Posted: May 20, 2010 at 11:10am
The install is complete! Here's the skinny.
First of all, let me say that Tiffany Twist/Manemaxx has wonderful customer service. While I never talked to her, she responded to my email promptly, and even left me a message...yes, she called! Never had a company return my calls, ever, ever, lol.
Shipping/packaging of the Manemaxx product gets an A plus.
When I judge value for the dollar, I consider the cost of component parts that are included, those you have to purchase yourself, and I mentally assign a dollar figure for the proprietary technology...i.e. "is this something totally new and different that I can't get anywhere else", "is this what is being advertised", etc. I bought the starter kit without the hair, which cost about 200$. In this kit, you get a La Petite wax melting pot, Super Looper Brush, 3oz of the tembond, an eyebrow brush for removing the bonds, 2 alligator type clips, one small metal clip, a fusion shield, a wax stick for stirring the tembond, a rat tail comb, a pamphlet with instructions for installation, a DVD tutorial. I'm fairly sure I'm not forgetting anything. The component parts (not counting the tembond, DVD, and pamphlet), if purchased at your local BSS would cost in the neighborhood of 30$. So 200 less 30 leaves 160$...the you count shipping, another 10$ for us, so we're at 150$ essentially for the tembond, DVD, and pamphlet. This is a little much. The pamphlet could be better done, with clearer color photos instead of black and white (and sorta fuzzy honestly). Seeing the pamphlet made me thankful I purchased the package with the DVD. As for the DVD tutorial, it's not terrible, and Tiffany Twist is certainly lovely to look at, but some of the shots where she's demo'ing the product aren't in frame clearly, the angle makes it tough to see at times, and I wish she had spent more time showing how to properly install the bonds (maybe a troubleshooting section where she shows some things that can go wrong and how to fix them). Also, some shots of what consistency the tembond should be would have helped know where to turn the heat in the pot up, or down. She does a full head install on herself, but it's done in 5X speed which means you can't see any detail at all. In the package itself, it would have been nice to get a list of products she recommends for washing the bonds, or even better, travel size containers of shampoo/conditioner for those of us that live in BFE and don't readily have access to a lot of stores. All that being said, I think (totally IMO) a more reasonable price point for what you get would be 125$.
The install was grueling...and I do mean grueling! To recap, I have very short hair, so I was going to length and fullness. I did a full head install, probably around 250 bonds, using Bohyme Soft Wave in 18in. The total install time was about 12 hours, with very few breaks. Yes, my arms feel like crap today, lol...Motrin is my friend.
You absolutely need to let the bond melt for an hour on the highest setting before starting your install (with a full 3oz). I turned it on before taking the kids to school, and by the time I got home (stopped for breakfast), it was the right consistency. However, you must be careful because this stuff with burn your prints off if you're not careful with the temp! I was using "smoke" and from my experience, the darker wax colors, and reds, melt much hotter than lighter colors. The first few bonds were extremely difficult. Either I was waiting too long to put in on my hair because I wanted to give the wax time to cool a bit, or I'd place it on and pinch the top and bottom, only to jerk my fingers away because the wax was too hot. There's this happy medium that was difficult to find and maintain, between too hot, and so cool you can't get it on your hair fast enough. Of course, as I used the bond and there was less in the pot, I had to turn the temp down (not below "wax" setting but right at it).
Small bonds were easy to make, so I highly recommend this for anyone wanting microbonds around the face for highlights. The only problem I had with bond size had to do with how to hold the bonds at the top and bottom. When I'd hold them, as the wax would cool, I would find the top and bottom of the bond were large and flat under my fingers. Since you can't roll, I have many, many bonds that are flat and somewhat sharp on the edges.
The "shake" is critical. Not only does it get rid of the excess bonding agent, but it helps to keep the bonding hairs from separating.
I put in a lot of bonds, I was getting worried that 3oz wasn't going to be enough. It was, however, not enough is left for another install, and honestly, I think the starter kit should come with 5oz instead of 3 for a few reasons. Three oz. doesn't come up very high in the pot when melted, so you're dipping your strands in the hot pot, trying to avoid the very hot sides, while holding a piece of hair (mine wouldn't stay in the shield)...not easy. And if you find yourself quickly going through what's in the pot, controlling the temp of the wax becomes very difficult...again, having more tembond would lessen the temp variation during the install. During your maiden install, you want to concentrate on placement and technique, not so much on temp testing the wax every row.
This product can be messy if you're not careful, but cleanup is very easy. My only complaint is that wax can stick to your fingers, and if you don't clean them between bonds, it gets picked up by your next bond.
I've had a little shedding from the bonds so far, but nothing bad at all...more about how crappy this hair is in a minute though.
So far, I've only lost 2 bonds. Two out of 250 isn't bad at all. It's only been a day though, so I'll update on that as the week progresses.
Sleeping last night was tough. The bonds were hard at first, but soft by this morning. I'm thinking the heat from my head, and living in the South with 76 degree nights probably contributed. The bonds have shaped more to the contour of my head...so think of your hair as a new baby...the first few nights are going to suck, but if you can get through them, it does get better.
This bonding method is great for hair with a little length to it, but not good for VERY short hair like mine (then again, what is). If my hair were to my shoulders, I'd be over the moon, but at the moment, you can see some of the bonds, well, a lot of the bonds actually, because I didn't have enough hair in "the flop" to cover them well. The best thing to do if you have short hair and want to use this system is make your larger bonds towards the bottom where they will be hid by overlying hair, with your smaller bonds on top.
Also, starting with the front and sides, although necessary during your initial install, is a PITA because the hair gets in the way and keeps you from being able to get a good look at the back when you move to that area. Even with clips, I fought to keep the hair out of my eyes most of the time.
As for the Bohyme Soft Wave hair I purchased from hairsisters....this stuff is CRAP, and I do mean a big stinky pile of it, lol. It was tangling before I could even get it out of the package!!! I have synthetic hair that feels better than this stuff, and honestly, if I didn't know better, I would swear that it IS synthetic. It feels like plastic, not at all what I've felt from Bohyme before and I will not be purchasing this hair again...ever, ever. If you're going to go through all the time and pain of a full head install, you want to use the best hair you can find. No luck with this stuff so I will be purchasing something different for my next install.
Oh, and having used keratin glue before, as well as a few other products, I can honestly say that the wax from Manemaxx definitely feels different, and more natural. The proper temp for bonds is warm, not hot, and I felt good about putting it on my hair (when I was able to keep that temp in the pot). I could tell that this isn't a damaging product, and the bonds that I removed came out very easily...so easily, I'm surprised I haven't lost more bonds!
All in all, I'd give this product a B+ for very short hair full head installs. Once you get the hang of it, it's actually not hard at all, just time consuming...(helps if you grab yourself a beer), and if I can figure out how to keep the temp/consistency right, along with what to do about the "fingertip" shape left by the cooled wax, I'd say this is at least a definite must try for any DIY'er.
Off to pop a few more Motrin!