My Favorite Hot Tools

Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of different dryers, curling irons, straighteners… you name it! I’m narrowing down my favorites in this post and sharing the differences between the tools I reach for the most! I hope this is helpful as you put together your toolbox :)

Hair Dryers

Dyson Airwrap: The tool that I probably get asked about the most is the Dyson Airwrap and she sure is a splurge but totally worth it in my opinion! The thing that’s great about the Dyson is that it doesn’t use extreme heat. It’s essentially a blow dryer, straightener, and curler all in one. There’s definitely a bit of a learning curve and it takes a lot of practice to figure out how you like to use it for your hair type, but once you figure it out, it gives your hair an amazing, bouncy, blowout with out extreme heat. THAT SAID, you can achieve almost the exact same look with a blow dryer and curling iron and there are definitely days that I still reach for my curling iron over the Dyson… I’ll chat more about curling irons in a sec.

Other blow dryers that I love are the GHD and BioIonic.  They’re both super lightweight (GHD is about 2 pounds and BioIonic is less than a pound) and they dry your hair fast without leaving it feeling frizzy and dry. Of course, use the proper heat protectants with any blow dryer. I’ve had both of these dryers for years and highly recommend either!

Curling Irons

I have quite the curling iron arsenal - each one serves a different purpose and creates a different look. I’m going to break them down by barrel size below!

1” BioIonic Iron: The 1” iron can give you tighter curls but you can also use it to make beachy waves. The one I have has a long barrel which is really nice if you have longer hair, but if you’d like one with a normal length barrel, this is a great one. If you want a more budget friendly option, this is a great one.

1.25” GHD: The 1.25” curling iron is definitely the most versatile size and what I would recommend that everyone starts off with. It looks great on all different hair lengths and there are so many different styles that you can do with it from bouncy, voluminous curls to loose waves. I also find that this iron holds my curls really well. Again, if you want a more budget friendly option, you can go for this one!

1.5” BioIonic Iron: This size barrel is probably my favorite (it’s a close call between this and 1.25”) and it’s going to give you a similar look to the Dyson Airwrap blowout that I mentioned above. It can give you bigger, round, bouncy barrel curls OR you can go for looser curls that imitate a round brush blowout. I really like this one especially for longer hair! A great budget friendly option is this one - which I also love!

1.75” T3: This size can also give you the look of a blowout … but a little less barrel-looking than the 1.5” mentioned above and more so of a loose, soft, blown out look. The Dyson barrel is 1.6” so it’s right between the 1.5” and 1.75” so you could really go either way if you’re trying to achieve the popular Dyson look. This 1.75” is just going to be a little bit looser which is really pretty- just depends on what you’re going for.

2” Kristen Ess: This is the biggest barrel I own and it’s great for styling curtain bangs or face framing layers. Because the barrel is so big, it’s not really going to give you curls but it’ll give you a nice bend or flip in your hair depending on how you use it! Sometimes I’ll blow dry my hair straight and just use this 2” barrel on my ends and face framing layers. If you have layers throughout your hair, this will make them look really pretty!

Hair Rollers: Though they aren’t technically a curling iron, I have been using and loving these rollers for quite some time now! I use the biggest ones on my face framing pieces regularly for a more swept, curtain bang look and it adds so much volume! Every once in a while when I want a more glam finish, I’ll do full head and love the way it turns out! Get the rollers here.

Straighteners

As for straighteners, I’ve had the Bio Ionic10X Pro Styling Iron 1" for years and I absolutely love it! I can straighten my hair SO fast with it and it gives your hair a nice, smooth finish.

Crimpers

This crimper is so fun for more of a beachy, wavy look. Since the barrels are so big, it creates bigger waves instead of the small, crimped early 2000’s look. If you naturally have wavy hair to begin with, this tool makes it so easy to just enhance the waves you already have and it’s super quick to use!

Brushes

I’ve found that there is no one brush that does the trick when it comes to styling my hair depending on the look I’m going for. For brushing straight out of the shower, I use this Wet Brush. For blowdrying, I use this paddle brush. If I’m doing a slicked back bun look, I like to use this brush to smooth out bumps. For parting and slicking back, I also use this comb set. Finally, the round brush I use for a blow out is linked here.

Hopefully this answered your questions about the hot tools I use and the ones I recommend. Some are definitely worth the investment, but there are some great affordable options that work just as well.

XO