APOKE hair dryers

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. No incident, no one hurt

   Made Nov 1, 2022 · , sent to the company Nov 7, 2022 · , published by CPSC Nov 22, 2022

   The product, in the report: The full product title is : APOKE 3 in 1 Hair Dryer Brush & Straightener Brush, Professional 1200W Powerful Ceramic Tourmaline Ionic Hot Air Brush, 3 Heat/2 Speed Settings One Step Hair Dryer and Styler for All Hair Types It is dark grey and pink. It looks like a paddle brush, but it has air intakes and a rotating pink dial near the bottom (low, high, cool) indicating it’s a dryer. It’s 13in long and 2.8in wide. UPC Codes: 765074152030 791783701924 791715935953 765074152009 Manufacturer’s Address: [REDACTED]

   I’m writing regarding the APOKE 3 in 1 Hair Dryer Brush & Straightener Brush on Amazon at [REDACTED].

   This product is a fire/burn hazard and claims UL certification when I don’t believe it’s actually certified. I use this product to blow dry and straighten my hair at the same time (reduces frizziness). I have not experienced any fire or injuries.

   I am copy/pasting my [REDACTED] below. --- Lot of twists and turns here, so bear with me!

   Original review: Great product, I wish a reliable company made it. Used it twice, then I kept hearing a staticky sound. I believe it has a short in it. I was already on the fence because this is an unknown brand and there is NO thingy on the end of the cord. The sound only happens when I plug it in, so in the trash it goes.

   UPDATE: I was sent a replacement...which is clearly used. It was not in the wrapper, and the cords did not have twist ties (the cord was sort of wrapped around the barrel). Ew.

   UPDATE UPDATE: I was asked by the company if I used the used one, and if so, did it work? Who uses a used beauty product?! That’s disgusting, and I told them this. They sent a replacement...which also makes the staticky sound.

   UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: The sparking sound defect is happening in the replacement’s replacement. I know what’s going on. It’s related to something I mentioned in the original review because I thought it very strange when I pulled the dryer out of the box. If you look, you’ll notice it, too.

   *This hair dryer has no external ALCI.* ALCI stands for Appliance Leakage Circuit Interrupter, and it’s what saves lives when an appliance is dropped in water for example. It’s the little box on the plug with the “test” and “reset” buttons! It senses a problem with the circuit - moisture, a fault in the product, or a fault with the outlet - and shuts off the product. This dryer does not have the UL symbol because UL requires *all* hair dryers to have an ALCI to obtain certification.

   This is why the dryer makes the staticky/sparking sound (like static electricity discharging) or just stops working. It has a fault, and when it recognizes it and shuts off, you can’t push the little button and reset it yourself. On functional versions of this product, you may be fine the first 24 power cycles or so, but then you’ll hear the staticky sound and a click not long after that. The sound stops after the click. That’s the internal mechanism doing its job. Sometimes the product shuts off and does *not* fix itself, but that’s somebody else’s review.

   On my first dryer, there was no click, ever. I’d plug it back in, the sparking sound began again. On the replacement, the click worked correctly. I’d plug it back in, and no sparking sound. This is supposed to happen every time, but it doesn’t.

   This is why *external* ALCIs are the norm.

   This company (or its supplier) tried to cut costs, and they’re gonna burn down your house instead. They made a defective product and put in their own defective safeguards to stop you from noticing until you are outside of the 90 day return window. Or they made a product to sell cheaply and intentionally did not include an ALCI so that you would just buy another one when it quickly fails. Either way, very shady and I’m looking into product recalls.

   If it makes noise, but you still use it because your budget and options are limited, please be careful and unplug it after EVERY use. Please.

   Model

   MRD-1288

   UPC

   765074152030

   Serial number

   NA

   Bought from

   Amazon

   Bought

   Aug 12, 2022

   Where

   Murrieta, California: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 35, Female

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand APOKE, made or sold by APOKE

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   No Incident, No Injury

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources