Drybar says the hair instrument is nice for wavy, curly, straight, and all hair sorts. But I’d say “all hair types” is a stretch. I’ve Type 2 hair—wavy, advantageous, frizzy, and coarse—which inserts the kind this instrument is designed for. But it offers me extra of a voluminous blowout than pin-straight hair, regardless of being half flat iron. And that is on the best temperature setting.
You’ll have the selection between cool, medium, and excessive temperature settings. But in an effort to cut back warmth injury, it solely goes as much as 250 levels Fahrenheit. I crank up my blow dryer to excessive and my flat iron to 450 levels, so I used to be skeptical this could work. But it is simply sizzling sufficient. If your hair is much like mine, and even thicker, you must hold it on excessive. Otherwise, you won’t see any outcomes in any respect, or it would take an eternity to dry.
It additionally packs Ionic Technology—which is supposed to cut back frizz and shine whereas styling—and nylon tufted bristles round every plate that the corporate says “provide the perfect amount of tension to create an enhanced straightening effect.” I nonetheless want my flat iron to easy over the puffiness and flyaways (relying on the look I wish to obtain), and I’m unsure the tufted bristles do a lot apart from snag my hair. And OK, I do know that bristles are supposed to carry useless hair and pores and skin cells off my scalp, however it’s nonetheless gross to observe it construct up.
I do, nevertheless, really feel like my hair appears and feels more healthy. This may very well be as a result of I’m washing it usually, because it would not take me as lengthy. With damp hair, I’m performed styling in about 10 to fifteen minutes. With towel-dried hair, it takes me a bit over 20 minutes. So it does lower my styling time in half. But it may be as a result of I’m not making use of practically as a lot warmth to it.
Weigh Your Options
If your hair is admittedly thick, the RevAir Reverse-Air Dryer (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is a greater various. It’s costlier, at $399, however the vacuum-style machine packs options that could be extra appropriate for you—together with seven pressure settings and two warmth settings (158 and 220 levels Fahrenheit). It additionally has small openings to dry your scalp and dries the remainder of your hair with air downwards to forestall frizz.
There’s additionally the Dyson Airstrait (8/10, WIRED Recommends) for $500. It has no sizzling plates and dries solely with sizzling air, so it is a fantastic possibility in the event you’re anxious about warmth injury. It additionally comes with a moist and dry mode, so you need to use it as a blow-dryer and flat iron concurrently with moist hair or dry hair. It works loads higher on my thicker hair, and the flexibility to modify to dry mode has fully eradicated the necessity for my straightener. But it’s totally costly.
If you are still leaning towards the Straight Shot, it is value reiterating that until you’ve gotten thinner hair, it probably will not provide the similar stick-straight look as a flat iron. It did, nevertheless, give me the identical blowout I get with a spherical brush and hairdryer in about half the time. If you go along with this selection, I’d nonetheless maintain on to your flat iron. But at the very least you can half methods together with your blow dryer.
