Remington hair tool claims to make braiding a snap

Do you dream of achieving a beautiful fishtail braid, but lack the skills to create it yourself?

If so, you might be in the market for Remington’s The Snap Braid Fishtail Braiding Tool. Available at Wal-Mart ($6.97), the plastic hair tool is designed to make braiding effortless and fast, and is marketed as easy to use.

Clipped directly into the hair, the tool can be used to create fishtail braids or half-up ’dos.

First impression

Having wasted a large amount of time watching YouTube tutorials on how to braid hair, I was excited to try out the Remington braiding tool. Available in two colors (clear and black), the tool is made up of what looks like multiple tiers of flat hair clips.

Per the instructions, all nine tiers of the tool are unclipped and the first clip is secured under a center section of hair (near the crown). Users then select a section of hair from one side and pull it across the hinge of the next clip to the opposite side.

To finish the step, the strand of hair is snapped into the clip to keep it secure. The step is repeated until the last clip is reached. The remaining hair is braided by hand, then secured with an elastic.

Sounds a bit confusing, right? If you think so, you are not alone. While Remington provides both written and visual instructions, I found both incredibly hard to decipher.

Fortunately, I was able to find a step-by-step video on Remington’s official YouTube account that provided a little more insight into how to use the tool.

Fab or flub?

Flub. In the end, there turned out to be nothing effortless about Remington’s The Snap Braid Fishtail Braiding Tool.

With no clear directions, the tool was confusing from the start and required numerous attempts before a braid was achieved. Although designed for use by individuals, I struggled to use the tool by myself.

Standing with my back to my full-length mirror, I found my arms tired quickly as I tried to cross strands of my hair into the clip and snap them into place. Eventually, I enlisted help.

The tool fared better this time, but it still took about 20 minutes from start to finish to create a fishtail braid. After trying to secure the clips and having them pop open repeatedly, it became clear that the tool did not work that great on my thick hair.

To fix the problem we used thinner strands, but unfortunately this resulted in a half-braid.

Overall, I found wearing the tool to feel a bit cumbersome. The braid is stiff and lacks movement, making it hard to turn your neck without fear of ruining the braid.

For now, it looks like I’ll be sticking to watching YouTube tutorials and dreaming of the day I’ll finally be able to create the perfect fishtail braid on my own.

This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Remington hair tool claims to make braiding a snap."