Hair Styling Tools

The expression “the grass is always greener…” applies to more than just your neighbor’s lawn. Most of us are perpetually unsatisfied with what we have, and our appearance is no different. In American culture, we prize bronzed skin, while people in India bleach their skin to appear whiter.

Many women follow the same trend when it comes to their hair. Those with straight hair use a curling iron to give their hair “body” or “personality.” While those with naturally curly hair, on the other hand, often complain about the unruliness of their locks.

Yes, it’s that time of the year when the Academy Awards Oscar show is televised.  For all of us movie buffs and lovers of fashion, you will be finding us glued to our seats for fear of missing something (except for those of us who have a recording system where we can fast forward, and replay to our heart’s content).

What exactly is so intriguing about the Oscars?  For me it is mostly to see what clothing is being worn, but especially to see the hair styles and makeup.  I generally focus on the Red Carpet show that is on right before the Academy Awards because that is where you can really get that close-up look. 

Focusing in on the actors hairstyles, I did a little research and found that Maria Valdivia, a long time professional hair stylist for the Oscars and many celebrities, favors this one particular styling brush that is made by Spornette.  Have you heard of the Little Wonder?  The Little Wonder is this fantastic little brush that does wonderful things with your hair, thus the name Little Wonder.

How can a little brush be so highly rated?  Well here is what Maria Valdivia has to say about the Little Wonder, ” I love that all that gets lifted is the hair that you want. I love that it has the 3 rows of bristles – with space in between them for air and exact styling and this brush allows that, too. I use it for lifting. I love that pick end! I call the Little Wonder ‘my perfect backstage brush’. I carry so many things to jobs, it is easy to pack and perfect for short and long hair. I use it on male and female stars!”

The elevated tourmaline enhanced nylon bristles penetrate any hair texture while emitting negative ions for hair conditioning.  Adjacent rows of pure boar bristle easily pick up hair.  A just right tail length handle for picking up hair sections.  This brush was created for back brushing, creating volume, and for  teasing.  And, something so wonderful as this brush is one would expect to pay a little more.  This is not the case.  They are under $5.00 and come with pinkish red bristles, blue bristles, or a yellowish green bristles.  Why not get all three?

Are you concerned that you are going to damage your hair if you continue to blow dry it?  To answer that question begs the question of  when was the last time you bought a hairdryer?  The reason for the question simply stated,  is that there have been, and will continue to be, ongoing changes to the mechanics of the hairdryer.  Modern technology will continue to be applied to the functionality of this all important hair styling tool.  Having said that, unless your hair is in extremely bad shape from perhaps over-processing or just plain neglect, using an up-to-date blow dryer is not going to make the damage any worse.

If you haven’t heard of ionic technology by now, then it is time to get educated.  When the hairdryer is turned on and you have it pointed at your hair, there is a stream of negatively charged ions that are injected into the airflow and onto your wet hair.  These negative ions break apart water molecules and make them smaller so they are more easily absorbed by your hair or dried through evaporation.  This process results in hair cuticles staying moist and thus, less brittle.   The final result is that your hair dries quicker.

We can actually take this one step further.  If you find a hairdryer that is infused with tourmaline, the tourmaline nano particles naturally generate far-infrared energy when heated.   When the hairdryer is on this penetrating form of heat passes through the hair cuticle,  going directly to the cortex to dry it first.  The cuticle of the hair is no over-dried and resists brittleness and cracking.  This helps your hair maintain its softness and shine.  Tourmaline also helps cleanse hair of odors and impurities.

Now I have hopefully dispelled any concern you might have about a hairdryer ruining your hair, that is,  if you are using a current model.  But what if your hair is still dry and damaged and you are using a current model ionic hairdryer?  Are you using other hair styling tools?  Usually the answer to this is yes.   And, usually, these same people are also coloring their hair, bleaching it, and doing everything that is possible to their hair but now suffering the consequences.  Regardless of all of the new technology in hair styling tools, whether it is a hairdryer, flat iron, curling iron, etc., a head of hair can only take so much.  Not all of the haircare products available to you will be able to save your hair if you are not treating it with some caution and limiting the amount of things you are doing to it.

If you are fortunate enough to have enough hair to be able to air dry it rather than blow dry it because you need the body, lift, and style that can be accomplished with a styling brush, then go for it.  Let’s face it, if your hair is long and straight, or your hair is naturally curly and you wear it that way, and,  if you have the time to let it air dry, then do it.  Most of us don’t have the luxury of time and rely on whatever electronic gadget there is to help us get out the door faster.

                                                                                                      I’ve never been one to be able to master the use of a curling iron.  For whatever the reason, I have always had a problem with the clamp part of the curling iron putting a crease in my hair and my hair always gets snagged in the process.

So, how can you avoid the problems that I have described?  Le Angelique curling irons has the answer.  I call their product a curling wand because that is what it looks like.  There is no clamp to lift up so all you get is the curling wand that has the barrel heat up.  How does this work you ask?  You just take the section of hair that you want to curl and with one hand holding the curling wand and the other you are twisting the section of hair around the iron.  Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?  Well it is.

The fun thing about using the Le Angelique curling iron is that it is available in a variety of  barrel sizes.  The smallest size is the 13mm (1/2″), with the largest size being 25mm (1″).  They have also come out with three inverse sizes which are 13mm – 25mm, 18mm – 9mm, and 25mm – 18mm.  From small to large or large to small, you choose what size curls you want and in which order with this 100% ceramic curling iron.  You have a choice of a black or pink curling iron in all of the sizes available.  Each curling iron comes with a glove to protect the hand that is being used to curl the hair.  And, you can feel completely protected as le Angelique provides a Lifetime Warranty on all of their hair styling tools.

Whenever I hear friends or colleagues talk about buying a hairdryer, I sometimes cringe when I hear them say they just bought one at the local discount store (Target, Walmart, K-Mart,etc.).  The comments typically start out with “I only paid $20.00 and it works just fine,” or “why should I pay all that extra money for a professional hairdryer  or salon hair dryer, when I can just pick one up at _______ for really cheap.”  You see the operative word here is “cheap”.    I equate “cheap” to you get what you pay for.   When it comes to hairdryers, and you are going for ”cheap”, this typically means $20.00 or less.  But did you know that if you are willing to shop the web, you can actually find some professional hairdryers in the $20.00 price range?  Typically this might be a sale or a low end professional blow dryer, but the fact remains that there are some professional dryers out there that are “inexpensive”.

So why go for a professional model hair dryer versus a standard one?  Well, let me ask another question, “how much does the health of your hair matter to you?”   I hope that you are savvy enough to know that a standard dryer will, after time, end up damaging your hair.  For this very reason, professional hair stylists either when asked, or if they really care about your hair, will recommend that you purchase a professional hair dryer.  Most people who are skeptical about this recommendation will come up with excuses why not to buy one.   Probably the most popular one I hear is that “the stylist is just saying that because they sell dryers in the salon and they want to make more money.”  In reality this can be true but more times than not, a stylist wants repeat business and they are actually giving you sound sound advice.   And,  just because a stylist recommends that you buy a professional dryer, it doesn’t mean you have to buy it from the salon. 

Ok, so after you get through the financial excuses for why you shouldn’t buy a professional dryer, and if someone could prove to you that financially in the long run it will pay off for you to “give in” and buy one, what are the reasons you should do so?  

If someone told you that your hair would be less prone to split ends and drying out, and that your hair will look shinier and fuller, would you be interested?  Also, would it interest you to know  that with a professional dryer you would be spending less time drying and using  40%  to 50% less heat?  This means no overheating of the dryer, especially if you have a lot of hair, whether it be short or long.  These are just a few of the benefits of a professional dryer. 

 The truth of the matter is that when you pay more for something, whether it be a hairdryer, a vacuum cleaner, a coffee maker, etc. you are typically paying for better quality, better benefits, and usually more options.  I think we as consumers all know this and yet, when it sometimes comes to buying a personal item such as a hairdryer, we are hesitant to spend the extra money.    Additionally, when you spend more for something, you also expect it to last longer.  That is not to say that there are always exceptions to every rule and lemons can be found in anything that is manufactured in quantity.  This is obviously the exception to the rule.

Professional hairdryers are built to last longer.  Keep in mind that stylists are using their hairdryers all day long and we at-home stylists are either using them at the most once daily or every couple of days. 

So, have I convinced you?  The choice is yours, however, I think investing in a professional hairdryer is a no brainer.  For many of us, we just aren’t happy unless our hair looks good.  How do we keep our hair healthy so that it can look good when you style it?   Buy a professional hairdryer and then answer the question.

When I last visited my hair stylist for my usual  7 to 8 week trim and color, I was on the fence as to whether to make a change to my current hair style.  My style really works for me and it actually isn’t all that difficult or time consuming  to do, but there was this nagging feeling that perhaps it was time for a change.  I was flipping through magazines in the reception area and I wasn’t all that intrigued by what I saw.   While sitting in the stylist’s chair I thought I would just ask what the current trends are in hair styles.  I actually was somewhat shocked to hear her say that anything goes.  Since I didn’t really have anything particular in mind, I went ahead and stayed with the usual.  

After leaving the salon I started paying more attention to hairstyles being worn by women just out in the general public and in no particular setting.   My stylist was right.  There is this hodge podge of hair styles going on.  Long hair is either straight, wavy, or curly.  Some have their hair pulled back in a pony tail or hanging loose.  Short hair is styled all different types of ways.  Some women are wearing bangs, and some women aren’t.  So, as I drove home it hit me.  We are so fortunate to be living in this space and this time.  Why??  Because, with the use of a few hair styling tools, we can accomplish just about any hair style we want, whether our hair is long, short, straight, or curly.    

Obviously, having the right hair styling tools, and hair styling accessories isn’t the answer to everything, but it can make our life so much easier.  When I stop to think about when I was a teenager and the only two hair styling tools I owned (and felt ever so fortunate) were a hairdryer and a set of steam hot rollers.   Of course, my hair was long and became very damaged.  Hair health wasn’t the topic of the day back then and the only answer was to either stop using the hot rollers, or to get a trim every two to four weeks.  I remember always getting my mom’s sewing scissors out and individually cutting split ends on my head of hair.  One other major reason that we are so fortunate today to have the multitude of haircare products at our fingertips.  Albeit,  there are so many haircare products available it is sometimes hard to choose just what works for our own particular hair type, the point is that we have these choices!!

The next time you think about going for a hairstyle change, first consider your options in terms of what’s available out there to use to style the head of hair that you already have.  In these tough economic times, we sometimes just have to take alternative routes and much of what we think we need, we might already have, or a friend might have and could be easily borrowed.  Just remember what’s hair today, is still hair tomorrow.

After graduating from high school, I was at a loss as to what career path to pursue. Once I had worked the grill at McDonald’s for a few months, I knew that I needed to get some sort of education. That is when I decided to go to beauty school.

Although I took classes on many aspects of beauty and cosmetics, I developed an affinity for hair and styling. In November, I graduated from my training and immediately started looking for a new job. Luckily there was a salon hiring nearby, and after a series of interviews, I landed the job. The best part was that the company gave me a brand new set of styling combs, clippers and brushes when I started.

How many of you honestly can say that styling your hair with a blow dryer and styling brushes is relatively easy for you?  I have no problem admitting that while I seem to be able to style one side of the hair on my head, I always have problems with the other side.  I don’t know if it makes a difference when you or left-handed or right-handed, but being right handed I always have problems with styling the left side at the back of my head but no problem styling the right side.   Perhaps it all boils down to being able to have one hand free to help do the job.  However, as we all know, it takes one hand to hold the styling brush and one hand to hold the dryer.

If you fit into the category of at-home stylists as described above, then this question is directed to you.  Have you ever tried using a hot air brush?  If not, you just might want to try one because in my opinion,  hot air brushes   are definitely the solution to one hand styling.  While styling the sections of your hair, you can easily use one hand to hold the hot air brush and use the other to help roll the section of hair around the barrel.  This makes it so much easier to make sure you are getting the hair properly wound around the barrel. 

Hot air brushes basically come in two different styles.  First there is the flexible and soft ball-tipped bristle type.  This hot air brush gently grips your hair and rests softly against the head.  The Helen of Troy Professional Tangle-Free Brush helps do the finishing touches on drying your hair along with the styling brush all in one.  It is best to start out with relatively dry hair when using the hot air brush.  I feel that damp hair works best.    The rotating vented barrel will release tangle-free curls and with its 250 watt motor it is enough power to style your damp hair in a relatively short period of time.   Please note that unless your hair is extremely fine and short, you don’t want to count on a hot air brush to take care of the drying and the styling all in one.  With this particular model, you can select from three sizes, 3/4″, 1″ and 1 1/2″.    

The second type of hot air brush is the nylon brush bristle type.  Both Helen of Troy and Hot Tools have very good models available.  Between the two you can find them also in the 3/4″, 1″ and 1 1/2″ sizes.  The nylon brush bristle hot air brushes help hold your hair in place while styling.  I find this to be true with those of us who have fine or thin hair.  On the Hot Tools model, a curl release button allows the curls and waves of your hair to be released tangle-free.  The two different models available by Hot Tools come in 800 watt and 1000 watt versions.  With this increased wattage, you have the capability to dry more of your hair along with the styling.  The nylon bristle Helen of Troy model comes with 300 watts of power. 

If you are looking for ionic features, the Hot Tools 1 1/2″ Ionic Hot Air Brush is the one to get.  The anti-static ionic dryer and styler dries your hair faster. Negative ions reduce the size of water droplets on your hair, allowing more water to be absorbed. This helps condition, soften, and make your hair shinier while adding volume.

With all of the modern technology and the fact that electric hot rollers have been around for at least the last 30 to 40 years, one would think that the old fashioned hair rollers no longer existed.  The fact is, they are still around and still being used by all aged individuals.  The very young generation will tell you they wouldn’t be caught dead in those rollers and why would anyone want to use them anyway? 

There are many reasons why so many of us still use the old fashioned hair roller.  And, if truth be known, there are many teenagers that are out there using them but just may not want anyone to know.  I had to laugh the other day when I was in an outdoor marketplace that sells beauty supplies.  The booth had a complete rack devoted to all different types of hair rollers.  I was browsing at different items and these two young girls walked by and pointed at the rollers on the rack and started smirking.  One of the girls says to her friend, “see those rollers there, those are the kind my Grandma wears to bed at night.  She swears by them and insists that she doesn’t need to have her hair done other than to get an occasional cut.  The curlers work just fine for her and that’s all she needs.”   It couldn’t have been more than a minute or so after that when a mother and her daughter walked right up to the foam curlers and the mother says to her teenage daughter, “which size of these foam rollers did your sister say she needed?”  Case in point.

Personally, I use hair rollers every other night and I do wear them to bed.  I find the velcro rollers work best for me as I don’t need to use any bobbie pins or clamps to keep them in.  Since my hair is fine, sleeping on it at night results in very limp and flattened hair the next day.  I don’t particularly need to wash and style my hair every day, so the curlers work out great.  Another time the curlers come in handy is when I’m in a hurry in the morning and my blow drying and styling just didn’t work out in certain areas.  All I do is take out one of my velcro rollers and roll that section of hair.  I apply some styling spray and let it take while I’m finishing up getting ready to go.  The results are just what I would expect had I done a good job at styling my hair with my styling brushes and blow dryer.   Sometimes the simplest of gadgets are all one needs to make what would have been a bad hair day, into  a reasonably nice day.

If someone asked you the question what is meant by a Salon Style Hair Dryer, would you think the question meant the type of professional hairdryers that people sit under at the beauty salon, or would you think it meant a salon hair dryer, i.e. a hair dryer used by a salon stylist or salon professional? 

In my mind a salon style hair dryer is one that is typically found just in a beauty salon and it is the type  that you sit under while either drying your hair or having your hair processed for a perm or hair color.  If we are on the same page, then you are in the right spot.

Salon style hairdryers do not have to be exclusive to a beauty salon.  There are several brands in the marketplace that offer the hooded rollabout type dryer.  These dryers are inexpensively priced considering the alternative of having one that is identical to one in a salon.  In fact, some smaller salons use the hooded rollabout type dryer because of its ease in maneuverability.

So, if what you want in your home or salon business is an alternative to the higher priced hooded dryers, the rollabout models are the answer.   Two of the more popular brands that are available are the BaByliss and Hot Tools brands. 

The BaByliss Ionic Hooded Stand Up Dryer is a 1600 watt dryer that comes with 3 temperature settings.  The ionic technology conditions the hair for a softer,shinier look and reduces frizz while drying the hair faster.  The adjustable bonnet  with the lift-up visor is an added convenience for easy fitting.  BaByliss provides a 2 year limited manufacturer’s warranty.

The Hot Tools Tourmaline Hooded Roll About Stand Up Hairdryer is an 1875 watt dryer that comes with 2 speeds and 4 heat options.  This dryer too has the ionic technology but also the extra added tourmaline feature which cleanses hair of odors and impurities.  The nano tourmaline is a  penetrating form of  heat that passes through the hair cuticle, resulting in more shine and softness with less over-dried hair.   Hot Tools also has an adjustable visor which can be adjusted to your comfort.  Hot Tools provides a 1 year limited manufacturer’s warranty.

Both dryers are an excellent value and aside from the previously mentioned features, they have other features that they share in common.  Both have removable lint filters for ease in cleaning, adjustable height, and long cords for ease in placement.