Hair Styling Tools

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.