Posted in Beauty on a Budget, Conair, Hair care, Hair dryers, Seasons, Spring, inFiniTi hairstyler on April 19th, 2007
Spring weather is unpredictable. That sunny, dry morning can turn into a misty, wet afternoon. My straight-as-a-board hairstyle doesn’t fare well when the moisture content of the air goes up, and it’s days like this that I wish I could bring my hair dryer, styling brush and straightening iron along for touch-ups.
In search of portable products, I came across the inFiniTi hairstyler by Conair.
This little all-in-one comes with everything you need to style hair quickly and with only one tool. Equipped with detangling combs and a 3 heat setting airflow from its 700 watt motor, it combs, styles and/or pre-dries hair for straightening. The straightening attachment has four tension settings for perfect control and the plates are Tourmaline Ceramic, so they’re gentle to hair. Ion output helps control frizzies for silkier, shinier hair. Finish up with the cool setting to lock in your style and you are ready to go.
At $59.99 this product is a bargain, considering all the tools it replaces. Now, if they only made a cordless version…
Posted in Beauty on a Budget, Frizzy hair, Hair care, Hair dryers, Straight hair on July 20th, 2006
All through high school I wanted straight, sleek hair and envied girls whose hair naturally fell that way. Usually mine looked that way only when it was soaking wet. If you have wavy or curly hair, you know what the humid weather does to it. Try as you might to straighten as you dry it, once exposed to the moist air, it frizzes and fuzzes. I remember trying everything from mayonnaise to fabric softener in my efforts to achieve that shiny, smooth look.
Straight and smooth styles are in again in both long and short styles. This time around we have many more products to help us achieve our hairstyling goals. I have learned something since then, too. If your hair is already full of moisture, it is less likely to pick up excess moisture from the air.
So, the first step is to condition, condition, condition. Don’t get stuck in the habit of the same old shampoo and conditioner you have used for years. Experiment, try different brands and find the one that moisturizes your hair best. Pantene Smooth & Sleek is a my choice, promising 75% smoother hair.
Your hair dryer is the next most important factor. Too much heat dries out your hair and causes damage that leads to breakage and even more fuzzy ends. I recommend an ionizing hair dryer. They produce less heat and better air flow and the ions smooth out the hair as it dries. The Sharper Image has an Ionic Hair Dryer for $39.95 but you can find them under $20, such as Conair’s 209 Ion Shine model.
Ionizing hair dryer
Your last step is a smoothing product. There are several excellent products on the market that can be applied to your hair either before or after drying or in conjunction with the flat iron. VO5 (yes, they are still around) makes a frizz-reducing cream and Frizz-Ease products are self-explanatory. Most of these products are priced between five and ten dollars.