With the popularity of tabletop steamers slowly fading out, we are now left with several different standalone steamers to consider. One of these is the Online Salon Store Pro hair steamer. This is a higher quality salon hair steamer, aimed at home users who are serious about their hair. So how does it measure up against the competition? Read more about that below.
Product Features:
This particular product has been described as a professional hair steamer, so we are expecting it to have a somewhat decent build quality. The stand of this unit is held up by a five star base of castor wheels, which contains one more wheel than the other models we have seen so far. This helps to make it a little more stable when moving it around, but this certainly wasn’t a big issue on the other models we have seen. The stand of the steamer is made out of metal, and the height of the unit is adjusted by the little knob on the stand. The height of the unit can be adjusted from 37″ to 49″, which should give you more than enough play to get the right height for your needs. The hood on this unit is fairly large and deep, and should be able to cover any head shape without any problems. A really nice feature in this model is a lip around the edges of the hood which catches all the condensing water and deposits it into a little bottle which you can reuse. On top of the hood is a venting hole, which you can open up a little if you need to release some steam.
The tank on this model is a rather large 32 oz in size. This means you can run the steamer for up to an hour without needing a refill. Unlike some other models, the tank can be easily remove, filled with water then replaced in the steamer. This is certainly an easier and less messy option then having to fill it up with a jug in our eyes. Something else we should mention is that this particular unit claims to work well with tap water. Generally it is recommended that you used distilled water to prevent any sort of limescale buildup in the steaming tank, so this is a definite plus as you would save some money using ordinary tap water. This model has an auto cutoff switch in case the water level gets too low.
The steam in this unit is provided by a 17″ long diffuser, which provides even and thorough steam distribution. There are three main controls on this model – there are two switches to alternate between high and low steam flow, and a 60 minute timer. Both high and low switches seem to work effectively, providing a high flow for the beginning of the treatment and a low flow for the duration of it. The unit generally takes around 2 or 3 minutes to start producing steam on a full tank of water, which is more or less a standard time.
Assembling the unit is very straightforward, and we managed to piece ours together in a few minutes. Like most standalone hair steamers, the instructions are a little on the poor side but putting it together is fairly common sense in our opinion. The operation of the machine is otherwise very straightforward, and it worked really well in our tests. So that is a basic summary of the Online Salon Store Pro steamer. It is well made, and has a few unique touches that help to set it apart from the competition. It does have a higher recommended retail price than most other models at around $175, but it has been on the market for a while now and the price seems to have dropped quite substantially. In some cases you can pick it up for around half that price, which definitely makes it a no brainer choice at all.
Pros:
- Sturdy base
- Large hood with condensation catchment & venting holes
- Large removable tank
- Can use tap water
- Easy to assemble
- Works well
Cons:
- Retail price a bit high, but often on sale
Summary:
We were thoroughly impressed with the Online Salon Store Professional steamer. It has many qualities of a professional hair steamer, while still being affordable for the average home user. If you are looking for a quality home hair steamer, then this is a fine choice. At the time of writing this model was on sale on Amazon for almost half price with free shipping. At that price it is definitely the best hair steamer you can get, and you can check if it is still on sale over here.
| Our Rating: |
|---|
| 4.5 |
