds. Is that insane or what? Although it seems like a good idea, what I really don't like most about it is the complete ripoff factor. I've done hair. While this will work for touchups, the article implies that you just walk into a washroom, stick your toonie in, and quick straighten your hair. Walk in curly, come out straight. 90 seconds is 1.5 minutes. I have 3a/b curls (aka loose to ringlety curls) and even if I have someone doing it for me, it takes at least 20 minutes to straighten my hair. So, it would cost me about 13 dollars to straighten my hair from this machine. Come on, a salon blowout that lasts for days and days is only five bucks! And you need hair product, and combs, etc. to do it right. So obviously you can't just do that. It's for touchups. Only.

I also hate the quote given in the article about how when you sweat, your hair frizzes, and if it's curly this is very undesirable. First of all, this is going to happen whether or not your hair is curly. Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough...straightening is NOT the path to frizz-free hair! Any type of thermal styling will damage your hair, and guess what that means...frizzies. I know so many people that are just addicted to their flatiron, be it CHI or Conair. This includes people who should know better, including my hairstyling teacher and way too many people in my hair class.

You shouldn't be touching up. If it was done with a good iron (the only way it should be done), properly, with the right products, and your hair is in good shape, it should last days. Every time I iron my hair, I use a straightening iron product from Alberto, take as long as I need, and finish off with hairspray. It lasts until the next wash, up to a week (I know that sounds gross, but sometimes my hair just doesn't get oily or dirty for a long time!).

You can read the full article here.