The Best Hair Styling Tools
From the temperature that you use your irons at to the best brands; this guide will teach you everything you need to know about hair styling tools and which brands I recommend.
The best brands of hair styling tools
First of all, when it comes to hair styling tools there is a huge difference in buying a professional brand vs. a cheap-o brand. For general at home use I recommend buying a lower grade iron or dyer but always from a professional and reputable brand.
As an average consumer you don’t need to purchase the top of the line best hair styling tools on the market. Those are typically made for hairstylists. Remember, you’re using them once a day if that on yourself. Not for 10 hours a day 5 days a week on every different hair type imaginable.
What’s important for you is that your irons will not damage your hair, they will perform well, and will last a good amount of time.
***Since I’m sharing the products that I love to use with you guys, this page includes affiliate links to these products. If you take action and purchase a product through clicking one of my links, I’ll make some commission money from it at no extra cost to you. This enables me to be able to continue giving you awesome hair tips, so thanks! ***
The Best Blow Dryers
When it comes to blow dryers, keep in mind that the cheaper you buy; typically the longer it will take for you to dry your hair. Using a professional grade dryer will cut your dry time in half compared to a cheap brand.
Higher quality dryers also have more negative ions that will help to reduce frizz and static, as well as be a lighter weight for your arms. The higher the wattage on the dryer, the more powerful and faster it will dry your hair.
Dyson Blow Dryers
Dyson now takes the cake when it comes to hair tools. Their technology is pretty unmatchable, and I’ve rewritten this blog post to now include them because I just can’t get enough myself!
This dryer is for you if you have a TON of hair or your top priority is the speed that your hair dries. It is expensive, but it is worth it in my opinion. When you get sick of replacing your blow dryer on a regular basis, you discover that paying the extra price is worth it.
The Airwrap styler has interchangeable attachments to make it a blowdryer, blowout brush, and curler.
Shark Blow dryers
If you love the idea of purchasing a Dyson, but the price tag leaves you feeling defeated, I highly recommend looking into Shark. They are Dyson’s number one competitor and create just as high quality products, but at a fraction of the cost.
The first dryer is similar to Dyson’s and comes with a number of attachments, but does not come with the curler. For the dryer with the airwrap and blowdry brush attachments, select the airwrap option.
FHI Heat Blow Dryers
I have been using FHI hair styling tools since the beginning of my career in 2007 and still have some of their tools behind my chair today.
FHI makes a number of different blow dryers to choose from. As I mentioned earlier, keep in mind, typically the less it costs means the longer it will take to dry your hair.
Below is a list of FHI blow dryers ranging from around $90 to $225.
- Platform Nano Salon Pro 2000 Powerful Tourmaline Ceramic
- Nano Lite Pro 1900 Turbo Tourmaline Ceramic
- Platform 2000 Chrome Professional Tourmaline Ceramic
- Nano Weight Pro 1900 Turbo Tourmaline Ceramic
- Platform Blow Out Hair Dryer – Handle-less
- Elite Professional Series
- Accelerate 2200 Brushless Speed Dryer
The Best Hair Irons
Iron plate types
Hair irons come in a variety of materials. The three plates I recommend are ceramic, ceramic tourmaline, and titanium.
The best irons for fine or fragile hair
- Ceramic – Ceramic irons work well for smoothing the hair and distributing the heat evenly throughout the hair strand.
- Tourmaline – Tourmaline plates are ceramic plates that have the gem tourmaline infused into the ceramic. These are a little higher grade than regular ceramic irons because the tourmaline gemstone neutralizes the ions a little better, which fights against frizz.
The best irons for long, thick, and coarse hair
- Titanium – Titanium is a light metal that will hold onto the heat better than ceramic will. The iron will not loose heat as it makes its way down to the ends of the hair, which means you are able to avoid making multiple passes on each section of hair. I’ve found that these irons can be a little too harsh for fine or fragile hair, so I only recommend them if you have stronger and healthy hair. Check out my post here to determine what hair type you have.
The Best Iron Temperature (This is very important)
When it comes to heat tools, the temperature used is THE most important factor. You’ll want to purchase an iron that has an actual temperature gauge on it instead of 1-10. God only knows what temperature “5” really is, and everyone should be using a different temperature based on their hair type.
Depending on how fine or coarse your hair is, the condition it’s in, the color, and how fast your passes are all make an impact on the temperature that you should be using.
- Fine, bleached, or heavily processed hair: 280-360o.
- Medium textured and color treated hair: 300-390o.
- Coarse and virgin hair: 370-410o.
I NEVER use an iron all the way up on ANY client, and I can say that most clients I come across use their irons wayyy too high and have damage from it. Turn it down, and ALWAYS USE PROTECTION!!
The Best Flat Irons
Next on our hair styling tools list, we have flat irons. When choosing a flat iron, I typically go with a 1” because it’s the standard size and will work with just about any hair type.
A flat iron that is skinnier than 1” works well for short hair or when you need to get really close to the scalp like on extremely curly hair.
Any iron that is larger than 1” will be best for long hair because it will hold the heat better all the way to the ends.
Also, keep in mind that you can still curl or wave the hair no matter the size of the iron.
Mini irons are also available and are easy to stick in your purse or gym bag.
FHI Heat Flat Irons
The irons listed below range in price from $87 to $220.
The Platform Tourmaline Ceramic Iron comes in a number of different sizes. Keep in mind that a larger plate is better for long hair and a small plate is better for curly hair. The standard size is 1 inch.
- Platform Tourmaline Ceramic ½-Inch, 1-Inch, 1 1/4-Inch, or 1 3/4-Inch
- Plus Platform Tourmaline Ceramic 1-Inch
- Elite Professional Series 1-Inch
Amika Flat Irons
Now, Amika does make other irons than what I’ve listed here. But since I am providing you with links through Amazon, I am only giving you the links that are listed from Amika ONLY, not an unreliable source.
The confidante iron is priced at $150, and this is what I personally use behind the chair. It is super cool because it has an infrared light that locks in moisture and reduces frizz.
The Best Hair Curling Tools
When it comes to curling with hair styling tools, you have a number of options. You can use your flat iron, a wand, a regular curling iron, or even a thermal curling brush. There are a number of different sizes and options available to choose from.
Your choice all depends on the type of curl that you’re going for and what’s easiest for you to use. And I would suggest trying all different shapes and sizes to see what works best for you before purchasing.
The bigger the iron size, the larger and looser the curls will be.
My favorite way to curl is with my flat iron because you can really customize the look of the curl by angling the iron differently and how fast your passes are, but it takes a lot more practice to get the hang of and can be intimidating for some people.
Wands are typically the easiest to use, and they also come with a glove when first learning so that you don’t burn yourself!
FHI Hair Curlers
Curling Irons
- Platform Tourmaline Ceramic Professional Curling Iron 3/4-inch, 1-inch, 1 ¼-inch, 1 ½-inch
- Platform Ti Luster
Dyson Curler
Shark Curler
Thermal brushes
Another category for straightening or adding volume and wave to hair with hair styling tools is with a thermal styling brush. This is much quicker and easier to use than sectioning out and ironing your hair.
For instance, you can use either a flat brush that straightens with ease, or a thermal curling brush to add wave and volume.
FHI Heat Thermal Bushes
These types of brushes can be used to create wave in the hair, but personally I like to use them for smoothing out naturally curly hair while keeping body. Keep in mind it is to be used on dry hair only, it a hot brush.
Dyson Blowout Brush
This is the same product listed above twice, but can you see all the uses??
This can be used on wet hair to blowdry with the brush, or on dry hair to add extra wave.
Shark Blowout Brush
Again, Shark’s version of Dyson products are a lot friendlier on the wallet.
Thermal Protection
Lastly, when it comes to hair styling tools it is incredibly important to ALWAYS USE PROTECTION, ALWAYS!! An iron should never touch your hair without using some sort of thermal protection, EVER!
This is the #1 reason that I see breakage on your hair. The terrible thing about heat damage is that it is not only formed on the ends of your hair, but the fly-aways and split ends travel all the way up your hair strand to the top by your root.
If the damage is already done, the only thing you can do is wait for it to grow back out. Your hair stylist can trim some of the broken pieces going along the hair strand but you cannot put back hair that has already broken off.
Using hair styling tools too hot will also immediately pull the color out. Don’t ruin your expensive color by being careless with your tools!
Check out my favorite leave-in conditioner that also acts as a wonderful thermal protectant for before blow drying and can be found here.
And my favorite thermal protectant for dry hair that improves iron performance and adds shine to the hair can be found here.
You can find an entire list of my favorite products and their descriptions here.
Watch this video from Guy Tang where he demonstrates an iron pulling the color out of hair right before your eyes!
Other reputable brands
So just because I haven’t listed them, doesn’t mean that there aren’t other professional lines that are just as good than the ones I have listed above. I have narrowed it down to my favorite to make the selection easier for you.
Some other great professional brands include: Babyliss Pro, GHD, Hot Tools, and more. If you are wondering about a brand feel free to leave me a comment below and I’ll let you know if I know about them!
Conclusion
Professional quality styling tools will save you time, maintain the integrity of your hair, and last you longer than a cheap styling tool will.
My three most recommended brands for heat styling tools are Dyson, Shark, and FHI.
When it comes to irons, you should select an iron that has plates made from ceramic, ceramic tourmaline, or titanium.
Ceramic is best for fine and fragile hair, while titanium is best for long and thicker hair as it holds the heat in the plates better. Ceramic tourmaline is a step up from ceramic.
It is best to use your iron on the lowest setting possible for your hair type. Using your irons too high will damage your hair and pull out the haircolor immediately.
Fine hair should use temps from 280-360o, medium hair from 300-390o, and thick/course hair from 370-410o.
You should use a thermal protector before you blow dry and a second one before you iron. They are two different situations that require two different products.
If there is anything that I want you to take away from this post, it is to turn your irons down and to always use protection, no matter what type or brand of iron you are using. These tips are key to maintaining healthy and beautiful hair and hair color.
If you have any further questions for me on this topic, be sure to leave them for me in the comments. And subscribe below to Have A Good Hair Day!
Last updated 01/16/2023
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