Voloom Review: Hair Volumizing Iron
• Works as advertised
• Different heat settings for different hair types.
• Creates volume without using sprays or gels
• Cost
• Learning curve to achieving optimal results
• Not as effective with short layered hair
Voloom
Voloom is a hair volumizer that gives hair extra lift and fullness.
Claims & Features
- Volumize in minutes
- Lasts for days
- Works on all hair types
- No teasing or hair spray
- Easy to use
- Automatically shuts off after 30 minutes
Cost & Availability
From the official website, you can get Voloom for 1 payment of $129.99 + Free S&H or 3 payments of $43.33 + one-time S&H fee of $9.99. You can’t opt out of the free gifts.
Voloom Commercial
The TV commercial below has been airing as of this writing.
Voloom Reviews
Although you may have first heard of Voloom in recent television or internet ads, this hair styling product first appeared at the end of 2014. It is advertised as a way to increase the volume of your hair.
At first glance, Voloom may have the appearance of an ordinary flat iron, but when you open it up, you’ll see that it sports a sort of “Belgian waffle” pattern which is officially described as “alternating beveled platforms.” Rather than simply passing your hair through it, you use more of a clamping motion that you’d expect with a crimping iron. We’ll use the word “crimped” loosely here as a way to describe has that has been treated with a Voloom.
The way to use the device is to create a part along the side of your head and clip the top section back (this will be used later to hide the treated area). You’ll then take a section and clamp down for one second, and repeat a few times on the upper part of that section. The product FAQ states to stop around the eye or cheekbone level. Note that you don’t drag hair through Voloom like a flat iron.
After you have crimped the under layers of your hair, you’ll then release the top layer, which will cover the sections you just volumized. The end result is hair that looks straight, but has “crimped” hair underneath, giving the appearance of more volume. Once you get used to it, you should be able to volumize your hair in under 15 minutes, depending on your skill level and hair type.
There is something of a learning curve to achieving optimal results. After a few uses you’ll learn where to part your hair, how long to clamp down, and how to cover the crimped section so that it isn’t visible. One of our testers first parted the hair too high, for example, and the top layer was not able to completely hide the crimped hair below. Parting it a bit lower means that more straight hair would be on top, and hide the under layers better.
The back of the head can be volumized in a similar manner, although this – like almost any sort of styling on that part of the head – is a bit more difficult. You’ll have to crimp blindly, which also may take a bit of trial and error to perfect.
There is a temperature gauge with an LED readout for precise heat control. This is quite beneficial, as thicker hair requires typically more heat and thinner hair usually requires less heat. The temperature recommendations are as follows: “Fine, damaged, or chemically treated hair: 320-350F Normal hair, medium, healthy hair: 350-370F Thick, coarse or curly hair: 370-390F.”
Voloom has achieved overwhelmingly positive ratings online and from our product researchers. As of this writing, it holds a 4.4 star rating on Amazon, with 78% of ratings at 5 stars, which is quite impressive.
Because of the way it is operated, we were curious to compare this to an old-school crimper. While there are some similarities in operation, a crimper is specifically designed to display a pattern in the hair, while Voloom is designed not to show a pattern. That’s not to say that some hair types won’t still show a somewhat crimped look if not enough top layers are used, but it is significantly less apparent than an old-school crimper. Further, old crimpers have sharp-edged angles while Voloom has beveled edges, which creates volume more gently.
Hair with short layers may not see as much benefit as those with longer layers. That’s because you need longer top layers in order to cover the under layers that have been crimped.
Our product researchers who tried the product felt that it was one of the best volumizing products they had used. The simplistic design (basically a beveled crimper with a more discreet pattern) does not take away from the fact that it is unparalleled in its ability to create quick volume without sprays or gels.
Pro tip: Start with a low temperature and work your way up. As with any hair styling device, too much heat can be hard on some hair types.
The only significant “con” about Voloom is the cost. $130 is not going to be in the price range of some consumers. With the amount of money spent on hair styling and products, however, $130 may not be an unreasonable investment for a product that works this well.
Similar Products
Hair volumizing products are ubiquitous. It is difficult to enter a beauty shop without seeing a dizzying array of volumizing sprays, gels, brushes, and hair dryers. There are currently over 1700 products on Amazon listed as hair volumizers. As far as the design of Voloom goes, it is rather unique. One could attempt to use an old school crimper to mimic the function of Voloom, but chances are you’ll find the jagged edges of those products peeking through and destroying the illusion of voluminous hair.
Epic Conclusion
Voloom is one of those products that someone should have invented years ago. Its simplicity does not mask its efficacy. This product will work as expected for the vast majority of consumers. You’ll want to play around with the temperature and technique, but most users should find this to be a relatively easy and effective hair volumizing tool.
Have you tried Voloom? Please give it a star rating and comment below.
