REVIEW – Pibbs 518 Superaria LONG

webby

Think Slim
Price: $279 + shipping (total $321) Note: Pibbs sells the same dryer for $495
Size of hood: measured 14 inches wide (not complete circumference)
Drying time with old dryer: 1 hr 45 min
Drying time with 518: 1 hr 15 min

Initially I was very upset with this product, partially because of the vendor. I specifically asked if the product was
1. Pibbs. The vendor’s reply was affirmative. This dryer is currently made by Parlux, out of Italy, but Pibbs can get it from the manufacturer. The dryer that the vendor sent me does not say Pibbs - it says Parlux. So, either vendor can't read...or he was looking at outdated data.
2. Did it have a large hood – that is most definitely does
3. Is the product new (meaning in a box, with papers)? The vendor said it was new and still fell under the manufacturer’s warranty. The product is new, but appears to be a floor model. I’m not sure how I feel about this part yet.
4. Does it get hot – does NOT, but I’ll explain this part later

My first thought was the throw the dryer back in the box, call the vendor on Monday and let her rip, but my husband, Mr. Tooltyme, decided to put the dryer together.

The first interesting observation we both had is the weight. My previous dryer was pretty heavy, due to the huge motor, encased as the dryer base. The Superaria is surprisingly light; it is much easier to maneuver, despite the larger hood. It also has a longer electrical chord, which means that you don’t have to worry about using an extension chord, which can sometimes lead to current problems.

Next observation, (big-head ladies…this is for you) there is plenty of room in the hood. I use mostly gray rollers (2”) with black rollers on my crown (2.5”). I could get my head in my other hood, but it was already getting cramped. This was a clear indication that I was definitely going to run into problems when I moved up to mostly black. I was not looking forward to that. So the test came. I had my rollers in place and was ready to start drying. I easily fit under the hood and there is no doubt that I will be comfy with all black rollers.

Now for the big challenge, is it HOT! Er…um…NO. Now, I’m fuming at this point. I paid :cursing: much money, had this big bloke sent from Florida to Pennsylvania and it’s not HOT. Oh, I’m madder than a schizophrenic without their meds :mad:
To make matters worse, I’ve already given my old dryer to my mother. Over the new year’s weekend, it became my mother’s expensive towel warmer, ‘cause I know she’s not even gonna use it (but she’s still my girl ;) )

K, what am I going to do? No dryer; a lot of hair, it’s 5pm and I can’t sleep with these coke-cans. I decided to give this vintage spaceship looking contraption a go.

Ladies, I expected the worse, but I can’t tell you all how happy I am. The airflow of this dryer is awesome. It feels like you have a 747 propeller looming overhead. It’s quieter than my other dryer, but gives off a lot more air and I do mean A LOT MORE AIR.
Ultimately, this was definitely worth every penny. I was already dreading how long I would have to sit under the dryer once my hair reaches armpit length. It was a minimum of 2.5 hours when my hair was just at the shoulders in the past. Is it worth is if you are not a die-hard roller setter, probably not, but for those who only do roller sets, I’d have to say it’s a definite keeper.

Pros:
It’s not nearly as hot as the Pibbs 508, 514 but it has excellent air flow and force.
I got a great price on it, although it’s not in-the-box-new…heck, I’m happy with
almost $200 in savings.
It’s lighter than my previous dryer and it’s much more comfortable. The other dryer was not comfortable, because I used a regular chair, which was somewhat awkward, due to the large base.
Cons: This is very important. This is not so much a con, but more of a warning. For the ladies who use Penetraitt or use the dryer w/o a hair net, you MUST NOT DO THAT with this dryer. There is a fan directly above your head, which creates airflow that can pull your hair up into the hood. You must wear a net at ALL TIMES.
I was not happy with the vendor, but he sent the product promptly. Would I order from them again? I doubt it, only because I feel that the vendor should have disclosed that the product was OEM.

Other than that, I am tickled pink. (sorry this is so long)
 
The vendor was Flamingo Beauty Supply, out of Florida.
The fan is nothing to be frightened of; it's normal in this type of dryer. The other dryer type pushes the air up from the base encasement and by the time the air reaches the hood it has lost force and is diffused more.
 
Thanks for the Review Webby. I plan on ordering a Pibbs in the near future :grin:
My former stylist used nothing Pibbs dryers and when I received my Penetraitt treatments she would use a PLASTIC clap to secure my hair :) ..
:lachen: I remember getting some great laughs when the ladies came from under those dryers looking like astronauts because fan lifted the processing caps about 6 inches in the air :lol:
 
Dana03 said:
Thanks for the Review Webby. I plan on ordering a Pibbs in the near future :grin:
My former stylist used nothing Pibbs dryers and when I received my Penetraitt treatments she would use a PLASTIC clap to secure my hair :) ..
:lachen: I remember getting some great laughs when the ladies came from under those dryers looking like astronauts because fan lifted the processing caps about 6 inches in the air :lol:

Dana, which one are you planning on ordering, the 514, right?
 
webby said:
Dana, which one are you planning on ordering, the 514, right?
YES, if that is the white one. The 518 is black right??? My old stylist had white (514) Pibbs and they REALLY got the job done! It would have me sweating buckets :lol: , I will probably just use the cool setting I went to Sallys yesterday to pick up the salon catalog, but when I got home I noticed that it doesn't list any prices :mad:
 
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Dana03 said:
YES, if that is the white one. The 518 is black right??? My old stylist had white (514) Pibbs and they REALLY got the job done! It would have me sweating buckets :lol: , I will probably just use the cool setting I went to Sallys yesterday to pick up the salon catalog, but when I got home I noticed that it doesn't list any prices :mad:

They all come in different colors. The one that I got, the 518 is royal blue, but comes in white, black, blue, etc. The 514 comes in different colors too. I was surprised at how quickly I dried, because it never got hot. It was really rather comfortable, but you cannot hear a thing.
 
webby said:
They all come in different colors. The one that I got, the 518 is royal blue, but comes in white, black, blue, etc. The 514 comes in different colors too. I was surprised at how quickly I dried, because it never got hot. It was really rather comfortable, but you cannot hear a thing.
They do!!! Thanks, I had no idea... Now I have to figure out which model my former stylist has in her salon!!! I just called and they told me the 512 was $269 and 514 was $279 with free shipping... They don't have the 518 :(
 
Dana03 said:
They do!!! Thanks, I had no idea... Now I have to figure out which model my former stylist has in her salon!!! I just called and they told me the 512 was $269 and 514 was $279 with free shipping... They don't have the 518 :(

Pibbs doesn't make the 518 anymore; it's now made by Parlux, but Pibbs (the store in Queens, NY, that CH bought hers from can get it. I think that it's only made in Italy now and it comes in a bunch of colors, but Pibbs sells it for $495.
 
Thanks for the review Webby. I too went to Sallys and I have the Quickship Salon Equipment book. The lady told me the dryer was $279, and shipping is free. I plan on making that purchase around income tax time. If not then, definately by July. I think I'm going to give my older dryer to my aunt. Or sell it, I've only used it once. I can't bring it back to Sallys because I threw away the box.

I plan on ordering the Pibbs E-Z dryer model 514 with 1000 watts of heat. I'm on three inch rollers now on most of my head. The smallest rollers I use are the gray ones, with the snap on tops I took from my magenta rollers to hold my nape area in since that area is more natural than texturized.
 
Webby,
I am not surprised that an italian dryer does work efficienly, because rollersetting was a must on all long hair italian girls 20 years ago. I do not think that hese girls are still favoring rollersetting today - it is the same in France, you do not see so much women with rollers in the hair in the street today and I am rather a curiosity if I am doing so -, however it has certainly created a know how which is well known today. Myself, I am using a dryer which is an italian brand and it was recommended by the vendor as an excellent product, which is the case.

Do you confirm that the dryer you are reporting of is the same that you show in your other post "I have got my Pibbs" ? If this is the case, I am curious about the way of operation and I think I have an idea why you do not feel it hot.
First, do you confirm that the front end of the dryer can be moved towards the top for you to enter under the hood with big rollers ?

Second, the opening which is in front of the face gives certainly a lot of comfort because so you do not have the hot air on your eyes and nose Maybe is this the reason why you do not feel it so hot. However i was wondering if you do not feel the air escaping at that level and is the air is hot, why do you not feel it. However it is certainly more confortable than to have to stay as I do under a fully enclosed hood, being brought very much down to dry those hairrollers coming very far down. Do you think however that this opening will not preclude drying for some of the rollers (is it small enough to just correspond to the part of the face where there is no rollers)
I think I have seen such an opening in a salon dryer and the hairdresser was not happy with, but I think it was mainly because you could not open the front end, so in parctice it was not accomodating big rollers

Finally you were mentionning that you should be able to get under with ahead full of black mags. How many black rollers do you intend to use ?
Do you think it would work also with 3 inches rollers (we were discussing that point with Skegeesmb as I intend to revert to 3 inches and I am looking for a wide dryer) If not do you think other Pibbs would work ?

Thanks for your comments
 
Albane
Bonjour! Les salutations et accueille au forum de cheveux :wave:

Do you confirm that the dryer you are reporting of is the same that you show in your other post "I have got my Pibbs" ? If this is the case, I am curious about the way of operation and I think I have an idea why you do not feel it hot.
Yes, it is the one that I showed in my other post.
First, do you confirm that the front end of the dryer can be moved towards the top for you to enter under the hood with big rollers ?
No. Actually, there is no visor on this dryer; it is open faced, allowing for fresh air, as you mentioned. You just slide your head underneath.

It doesn’t get hot at all; max temp is 65 Celsius (149 Fahrenheit), but it definitely dried a LOT faster.

Finally you were mentionning that you should be able to get under with ahead full of black mags. How many black rollers do you intend to use ?
I am currently using mostly 2 inch rollers, but I use about 5 2.5 inch rollers on the top of my head. I expect to soon use a full head of 2.5 and then go up to the 3 inch rollers.
I have some huge rollers (can rollers) that I think are 4 inches. I will try to put those in on the side, just to see what kind of fit I get…I am hoping that it is comfortable, which means that a full head of 3 inch rollers will definitely be comfy. I’ll let you know how this works out.
If not do you think other Pibbs would work ?

I think that this is the largest hood that Pibbs/Parlux makes. Since Pibbs no longer makes this particular dryer, you could still order it through them, but you are in France and Parlux is in Italia. It would probably be a lot easier for you to get the 518. www.parlux.it

De rien.
 
webby said:
Ske, how long do you sit under the dryer?
I sit under my Ion regular table top dryer for about 2.5 hours. So I'm hoping I cut down on that time with this eventual new purchase.
 
I think that you will definitely save time. I was sitting under the dryer almost two hours with my current length and about 3 hours (at the salon) when my hair was not even brastrap length. That's just WAY TOO much time.
 
Dana03 said:
They do!!! Thanks, I had no idea... Now I have to figure out which model my former stylist has in her salon!!! I just called and they told me the 512 was $269 and 514 was $279 with free shipping... They don't have the 518 :(
Okay I found a place online that charges $249 for 514 and $199 for the 512 :eek:
 
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