Those Brats Need Sued For False Advertising! Conair Mary-Kate & Ashley “Quick Braid”
Written: Jun 01 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It means more money for Mary-Kate and Ashley.
Cons: Braid? Braid? That’s not a braid, it’s a twist.
The Bottom Line: A braid is three sections of hair ... this is a TWIST. Save your money or pay a friend to braid your hair for you.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Conair Mary Kate and Ashley Quick Braid |
Annabelle doesn’t really ask for a lot of stuff but over the past few months she’s really gotten into the Olsen Twin phenomenon. It started off with her wanting to see a couple of the early movies and a couple of books but things took a dangerous turn when she saw the Mary-Kate and Ashley Quick Braid. She’s not a “girlie girl” but she does have a rather strange obsession with being a pink princess; when she asked for this I gave her a look like “You want this?” and I could see the drool starting to form at the corners of her mouth. She has a few friends that are a year or so older than her and they really get into the whole “dress up” thing so I figured this might be nice to have around when she has sleepovers. I tried to convince her that the regular Quick Braid was the same exact thing but she’d have none of it, she wanted the light purple one with the Mary-Kate and Ashley name on it. I finally found one online at eBay [new, still in the package] and ordered it for her. She never really asks for much so when she shows interest in something it’s something that she really, really wants.
Conair Mary-Kate and Ashley Quick Braid
First off, this doesn’t braid your hair. It twists it. Yes, that’s right, it’s not a braid, it’s a twist. You take two strands of hair, place them in the loops on the unit and press the button. It does all the “work” for you then you seal off the end with a plastic pony bead or rubber band [about thirty come with this kit]. When you read the package it says, “The rotating motion creates trendy double-strand braids.” Double strand braids. OK, that seems to me like it would be a braid that is braided - when you think about it, it really is false advertising. There is a huge difference between a twist and a braid and this thing doesn’t braid. At first I thought I was using it wrong but I read over the instructions again and again and each time I tired it, it came out the same - a twist, not a braid. Conair does make a triple looped braider but this one only has two loops to attach the hair to, not three.
Annabelle wouldn’t take no for an answer, she wanted to keep trying it over and over again in the hopes that maybe, just maybe one of our efforts would come out different. Needless to say, she was extremely disappointed at the way the “braids” came out and didn’t want to take it with her to her very first official sleep over party. She was afraid that the other girls would make fun of her for bring something that didn’t really work and that she’d get thrown out of what ever little club they had. To me this seemed kind of silly but when I stopped to think of what it was like to be her age, well, it sort of made sense. I showed it to the mother of the girl who was hosting the party and she said that she was sure that they’d have a blast with it. The girls did have fun with it but eventually they gave up using it and just braided each others hair. They used up all the beads and rubber bands and did admit that they had fun with it but I knew that deep down Annabelle was still disappointed in the way it worked.
My Take
Since this comes with the two AA sized batteries it is pretty much ready to go once you remove it from the package. This is a nice thing to have around as long as you know up front that it doesn’t really create braids. I got this from ebay for $9.99 plus a small shipping fee and even the seller emailed me to say “This thing doesn’t really braid hair”. I really have to hand it to the seller for contacting me and letting me know that it creates twists not braids; most would be happy to be rid of the thing. More than anything I was ticked that this thing was sold as a hair braider and that Mary-Kate and Ashley’s names were on it. I didn’t expect this thing to work miracles or create perfect braids but touting it as something that will braid hair is pretty much a bold faced lie. I knew Annabelle had her heart set on this and when I saw the disappointment on her face - that is what really got to me. Money is one thing but when your kid wants something and thinks that it is going to be this marvelous thing and it turns out to be a piece of crap then it starts to work your last nerve.
The Bottom Line
This does work but it doesn’t work the way you think it is going to. Conair really needs to think twice about naming their products because calling this a “quick braid” machine is misleading. They do sell one that has three loops but this isn’t it. I will admit that it is easy to use but I can also see how a room full of giggling girls might not be paying attention and someone’s hair ends up looking like a rats nest. This went to exactly one sleep over party and then it was tossed in the drawer. I doubt it will ever get used again but Annabelle did learn a little lesson from all this. Just because something says that it does something, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is going to work that way. She’s still into the Olsen Twins stuff but now she’s a little more picky when it comes to asking for stuff with their name on it. The bottom line is this - it works but it doesn’t braid hair.
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
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Recommended:
No
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