Is it just me or have we reached peak hair tools? Between the Dyson Airstrait, ghd’s Duet Hot Air Styler, and the much anticipated restock of Amika’s Blowout Babe Thermal Brush, it seems we all want to achieve beautiful, bouncy hair — no matter the cost.
Though I consider myself an expert in the hair tools field, every day, my TikTok feed shows me a new device that claims it will change my life — and my hair — forever. As a beauty writer, I have been lucky enough to try many styling tools including blowdry brushes, hot rollers and my beloved RevAir blowdryer to name a few. I know which ones are great and which ones can go right into the donation bin. So now what better time than now to put them all to the test?
How I Prepared My Hair For Straightening
We’re working on my type 4 hair that has also been blowdried. The goal here is to find a tool that I could use when I’m trying to straighten my natural hair and that works well with my fake hair, too. Because I have been prepping my hair for a protective style, I went through my traditional routine first. I did a scalp treatment with Leonor Greyl Régénerescence Naturelle, shampooed twice using K18 PEPTIDE PREP™ Clarifying Detox Shampoo and followed by Andrew Fitzsimons Fantasy Curls Nourishing Shampoo. Next, I detangled my hair using Matrix Food For Soft Rich Hydrating Treatment Mask, and applied Davines’ OI Liquid Luster (a product I usually gatekeep, as it’s my secret to soft hair).
Before styling, I used Oribe Hair Alchemy Fortifying Treatment Serum and Olaplex Volumizing Blow Dry Mist. I have to blowdry my hair before ever touching it with a flat iron — not only because air-drying my hair takes about a century, but to make sure my hair is fully dry before it gets touched with a heating tool. I blew out my hair with my second-favorite hair tool, the amika Hair Blow Dryer Brush 2.0. (I was in a rush that day, okay? RevAiring my hair takes time.) Oh, and before every section, I used Ceremonia Guava Rescue Spray as an extra layer of protection.
The contenders for best hair straightening tools
L’Oreal Professionnel Steampod Flat Iron & Styler, $250
Who is it for: Patient people who enjoy luxuriating in their hair routine
Price: $$$$
Ease of use: 2/5
Convenience: 3/5
My personal thoughts: I’m always skeptical when someone tells me that there is an alternative way of styling my hair. Considering my texture, I need heat and tension, so I doubted the Steampod, which uses steam to straighten and style. Any kind of humidity or steam on my hair seems like a one-way road to Disasterville. But let me tell you — this tool is a game-changer. It has a comb attachment (!), goes up to 410 degrees (!!), and got my hair smooth in two passes, all without that scorched feeling or frazzled look you can get when working with high heat. My only notes? I wish it was a bit smaller. At around 1.5” inches, this space age-looking mechanism struggled to reach my roots. Learning how to use it takes a moment, too. You have to attach the comb on the outer edge pointing downwards (there are convenient arrows if you’re easily confused like me) or else it’ll get stuck. It’s also loud because, you know, it’s steam. At first, the Is this good steam or bad steam? thought sets in for a second, because you feel like you’re breaking all the rules. Usually, seeing steam is a negative thing. If my hair was a little longer, or even if I were wearing my sew-ins, this would be the best and most seamless choice.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
DashDividers_1_500x100CHI Air Setter 2-in-1 Flat Iron and Curler, $120
Who is it for: Those who like bang for their buck
Price: $$
Ease of use: 2/5
Convenience: 3.5/5
My personal thoughts: I love CHI products. In fact, I feel like there has never been a time in my life when I haven’t had a CHI blowdryer or the Silk Press Holy Grail — the Silk Infusion — somewhere in my collection of tools. This feels like CHI’s version of the Dyson Airwrap: It uses cool air on a dual-sided flat iron so you can both straighten your hair and create polished curls. If you’ve ever marveled at those who have the capability to create smooth, flawless curls with a flat iron alone but struggled to do it yourself, this is exactly what you need. I thought the air setting was kind of arbitrary in the long run, though, and it doesn’t come with an auto-shut off for the fan, which is a tiny luxury you’ll find in other tools. I wasn’t trying to curl my hair when I tried this for the first time (simply make it smoother) but I did attempt to give it a cute flip or two just to see, and I wound up with stellar Zendaya bob realness. I’d bring this on a trip with me, for sure — I love saving a step.
Final Verdict: 4.25/5
DashDividers_1_500x100T3 Edge Heated Smoothing & Styling Brush, $149
Who is it for: My busy bees
Price: $$$
Ease of use: 4/5
Convenience: 5/5
My personal thoughts: Other than Amika, there is no hair tool brand I trust more than T3. I have used several blowdryers to their last hot gasps of air, and some of my T3 tools have seen me through hair-related turmoil and tantrums. I’ve also tried lots of heated brushes which felt like dragging a hot rake through my hair. Many ripped it out, caused breakage and didn’t do anything in the long run. My hair is thicccccc, y’all, so not every brush is built for it — and trust me, I’ve broken plenty of them. But T3 didn’t let me down in the slightest. Because it looks and feels like a hairbrush, this is naturally intuitive to use, but it didn’t yank out my hair, thanks to the nylon bristles, and there are two heat settings. The medium setting was great for a quick smoothing effect and the highest setting gave me the sleek style I try to achieve with a hot comb, a flat iron, and what’s remaining of my spirit. Again, my main concern here is the size. I’d prefer it if the same brush came in a smaller size, like a Denman brush. That said, I adjusted by working with smaller sections on a lower heat and then running it through my hair on the higher heat setting to set everything in place.
Final Verdict: 4.5/5
DashDividers_1_500x100VibraStrait Pro 1” Flat Iron, $129
Who is it for: Anyone who likes a surprise
Price: $$
Ease of use: 3.5/5
Convenience: 3/5
My personal thoughts: A vibrating flat iron? It’s giving gimmick. The VibraStrait claims 7500 oscillations per minute will help to avoid placing too much tension on hair strands, and is also said to help reduce breakage. You don’t have to tug at your hair while passing it over each section because the vibrations help the tool glide over your hair, allowing heat to be distributed more evenly. And y’all… I really loved this. This flat iron is thinner than most, meaning it could get close to my scalp. I actually burned myself on the first pass because it got that close. The vibrations only start when the flat iron is closed, so it takes you by surprise. It’s very easy to use, but it’s definitely a flat iron — it’ll get your hair straight. This isn’t the shape that’s designed for a curl or a wave, unless you’re one of those magic and blessed people who can curl their hair very easily with any flat iron. One pass, and my hair was smooth but bouncy.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
DashDividers_1_500x100Revlon One-Step™ Air Straight, $79.99
Who is it for: Anyone with patience
Ease of use: 3/5
Convenience: 2.5/5
My personal thoughts: I wanted to love this so much. My hopes were through the roof but I was let down massively here. I love my One-Step Volumizer hairdryer so much, I have one in my apartment in Brooklyn and my mother and I co-parent the one that stays at home in Michigan. This appealed to me as an affordable version of the Dyson Airstrait, and I was ready and willing to write a rave review on it. But it’s just… fine. It’s bulky, loud, and takes forever to use. Much like the Airstrait, my hair just felt weird afterwards. Sure, it was dry and straight, but there was no movement or body and it came with this very odd feeling like the products I used on my hair were sitting on top of it, like a film. I so badly wanted this to be amazing but it was just not it.
Final Verdict: 1.5/5
DashDividers_1_500x100Dyson Airstrait, $499.99
Who is it for: Anyone who can afford it, tbh
Price: $$$$
Ease of use: 2/5
Convenience: 2/5
My personal thoughts: I’ve already shared my feelings on this tool, but wanted to include it here, too. I haven’t yet tried its precursor — the Airwrap — which comes with brush attachments for straightening, but I’m not sure I’d want to invest in something that I can’t be certain will actually work for me. When I first tried the Airstrait, I was rushing — I had a pressing meeting and my hair was a mess — so I wasn’t sure if I really gave it a full shot. I opted out of using the wet-to-dry setting because, well, we all know what happened last time. For this reason, I just used the dry, flat iron setting. And guess what? It’s still a pass from me, unfortunately. It doesn’t get hot enough to really straighten my hair, and multiple passes would likely cause further damage. In the end, my hair looked… okay, I guess. It didn’t change my mind, but when compared to the Steampod, I’ll be SteamPodding before I Airstrait next time.
Final Verdict: 2/5
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