VS Sassoon Steam Straight Brilliance

I was fortunate enough to be able to trial this straightener and let me just start off by saying that, as a regular GHD product user, I am now converted!

First impressions, opening the box, was that the VS Sassoon Steam Straight Brilliance is a very sleek looking straightener that I would happily leave out on my make-up area counter. The colours and pretty and the design is very appealing to the eye.

After thoroughly reading through the directions, I was a bit concerned it was going to take some time to set up but that proved wrong and set-up was nice and quick and easy. The water reservoir was easy to fill and, once you set the straightener on, it fills with water quickly. I've got mid-back length hair and didn't need to refill the straightener at all before my hair was done.

As someone with quite frizzy and curly hair, one of the things that impressed me most was that the straightener actually fulfilled it's promise that you only need one pass per section of hair. Even with my GHD straightener, sometimes a section will require multiple passes before it stays straight. The wide plates were great and it really only took about 10-15 minutes to get my hair looking very smooth and straight - love a good time saver!

The most impressive thing to me, in the end, was that (probably thanks to the steam) my ends, which can often get quite frizzy or look split at the end of straightening, looked smooth and healthy and I didn't feel the need to have to curl or smooth them with serums! The detangling comb was also a very helpful attachment for achieving that smooth look.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed with the product (and so thankful I got to be a part of this trial) and will definitely be using this as my primary straightener from now on. My hair stayed mostly frizz-free until my next hair-wash day, even surviving a windy day on a boat and the beach (which usually re-curls my hair). I cannot recommend this product enough for those who have generally unmanageable frizzy/curly hair.

First off, I am in LOVE with this straightener. This steam straightener is absolutely fantastic. I have very thick, slightly wavy hair which can be very stubborn when straightening. With the steam functionality of this straightener I have found that my hair instantly starts to straighten and I only have to run it over my hair one or two times for the desired result I'm looking for. The steam function is fantastic and so easy to refill. Just putting it kn the stand and pressing down, it fills up within seconds and is ready to go. I have also used this straightener without the steam function and it is absolutely amazing. It dry straightens amazingly and so quickly. I only need two or three passes for the required result. It doesn't pull my hair and none of my hair gets stuck around the plates like I have experienced with other straighteners I have used. I love that it comes with a glove for safety and also a water dropper to fill up the water attachment if you need. I find my hair stays straight for a lot longer after using this straightener than my past ones. It also seems to take longer for my hair to feel oily which has been a fantastic. My hair feels a lot softer than normal and it doesn't get frizzy at all untill the next time I straighten it or wash it. I can't find anything about this Steam Straightener that I don't like. It's design is lovely to hold and I haven't burnt myself at all. The sleek design and rose gold and black colour is gorgeous. The long power cord makes it super easy to use around my bedroom and I'm not confined to one small area. The stand it comes with where you fill it with water is amazing to have so you can put if down without the worry of it falling or moving. It's a great safety feature. It heats up to the desired temp sure quickly so there's hardly any wait time to start using and as I've stated, it straightnes my hair so fast that my morning and hair routine is much faster and as a mother that is absolutely fantastic. I loved the packaging it came in also, lovely pictures and heaps of helpful information about this straightener. The foam inside is a good touch, makes you feel confident that it has been well cared for with in transit to the shop or couriered to your door. Also if you are traveling you'll know it's safe.

Oh boy was I excited when I got invited to this trial. Thanks so much BR for the opportunity! I eagerly checked the doorstep each day and when I saw a box sitting there I ripped into it like a kid at Christmas. It comes in a sturdy box which has heaps of information on it. Inside is the straightener, instruction manual, a little turkey baster looking gadget and a heat resistant glove.

A little bit about my hair, it is very long and I would say semi thick. I have been dying it for over 20 years so it is a bit dry and is definitely frizzy. I also have a natural wave, I usually use Ghd's which do a pretty good job but they are about 5 years old now so I feel are getting less effective.

I actually never read the instructions for anything but I had to for this as I didn't know what I was doing. First off there is a separate water reservoir which you fill up, it suctions onto the surface so it doesn't move. Then you align the straightener onto it and it fills the bottom with water and it is ready to use the steam function, when the water runs out you simply place the straightener back on and it refills it.

You can also fill up the straightener directly using the little turkey baster, there is a small reservoir on the bottom. I have used it this way which is good but you have to fill it a few times if you have long hair as it runs out fast so it is probably easier filling up the freestanding reservoir and less fiddly.

The buttons are on the inside so you need to turn it on then press the steam button and select the temperature, I use it on 180° then it is ready to go when the light stops flashing. It heats up super fast....I'd say 10 seconds which is awesome. There is one glove to protect against heat. I kinda feel like Michael Jackson wearing this and I actually broke out into a song the first time I put it on lol good times.

It is much bigger than my Ghd's so it took me a little bit to get used to plus the glove was making it slippery so I ended up putting it on the other hand. I probably won't bother with the glove much. The first time I used it I wanted to really give it a hard test....my hair had been in a braid the day before so when I brushed it I turned it into a frizzy, curly mess. I thought no way it would make it straight.

I sectioned my hair and started at the front and omg it made it poker straight! I could not believe my eyes! Not only was it straight but super shiny. Pretty impressive indeed! Continued below.....

I knew I was in for an experience when I opened the box. Beautifully packaged. I was slightly intimidated with 'what bit went where' initially but a quick read of the instructions and it was super easy. Very clever that it automatically fills and refills itself from the water reservoir when needed. Loved the one touch button for steam, or not if you didn't want steam, and that you could increase the temperature of the straightener. Very useful during humid months then a bit more heat to straighten is required and my hair is thick. Also great though as a quick 'touch up' on a lower heat to help protect your hair. The plates are a good width which makes doing your hair faster and overall they are not too heavy. On my last trip to the hairdresser I had asked him how he gets my hair so sleek because with my GHD's I just can't get it like that and his secret was to straighten my hair went it was almost, but not quite dry. And that's exactly what this product does. By adding the steam it gives a fast, lasting straighten that keeps your hair feeling hydrated, then, and over the following days which is when I find the ends of straightened hair go dry. I am genuinely blown away. Usually I would only use straighteners twice a month to preserve my hair from drying out, over the last 2 weeks I have used Steam Straight Brilliance 3 times and my hair feels fantastic. Not only is it quick to do but its lasts days without needed a straightener 'top up'. I just love it. Salon hair at home and so, so easy. In fact, not just a home but it can go anywhere with you. My new look for summer is straight!

I'm grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the "Beauty Review trial of the year" for Vidal Sassoon Steam Straight Brilliance. The boxed packaging comes in black and gold, matching the straighteners and has visual/written instructions. Inside the box are the straighteners, base station for automatic water refill, universal heat protective glove, pipette for easy refill and instruction booklet. I have long, thick, naturally wavy hair and I trialled in multiple ways. Steam with detangling comb, steam without detangling comb, straightened with steam and detangling comb, and straightened without steam and without detangling comb. If I had to choose a favourite way to straighten would be steam without the detangling comb. I found the detangling comb uncomfortable and didn't like the how it felt pulling through my hair. The comb is easily removed by sliding away from the straighteners. When using the straighteners without the steam you just turn the straighteners on. There are three parts to the straighteners, the straighteners themselves, and a detachable water reservoir, and the base station, which is an easy way to fill the detachable water reservoir. You can refill the reservoir without having to use the base station by using the pipette. The base station is ONLY for refilling the detachable reservoir, it is not intended as a resting place for the straighteners. Use the base station by pushing the straighteners down onto station where water automatically fills the reservoir. Do this with the straighteners off, then remove, adjust the temperature and turn on the steam function. The buttons are all on the inside arm of the straighteners. There are five heat settings to suit your hair type between 140-220 degrees. When you switch on the straighteners the temp defaults to 140 degrees. At each different temp setting there are LED lights to indicate the chosen temp. There is an LED light to indicated when you are using the steam function. To use, I started at the back of my head and took a section of hair no wider than the plates. I love the width as I have a lot of hair and can cover larger sections faster. When using the steam function the straighteners make a clicking sound. This is normal and the sound is the pump pushing water internally. Once finished empty all water reservoirs, there is also a safety auto-shut off after 30min. Allow to cool before storing and there is a hinge lock for storage. Once straightened my hair looks and feels smooth, soft and hydrated. My hair stays looking sleek for 24hrs or more and that's with tying my hair back. I naturally run hot and end up with frizzy hair but not with these straighteners. That’s exactly what these straighteners promised and I am really thrilled with the product and finish. I love the Vidal Sassoon Steam Straight Brilliance straighteners. They are easy to use and my hair looks and feels very healthy. I bid goodbye to my 13yr old straighteners and will not be looking back.

I was sent the VS Sassoon Steam Straight Brilliance to review.

Starting with the packaging, the straightener comes in a box that you can slide out, but there is also a flap on the top that shows you how to use the straightener.

Inside the box there is the straightener, the base, the instructions and warranty. But also a pipette and heatproof glove.

Using the straightener with the base:

After filling the base, I found I had to leave the straightener on it for several minutes before the water level was high enough on the straightener.

The straightener then had be be turned on by a power button, temperature levels adjusted and the steam function turned on.

I then straightened my hair as I normally would.

Using without the base:

Putting the water straight into the reservoir was I found the quicker and easier method (the pipette makes it even easier).

I found straitening from full, my hair was done before the reservoir needed refilling. But if you did need to refill, from the base is much easier when the straightener is hot.

Using without steam:

If you are in a rush, you can also straighten without the water and stream function and use like a regular straightener.

To steam or not to steam:

Comparing the steamed hair to the non-steamed hair, the streamed hair lasted longer and was still mostly straight and smooth and easy to style next day.

Straightening it did help control some frizz, but I didn't find it made it softer.

Other features:

The straightener also featured wider plates which I didn't find hugely sped up styling for my hair type, but were larger and heavier to hold.

It also features a removable comb, which I liked, because although I brush before straightening, to never hurts to comb again.

A heatproof styling glove is also included. I was really excited to try this, but you don't need it unless your holding near the plates, and if you're holding it there you'll probably want a thicker glove. Loved the idea though.

So let's steam ahead to the end of this review by saying that steam technology could be the future of hair straighteners as we know them.

The VS Steam Straight Brilliance Straightener looks sleek in black and rose gold. It has a solid, quality feel to it. It feels ever so slightly heavier than a regular straightener to hold, but is light enough to style thick, medium length hair without any arm fatigue. It sits nicely in the hand with an indicator where to place your thumb. It has a swivel cord for easily moving around the head.

The packaging includes clear instructions, a water dropper tool for refilling the straightener directly and a glove (made of stretchy fabric) which fit my medium sized hand well.

Water can be added from the base or directly into the straightener. I added it from the base, but either way is easy to do.

I selected the 180 degree setting with steam to suit my hair texture and thickness. The flashing light indicates it is heating up, turning solid when it reaches temperature. It heated up very quickly.

I was a bit nervous about using steam close to my skin, but it is a small, contained stream of steam and was totally fine. The straightener can also be used without steam, but after seeing the difference steam makes over regular straightening, I'm not sure why anyone would want to!

The straightener promises to straighten all hair types from thin and damaged to thick and coarse with the steam setting being a point of difference to lock in moisture to treat frizziness and straighten coarser hair types.

I usually have a lot of short fuzzy flyaway strands. After using this straightener with steam, you would never know. I have a patch of hair on my templete intent on sticking out normally, so I rotated the straighter slightly inward (as if to curl towards my face) to direct it in line with the rest of my hair. This worked well and the straighter did an amazing job of straightening and smoothing my hair. The results lasted several days until my next wash. There are a lot of straighteners available these days, this one is definitely different from any other I have used or have had used by a hairdresser.

I wanted to see what the steam alone would do for my hair, so I didn't use any product with it. The straightener made my hair feel really soft and shiny, with all my frizzies tamed. It's the first time my hair has felt in better condition after straightening.

I was super excited to trial these straighteners and even more curious to put them to the test when I learned the brand! Now these are an expensive item so I intend to be open, honest and critical.

My first impression was “wow these are quite heavy”. I am used to my GHDs which are much slimmer and lighter. However I didn’t find them overly heavy when using them, especially because they really did straighten my whole head super quickly, like five minutes quickly!

I found the instructions on using the steam pod a little intimidating but they are actually really easy to use. I also really enjoy that you can use them with or without the steam. The instructions talk a lot about how to refill the water reservoir during use, but I actually never needed to. I’d place them on to the filling base stand once before I started and that would last me my whole head (hair sits just below shoulders). The straighteners come with a detachable comb element, I found the comb really made a huge difference. I have wavy/curly hair and the comb helped to straighten it out in one pass. Very rarely did I go back over an area, although they are quite wide plates and this meant I couldn’t get in to my roots as precisely as with smaller plates. I would also still definitely comb pre straightening even with the comb attachment as it’s pretty unforgiving. The plates themselves glide really nicely without drag. My hair did look shinier after use and my hair absolutely lasted a full day straight.

One thing I’d like to mention, the product boasts that you can fill them for steaming via the base station or directly in to the water reservoir on the straighteners. The later was far fiddlier and I can’t imagine ever wanting to do this. They mention this being great for when you want to ‘leave the base station at home’ but I wouldn’t consider these the most portable straighteners as they are quite big. The automatic water fill on the base station reservoir is great though!

There are 5 heat settings, I only used the one recommended for my hair type in the instructions (180°C). In the box there is a heat resistant glove, it’s kind of a fun addition but I didn’t find a need for it to be honest.

Overall the wide straightening plates made for super quick styling but they aren’t as versatile as smaller ones so it’s a trade off for what’s more important! Would I ditch my GHDs to race out and buy these.. probably not because my shorter hair and my like for curling with my straighteners makes them a good fit. However! For longer hair, thicker hair, people who only want to straighten, people who want a quick straighten… these should definitely be in the mix as a serious contender!

I was very lucky to have been chosen for this trial and I was extremely excited to receive this.

The straightener is aesthetically pleasing with its sleek design and rose gold plates. The base station is also quite sleek looking.

So my hair is quite thick and wavy, and although it isn't super long I dread straightening it due to the time amount of time it takes. Fortunately for me, it took less than half the time with this straightener!

Filling up the base station and aligning the straightener correctly to fill it up can take some getting used to, however it gets easier once you get the hang of it.

The base station has four little suction cups at the bottom of it and it secures nicely to the top of my bathroom vanity, making it safe for me to fill up the straightener mid way through my hair straightening session. The straightener fills up within seconds. Once the water reservoir in the straightener is full, it will last about one or two sections of hair before needing to be refilled. Overall I only needed to refill about three times.

The brush on the straightener helps the with the straightening process as it brushes through the hair while straightening so there's no need for you to brush in between. Makes life just that much easier.

Without the steam functionality I don't find the straightener to be as effective, however it works a dream with the steam.

The straightener is a bigger than some others, making a bit clunky, however the larger plates do help cover a larger section of hair.

If you are wanting to travel with this, you don't need to take the base station with you, as the straightener comes with a dropper allowing you to fill up the water reservoir in the straightener directly.

Would I use this over my GHD? Yeah probably, since it took much less time to straighten my hair. The steam technology also helps keep the hair straighter for longer which is always great.

First of all, I have long, thick and very frizzy hair. So I was excited to try this new straightener! Let’s not even talk about the fact that the straightener I had been using was about 13 years old at this point! Aside from the excitement of having a brand new straightener to try, I’ve got to admit that I was sceptical of adding steam to my frizzy and hard to control hair, as normally any moisture or humidity will just make my hair super frizzy! First up, I found the straightener easy to use and the water refill station easy to use and set up. Once I’d dried my hair and added some heat protection spray to my hair, I tried out the straightener with the steam function. But the first time I used it I didn’t quite get the result that I was hoping for. I tried again the next day after washing and drying my hair and this time, I used it on the highest temperature, as my hair is very thick. That made all the difference! This straightener is definitely easy to use on long, thick hair as the plates are nice and big. But it’s still easy to use and not too bulky! I found that it didn’t dry my hair out like my GHDs do. It does add moisture while straightening and taking away the frizz. It doesn’t have the super sleek and super straight end result as the GHD but my hair looked in better condition after using this straightener. It’s noticeable that my hair looked healthier and not dried out after using this straightener. It’s absolutely better for my hair health and made my hair feel so soft instead of just straight and dry! It doesn’t take all the volume out of my hair and does make it look more natural but not frizzy, so that’s a win. Will I sometimes want to use it without the steam function to get that super straight and thinned out look, yes. But most of the time I see the benefit of the steam function as it’s a bit gentler on the hair. Overall it’s a really good straightener. I may have gotten too used to the effect the drying and damaging old GHDs had on my hair, but in the long run this is much better. Once I put a bit of hair product in my hair, the style held for a few days and still looked great with no frizz!