As the summer heats up, all us ladies want is an easy hairstyle we can do without sweating, am I right? Some of us were born with natural silky waves in their hair, and some of us have coarse, dry, and flat hair that does nothing good right out of the shower. I personally have naturally red hair, so my hair is thick, coarse, and my "waves" are far from glamorous. I just want to put on my favorite
Tria face mask and throw my hair in a bun for the day, but there are weddings to attend and cocktail parties to mingle at, so I really can't just douse my hair with
sea salt spray and hope for perfect waves. If you are like me, you need a hot tool to make your hairstyles work. There are many good hot tools on the market that will quickly and easily give you that glam mermaid beach wave look or a soft curl that will turn heads. This list of products below is my top choices for hot tools that are quick and easy to use for the prettiest hair you can achieve in this hot weather.
Yes, this hair gadget looks like a tulip. What this tulip does is very cool. With heat settings up to 410 degrees, a section of hair is automatically drawn into the ceramic curl chamber where it is heated around a 1-inch barrel. You hold the curler until the timer goes off and you withdraw the hair from the device. It also provides negative ions to reduce frizz and add shine!
What I love about this device is the versatility it allows you to have. You can
create a loose wave look in five minutes--even with long hair! You will definitely want to invest in a good hairspray to hold your style longer. I love the
Superfine Strong Hairspray by Oribe to lock my waves in place (plus it smells divine!). The Chi Air Spin n Curl retails for $139.99.
If you desire a voluminous blowout without the hot blow dryer, look no further than the Beachwaver Pro 1.25-inch iron! A lot of ladies tell me that they can't achieve a blow out due to several reasons--the wrist-breaking motion that you have to do while holding the dryer and the brush is a pain. Don't give up! The large ceramic barrel on this iron actually rotates with the push of a button, so you barely have to do any work at all!
After you've created your curls, you can add some mega shine to it by adding a shine serum to it--but not too much! Women love the
Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil for taming frizzies and adding shine. The Beachwaver iron will cost you $199 retail, but look for a good sale and you might snag a bargain on one.
If you desire very deep waves, like a mermaid's hair, but a bit more modern, this is your tool! This tool uses a clamp and hold technique that is much different from the tools I've shown you so far. To make sure your hair doesn't suffer damage, use a heat protection spray such as the
Gisou Propolis Infused Heat Protecting Spray before using the iron.
As you can see in the photo above, the waves are a bit undone and more "beachy" than glam. If that's the look you are going for, then this tool is your new friend. The Amika Deep Waver retails for $120.
This next product is a pricey one, but you get A LOT of bang for your buck, plus you are paying for Dyson quality. I am pretty sure this item was on everyone's holiday wishlist last year, and some of us lucky gals were able to get one. Some of us, like me, are still dreaming about it and have watched every
Dyson Airwrap YouTube video demo on the planet. The cool technology behind this product is the air suction that attracts your hair to the barrel of the interchangeable styling heads. With little effort, the barrel not only curls your hair, but it also dries it, making it easy to use on damp hair. It includes a lot of attachment heads with a storage case--check out this list:
- 1.2 inch Airwrap barrels-Engineered to create voluminous curls or waves.
- 1.6 inch Airwrap barrels-Engineered to create loose curls or waves.
- Firm smoothing brush-Engineered to smooth and control frizz-prone hair.
- Soft smoothing brush-Engineered to gently align and smooth fine hair.
- Round volumizing brush-Engineered to volumize and shape fine, flat hair.
- Pre-styling dryer-Takes hair from wet to damp, to prep for styling.
There seems to be a big learning curve when using the curling barrels. There are arrows that point in the direction that your hair will go, and you do have to swap barrels when styling the other side of your head. Seems annoying, but also worth the fact that this product doesn't damage your hair. If you do use hot tools daily, then you know how much damage your hair does suffer--does that make this Dyson product worth $550? I personally think it does if you break down the cost of each item that you are getting if you were to buy everything separately. I also think that not damaging your hair and still being able to style it beautifully is definitely worth it!
If you are looking for an all-in-one tool that straightens, curls and creates waves, the TYME Iron Pro is going to be your holy grail. With heat settings up to 400 degrees, this iron is designed for all hair types. The titanium plates heat up to your desired heat setting in 55 seconds! What I thought was really great about the brand is that they offer free one-on-one appointments with a Virtual Stylist! This is pretty groundbreaking for a company to video chat with you and help guide you to a beautiful hairstyle. Customer service at its best!
I went in to watch a few
beauty guru demos of the TYME iron, and it seems that a few of them were holding the iron wrong and ended up damaging their hair! There's definitely a learning curve with this one, but once you get the hang of it, you can get your hair done quickly and out the door to your BFF's wedding on time. The TYME Iron Pro retails for $179.
Perfect for the pro stylist or the girl that wants it all, the T3 Convertible Collection comes with one base and seven different interchangeable styling barrels. You don't have to buy the entire collection all at once, which is what I did. I purchased the base with the
T3 Twirl Convertible 1.25-Inch Interchangeable Clip Barrel Curling Iron for $195 and if I want to purchase a different barrel, I can do so for $95.Â
If you change your hairstyle from season to season, you will love being able to store away the barrels you don't use and spend your summer with the
1" Straight Barrel to get tousled waves like you see above. If you insist on having all of the barrels, the entire
T3 Convertible Collection retails for $765.
This one's for my drugstore girls! If you aren't looking to spend a bundle for a luxury hot tool, then you must check out the Bed Head Wave Artist Deep Waver. This works just like the crimping irons we had in the 80s where you have to clamp and hold the tool against your hair and release. For just under $17, this iron can be yours on Amazon.com, but to be honest, I just purchased
the latest model for under $30 that features auto-shutoff and a heavier coating of tourmaline coating for less damage.
I'm really looking forward to trying my new Deep Waver Iron! I also want to share two of my big hair secrets before I go. For heat protection, I use the
Sexy Hair Tri-Wheat Leave-In Conditioner every time I use my hairdryer on wet hair. This spray has been a lifesaver as I am trying to grow my hair long. Another must-have product is the
Nature's Bounty Hair, Skin and Nails Gummies--with 2500 mcg of Biotin per serving, this has really helped my hair grow faster and thicker. You'll love the taste of these because it's just like eating candy in the morning! Have your own favorite hot tools? Tag us on your social media account so we can check it out!
