Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 17 – Hair Dryer Recall

Xtava Allure Hair Dryer RecallXtava Allure Hair Dryer Recall

Imagine it’s early in the morning, you’re getting ready for the day … and your trusted hair dryer burns you. Or catches fire. Hell of a way to wake up!

Back in August, over two-hundred thousand hair dryers sold by popular retailers Amazon and Wal-Mart were recalled. The dryers in question, the Xtava Allure and Xtava Allure Pro 2200W, are also commonly (and currently, WTF) sold by Groupon Goods.

Why the Hair Dryer Recall

Hundreds of reports were filed with referencing incidents involving explosions, melting, or catching fire.

Oh, that’s good.

Additionally, a few dozen people reported being shocked or burned by the appliances when they overheated.

Great, even better.

Who is Xtava

I’m not familiar with Xtava as a brand, but they appear to be a hair brand similar to NuMe. Their site does not offer an About page, but their meta tagline is:

Xtava is the destination for luxe hair tools at game-changing prices. Discover the latest technology in hair dryers, flat irons, and curling irons.

An FAQ page reveals that they are purportedly operated by a team with diverse hair needs. This team composition supposedly leads to a better understanding of varying hair needs and. As a result, they feel that they offer a superior line of products to meet different hair needs.

Recompense

Consequently, affected consumers have been advised to contact Xtava for a free replacement. Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t feel terribly inclined to get a replacement dryer from a brand who had issues of their products meltingcatching fire, and exploding.

The Bottom Line

Above all, “luxe,” or not, people expect to use products that are safe. Is it Xtava’s fault directly? No, probably not; it isn’t like they manufacture their own dryers. As a consumer, I find it discouraging that no information about what happened is available. Was it just a production error? A legitimate defect in circuitry? Who knows.

Due to my risk-averse nature, I don’t think I would risk it twice. I’m still using this great inexpensive one from Conair that you can get on Amazon for around $30. Is it sexy? No. But it works.