ASOTVI Review of Wrap, Snap & Go

What is it? Hair rollers you can sleep in comfortably.

Rating: Works As Advertised

Major Claims:

• Soft Enough for Sleeping – True.
• 100% machine washable – True.
• No pins, Easy to Use – True.

This product consists of a total of 12 rollers, four rollers of three different lengths. Each one is a length of cloth-covered foam with a simple snap on each end, meant to be twisted together and snapped to hold the hair curled while drying.

Unlike traditional rollers made of hard materials, or even foam curlers with a plastic spindle and clasp, that are uncomfortable and can poke and dig into the scalp when laying down, this product is completely soft and allows the user to let their hair dry completely overnight while being held in a tight curl. The fact that the diameter of each roller is so narrow allows very tight curls to be achieved.

The product also includes a 16-page instruction book, entitled “Secrets to Beautiful Curls,” which details several different hair styling techniques to achieve different looks. These curlers were indeed easy to apply and take out, without use of any pins or clasps, and we observed a rich curling effect, even with our model’s very fine hair (see video for illustration).

This product works as advertised

ASOTVI Review of True Back

What is it? A portable traction device for the spine.

Rating: Works As Advertised

This product is designed to help relieve pressure on the spine by means of separating and stretching out the individual vertebrae of the spine and associated muscles. This is accomplished by means of a parallel series of hard plastic knobs, resembling the teeth of a large gear (if one were to be opened and straightened), teeth that are designed to fit into the spaces between the vertebrae.

When laying down on the product, the body’s own natural weight is employed to press the spine down and allow it to settle in the “teeth” of the product, which both serves to subtly move and adjust spinal vertebrae and discs, relieving pressure, but it also helps to stretch out the associated muscles and tendons. The product is completely passive, has no moving parts, and requires no power.

In our evaluation, as instructed by the included DVD, the first task was to get comfortable on the product. This took a few minutes, starting with a pillow under the head and using the included pads, then graduating to removing the pillow, and then to removing the foam pads from the product for the full effect. Our test subject reported feeling the deep, penetrating sensation on tight back muscles and knots, especially in the shoulder blade area. After several minutes of use, noticeable discomfort was relieved.

The product is meant to be turned around for greater effect on the lower back, and the instructional video also includes a series of simple exercises and stretches to be performed to fully work all of the back.

ASOTVI neither observed nor offers any judgment about the long-term health effects of using this product, but can affirm positive results and effect from the very first use. Long-term benefits would be a process of the user’s proper use and consistent discipline to use it as directed. As with any health-related product, it is recommended to consult a doctor in conjunction with any changes to your diet or fitness regimen.

This product works as advertised.

ASOTVI Review of Cybersonic Oral Care System

What is it? A sonic oral care system.

Rating: ASOTVI MUST HAVE

This is an entire oral care system that can be used by an entire family. It comes with the main base unit, recharging stand, a standard round brushing head, large round brushing head, two rectangular brushing heads (similar to traditional toothbrushes), a tongue cleaning attachment, a flossing attachment, and an attachment stand that is seated under the recharging stand. The system also offers teeth whitening gels, but none were evaluated by ASOTVI, only the items listed above.

The system also has an optional UV sterilizing system for the brush heads and other toothbrushes, shown in the video, but this product is being evaluated separately for its ability to kill bacteria.

Sonic toothbrushes were first introduced, as a subsequent generation of electric toothbrushes, in 1983. A first-generation electric toothbrush typically offered stroke frequencies between 2,500 and 7,500 strokes per minute. Modern sonic toothbrushes offer stroke frequencies in the 30,000 to 40,000 range, with this particular product featuring 45,000 strokes per minute.

Please note that sonic toothbrushes are not like older electric toothbrushes or the ones you see today with rotating heads. These kind are all an automated form of the manual toothbrush, designed to save you the effort of scrubbing, that can only really clean where their bristles physically touch.

The advantage of the sonic toothbrush is that the high frequency of vibration of its bristles actually transfers energy to the fluids of the users mouth, in this case saliva or water, which serves to create waves that actually dislodge plaque and help break up tartar, even below the gum line where manual brushes can’t reach. So while the vendor of this product advises that it is not meant to be a replacement for regular dental check-ups and cleanings, this is the most advanced technology available for home oral care between dentist visits.

The product’s instructions advise to charge the base unit at least 24 hours prior to first use. We did, and the unit functioned with no problem. The instructions also advise that on first use the user might experience “a little tingling ‘tickle’ sensation.” This was very true. On first use, when you are tentative and careful about what it’s going to feel like and allowing it to barely touch the skin of your lips, especially when using it behind the front teeth, top and bottom, indeed the experience produced some most amusing faces and entertaining moments (not shown in video). The trick, we found, was to actually close your lips and not shy away from it, and the tickling goes away very quickly. On second and third uses, you hardly notice anything at all.

On basic brushing, the unit has a built-in timer; that is, after 30 seconds it pauses for a moment. Part of the product’s instructions on oral care is that it only takes one minute to brush your teeth with this product. Thus, if you start with your upper teeth, covering all the surface areas and along the gum line in small circles at a 45 degree angle as instructed, when the pause signals, you can then move to the lower teeth, or vice versa.

What was unexpectedly surprising was that after the very first use the teeth feel extremely smooth and clean, very much akin to how they feel after having them professionally cleaned (yet without the pain and ordeal of all the hooks and scrapers). Again, this product isn’t intended to be a substitute for proper professional care, but is the best type of home care you can enjoy between visits to your dentist for a cleaning.

The tongue cleaning attachment worked as advertised, even if it was a little disquieting to see how much bacteria and other substances it effectively can scrape off your tongue. Bacteria and debris coating the tongue and nestled down in the taste buds is one of the major causes of bad breath. The instructions refer to this attachment as “Acts like a mini carpet cleaner.” It does.

Next we tried the dental floss attachment, which is approximately an inch of dental floss mounted in a disposable plastic “U”-shaped holder. Again, in addition to the nooks and crannies where the floss itself can get in and physically scrape away plaque and tartar, the sonic vibrations are also in effect here, enhancing the removal of that which the string itself cannot reach.

With a very competitive price as compared to other leading sonic toothbrush systems, and the fact that it is very important for everyone to brush daily, at least twice, we found this product not only to work exactly as advertised, but is definitely a Must Have for you and your entire family.

ASOTVI Review of MD Bracelets

What is it? A medical alert bracelet.

Rating: Works As Advertised

Major Claims:

• Dust Proof, Crush Proof, Waterproof
• Holds Medical Information

This product is a bracelet that features a sturdy and watertight compartment designed to contain a wealth of pertinent medical information about its user. Unlike traditional medical alert bracelets that have limited space to engrave a medicine allergy or blood type, this product comes with foldable paper strips that allow the user to catalog a great deal of personal medical information.

Information catalogued: Name, Address, Birthday, Contact Numbers, Allergies, Vaccination Info, Blood Type, Medications the user takes, Doctor Contact info, Surgical History, Insurance Contact Info, Organ Donor Status, and Miscellaneous Notes.

The product is made of heavy metal, and was not observed to be flimsy in any way. As to it’s being waterproof, the medical information compartment is protected with an O-ring, so the user could wear the bracelet to a pool or the beach and not have to worry about water damaging the information inside.

As a piece of jewelry, the product has a clasp that allows the user to clip it on any link of the bracelet for proper fit. The user may also take it to a jeweler to have extra links removed, if desired. The product comes in four different finishes, gold plated and gold toned, silver plated and silver toned. Each bracelet also comes in a presentation gift box.

For people with critical medical information that needs to be conveyed to medical personnel in a time of emergency, perhaps when the user is unconscious, this product would be extremely helpful.

This product works as advertised.

ASOTVI Review of The Ped Egg

What is it? A foot file for self-pedicure.

See the video:



Rating: Works As Advertised

The Ped Egg is made of plastic with a metal insert resembling a fine cheese grater. It’s about the size of a bar of soap and very simple in design. It is comprised of three main parts: 1) the lid, which serves as a container to catch “shavings”, 2) the blades which snap into the lid, and 3) the base which is used both to store the lid and blades when not in use and features an emery pad sticker on the bottom for finishing.

Major Claims:

Over 135 Precision Micro Files – This is true. The blades work in two directions along a single line parallel to the length of the product.

Safe to the Touch – Running ones fingers across the blade wasn’t hazardous, although you can feel the sharp edges of the blades. In use, greater pressure equates to a deeper cutting action. The instructions caution against too much pressure and to stop in the event of irritation or pain.

Ergonomic Design – It fits in the hand easily like a bar of soap. .

Traps Shavings – No Mess. Partly true. It traps most of the shavings, but does not prevent some of them from escaping and falling to the floor (as shown in the ASOTVI video). When holding the product with blades facing up and allowing gravity to take them down into the lid container, it catches them just fine. But when the product is held vertically, shavings are allowed to fall away and are not caught by the product. It might be wise to still use this product in a dry bath or shower, where any shavings that are not caught can easily be washed away. Otherwise, there will be vacuuming to do after use.

ASOTVI Review of MicroTouch Magic Trimmer

What is it? A simple hair trimmer.

Rating: Works As Advertised

This product is a small, lightweight electric hair trimmer. Powered by one AAA battery (included), it also features a light to see what you’re doing. If anything, the LED light is almost too bright. Nevertheless, this product works as advertised.

It also comes with a comb attachment for trimming longer hair such as eyebrows or mustaches. We found it easy to use and worked well. The blades “shaved” hair close to the skin, cleanly with no irritation.

The product claims to be a “Men’s Precision Groomer” but we found that it also worked on women’s bikini line just fine as well (although that part needed to be edited from the video).

The product’s packaging claims that it has “50% More Power”, so we can only surmise that a previous version of the product had a weaker motor that has been corrected with the latest version. Otherwise, it doesn’t specify any other product that it is 50% more powerful than.

ASOTVI Review of Tweeze

What is it? An electric tweezers product for plucking small hairs as opposed to shaving or manually plucking with a traditional pair of tweezers.

Rating: Works As Advertised

Claims:

• Perfect for both men and women. The product was evaluated on both a man and woman and found to work as advertised.
• Control with pinpoint precision in any direction, unlike manual tweezers. Not observed. We followed the product’s instructions and rotated it around quickly over a general area.
• Easily removes even the shortest, finest hair. We did observe this to be true, as illustrated in our video. The finer the hair, the more effective the product. For coarse hair with deep roots, it can take a few passes for the product to get a grip and get them.
• Leaves skin soft and stubble free. True.
• Ideal for all skin types. Not evaluated.
• Safely removes hair, no cuts or nicks. True.
• Use on Lip, Chin, Knees, Cheeks, Toes, Bikini, Underarms. We only observed this product’s use on arms and legs, but presumably it would achieve similar results elsewhere.
• Easy to clean, includes cleaning brush. Does come with a cleaning brush.

This product is an epilating device that uses a rotating head consisting of two wheels mounted at a slight angle to each other, such that they come together at the point where they make contact with skin and move apart at the opposite side of their rotation. This action allows hairs to move into the groove created and when reaching the point of contact between the wheels, the wheels get a grip on the hair and the rotation pulls the hair out by its roots.

We found the process of using the product painless, for the most part, although a few hairs could be troublesome and sting a little upon removal, as they would be by being plucked via any other method. The one element of this product that helps make it less painful than manual tweezers is the speed of its rotating wheels, catching the small hairs quickly (think of it in terms of removing a Band-Aid fast or slow – fast is better).

The instructions indicate that any hairs longer than five millimeters should be trimmed, presumably with scissors or some other hair trimming device, prior to use of this product.

We did not evaluate this product in terms of precision grooming, such as eyebrows, bikini line, or around mustaches and beards. However, we did try it on a male neck with short beard stubble, and it did successfully tweeze out those hairs. Therefore, for those men who might be prone to ingrown neck hairs, which can cause the skin to break out, this would potentially be a good product to help address that condition. But be advised that ingrown hairs can sometimes be painful to remove, regardless of the method or product used to do so.

ASOTVI Review of Natural Contours Massagers

What is it? The Ideal model is a handheld, general body massager. Three other models provided for evaluation are women’s personal massagers (vibrators).

See the video:




Major Claims:

• Lightweight ergonomic grip, uniquely shaped to massage hard to reach areas. True.
• Two powerful speeds. True.
• Flexible spring ball head with smooth touch for comfortable feel. True.
• Cordless and Rechargeable. True.

Even though the Ideal model is rechargeable and its instructions advise to charge it for at least 10 hours prior to use, our test sample came out of the box ready for use. Its motor is very powerful and delivers a surprising amount of force, not unlike the stimulating force you would expect to feel from a massager used by a professional chiropractor or massage therapist. The product was very well made, and we had no trouble operating it.

The ergonomically shaped handle did in fact make reaching hard-to-reach spots on the middle of the back very accessible. No more putting tennis balls against a wall to work out a painful kinked-up muscle. This product worked as advertised.

We would like to note that the vendor of this product also supplied samples of three other models of their massagers: the Jolie, the Magnifique, and the Liberte (shown in video). Unlike the Ideal model, each these three were not general muscle relaxing massagers, but rather “personal massagers” for women—i.e. vibrators, in an assortment of shapes and sizes.

The Jolie product is the smallest of the three, slightly larger than a tube of lipstick. The Magnifique, one could say, is of a more traditional size and shape, analogous to that of its male anatomical counterpart. The Liberte has a very unique shape, long and thin in the middle, curving upward into a bulbous end, very reminiscent of the shape of a clinical speculum.

Operationally speaking, we can affirm that each of the three “personal massagers” were easy to install their batteries, and worked when turned on. The Jolie only offered one speed. The other two featured multiple speeds, and the Liberte in particular featured a unique “pulsing” action (shown in video).

With respect to the pleasurable aspects of these products, all we can officially say is that an evaluation of that type is such a highly subjective personal judgment, a judgment that should certainly be left up to the individual product’s user to decide for themselves—despite the number of volunteers we had eager to conduct said evaluations and share their anecdotal observations. We did note that the instructions that came with the Ideal (general massager) cautioned not to use it to massage any one spot for more than 15 minutes. The other three products offered no such admonition. On the other hand, the Ideal product does have an optional accessory available, known as the “G-Plus, ” that snaps onto the spring ball head.