So, I try to let my hair air dry as much as possible. I usually wash it at night before bed and go to sleep with it a little damp, but then it’s like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates when I wake up… I never know what I’m gonna get, ha ha ha!
I usually need help wrangling it into a semi-respectable state with some styling tools, like these that I love:
- The T3 hair dryer. I still have my first-gen one from a billion years ago (OMG, here’s the review from 2007. Have a laugh at my brows.), and it’s still going strong. It’s unbelievably lightweight, and I’m constantly surprised by how quickly it dries hair. I use it every day to help straighten my bangs so they fall the way I like.
- The ghd Curve Soft Curl Curling Iron. This iron is CRAZY expensive ($245!), but hear me out. It LEGIT heats up ? in less than a minute, but it never gets so hot that I burn my hair (which happened when I was into the T3 curling irons for a spell). The curls last all day, too.
- A round boar’s hair brush. I can’t remember where or when I bought the one I have. It’s so old that the label’s worn off… It may have been around 1999? Whatever the case, it smooths out my bangs and wayward pieces better than anything.
As for hair styling tools I don’t love…I’ve haven’t had much success with inexpensive curling irons and hair dryers. The very affordable ones I’ve gotten from drugstores or Target never got hot enough to actually do anything to my hair. I used to have a hairdryer by Revlon that literally did nothing when it came to actual, ya know, hair drying.
Oh, and you know those hairdryers that are attached to the wall in some hotel rooms? Really, so dumb. What’s the point? They just end up blowing the water around and not really drying my hair at all.
Also, again about the T3 curling iron… Was. Not. My. Favorite. A few years ago, I accidentally fried a big chunk of hair with it, and it’s been buried at the bottom of a drawer ever since.
How about you? What are the hair styling tools you love/loathe the most? Which hairdryers, curlers, flat irons, brushes? And what do you like, or don’t like, about them?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I bought an auto curling iron (don’t remember the brand, but similar to this https://www.amazon.com/Tavalax-Technology-Automatic-Professional-Rotating/dp/B0798NN2KC)
out of curiosity a while back… of course my hair got stuck in it. ? I unplugged it immediately, but had to get help from my husband to untangle the mess . Assuming the piece of hair would either burn or have to be cut off, I almost cried with joy when it came loose. I’ll never ever use anything like it again, FOR SURE.
I have a Babyliss hair dryer that I got decades ago and it’s still going strong. The only thing I don’t like about it is the plastic attachment that concentrates the flow at the end. It has to be taped on or it will fall off. I’m sure they fixed that design flaw ages ago. 🙂 I’ve seen people use flat irons to curl their hair but I’ve never had any luck with that. I really only blow dry my bangs/crown and let the rest air dry.
Currently I have a rose gold flat iron by Paul Mitchell and I like it. The temperature display is digital which I fear one day will go out, but for now it is working fine. That replaced an ancient CHI flat iron which honestly had nothing wrong with it I just felt like I should get a new one! I can’t think of the brand of my hair dryer, but its a nicer one and its pink. I know what you mean about the hotel hair dryers, I always wish I could save space in my bag by using theirs but I just know it’s not going to work! I would rather bring one less pair of shoes and fit my dryer in the bag!
I would like to dry that Dyson supersonic hair dryer but I just can’t spend that much!
I ADORE my beachwaver curling iron and have hardly touched anything else since buying it two years ago. I do also love my Babyliss flat iron, though I use it much less frequently.
Hey Karen! I’m a hair tool junkie. Tried so many but think I have finally found my “Hairy Trinity” with my Elchiem hairdryer, hot tools Curl bar and GHD largest plate straighter. My hair is thick and nearly to my waist so I can only use professional quality hair tools. These tools really do a fabulous job, quickly (very important) without extensively damaging my hair (or wrist). I do use a fair few hair products to further tame the mane.. But that’s another story 🙂
After too many blowups during blowouts, including smoking short circuits, I gave in and got an elchim. It’s almost criminal that I don’t use it every day… I often air dry. But it’s excellent and going strong. My only complaint is that it’s a little heavy. Other than that, two thumbs up.
What about straightener ?
Any suggestions ?
Thank you,
Noemi
GHD’s are the best IMO.. I’ve had mine for 7 years now so well worth the investment
I have a T3 travel hair dryer that I got at one of the Anniversary Sales at Nordstrom years and years ago. That and my wet/dry brush are about all the hair tools I use. No curling or flat irons for me. Every time my hair dress uses the flat iron to style my hair I think it looks limp and flat, so lately I’ve been asking her to skip it.
Short, fine hair really can’t handle a lot of fussing.
I love the Perfecter by Calista. It’s sold on QVC. I have short, thin hair and it works great to give it body.
Karen, have you seen the new Dyson wand for $600? ?
Hi Diana,
Yes I have and all I have to say is NO FREAKING WAY. lol My max is $250. Anything beyond that is craziness to me.
Long time reader, 1st comment. I just bought it (with a coupon, I’m not totally crazy). Its totally worth it, I get actually styled hair in 12-15 minutes. For comparison, it used to take about 20 minutes with my t3 just to get my hair dry enough to throw in a bun.
Where did you get the coupon? It’s been on my wish list for awhile.
I can spend on Oribe but for some reason can’t pull the trigger on any expensive hair styling tool…. I have your hair type/length &was wondering if Dyson was any better than a $200 one. For Joanna then yes Dyson good ☺
The new Revlon volume styler brush/hair dryer thing is soooooo good. I was skeptical at first, but after watching a few youtube reviews, I bought it. It is literally salon hair every time I use it! Soooo amazing! I’ve bought them for my whole family for Christmas already.
Is it a flat or round brush?
It’s closer to a round brush, but more oval shaped so that you can style straight if you don’t want your ends to bend under completely. Here’s the link. 🙂
https://www.ulta.com/one-step-volumizer-hair-dryer?productId=xlsImpprod14811059
I love the Babyliss Miracurl. It’s a rotary curling iron. The key is to not try and put too much hair in. Also if you have longer hair you can only curl the bottom six inches or it’ll get stuck in the iron. The new one has different sizes in one iron.
Money well spent. Curls last for days.