Let’s say you have naturally wavy, curly, or kinky hair, but you want it to be straight. When this desire hits your brain, you have a couple of different options. You can accept that your hair will never be straight naturally, but this is often unsatisfying to many people. So, instead, you can turn to the many products on the market to get straight hair. There are chemical baths that can do this, but they are often caustic and cause permanent damage. You can use a straightener every day, which requires exposing your hair to intense heated metal on a regular basis, causing dryness or damage.
Or, if you like new technology, you can try an electric straightening brush. But do these work?
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What Is a Straightening Brush?
In general, straightening brushes are not recommended for individuals who have extremely thick or kinky hair. This is because the bristles will struggle to penetrate between the strands, and straightening might not be achieved. Instead, manufacturers market this product to people with thin, frizzy, wavy, or badly damaged hair.
Straightening brushes can be divided between those that use heated metal plates and bristles and those which blow hot air directly onto strands. In general, the ones with metal are more effective because the heat is closely applied to those molecular bonds that cause hair to be wavy or curly in the first place. However, the hot air models are much gentler on the actual strands, making them popular among people with significant damage.
Check out reviews of the best straightening brushes here — including models from MyroPure and GHD. Also check out our review of Simply Straight, a straightening brush I chanced upon late one night as I was surfing through tv shopping channels.
Here are some other products to try:
Why Do People Straighten Their Hair?
People straighten their hair for a variety of reasons, and yours are no doubt personal to you. In general, hair straightening often matches current fashion trends. If you imagine the hairstyles of the 1970s and 1980s, you’ll notice that most women elaborately waved and curled their hair to suit a certain style and fashion. In the 1990s, women became more concerned with straightening to achieve a sleek appearance. This trend comes and goes, and right now, it seems to be coming back.
People might also straighten their hair because they find their natural type to just be too unruly and they are sick of flyaways, split ends, and frizziness. Some individuals also find straight hair easier to style, dye, and highlight so it could be used to achieve a specific appearance. Whatever the case may be, you no doubt have one burning question in mind: Will a straightening brush actually work for you?
Do Straightening Brushes Work?
Believe it or not, straightening brushes do, in fact, work! This is great news for individuals who want to straighten their hair without resorting to chemicals or using an iron every day, but there are some caveats to their effectiveness. Again, in general, a straightening brush will not work on particularly curly or kinky hair. This is because, to use a straightening brush properly, hair needs to be brushed out to remove knots, tangles, and anything that might trap the bristles of a brush. As individuals with exceptionally thick and curly hair know, almost nothing can break through the bush when it has a mind of its own.
Likewise, a straightening brush will most likely struggle to straighten really thick hair. This is because all of the strands might not be heated properly, resulting in uneven sections. A single-sided brush can only do so much. If you have thick, curly, or kinky hair, you will have better luck with a traditional iron.
So, to use your straightening brush, you first need to make sure your hair is completely dry. This means not using it right out of the shower. Once your hair is dry, brush and comb it so there are no tangles, lumps, or bumps where the brush will become trapped. Some hairdressers and stylists recommend applying some heat-resistant or straightening cream to the hair before using a straightening brush to help stop the strands from curling again.
Whether you apply a product or not, you are ready to start straightening. Plug in your straightening brush. Once the device is heated, slowly run it through each section of your hair, making sure the heat is applied evenly. Sometimes you might need to make two or three passes over a single section, but the strands will straighten. Then your work is done!
Alternatives to Straightening Brushes
If you can’t use a straightening brush, consider using a hot comb or a regular flat iron. These devices plug into a regular outlet and use two heated metal plates that look like tongs to evenly apply heat to the hair. These products have more surface area and heat adjustment, making them a better option for individuals with the aforementioned thick, curly, or kinky hair. Just remember to not use the hair iron too much if your hair is often dry and struggles to retain moisture – overuse can lead to irreparable damage.
Conclusion
Straightening brushes do work and are a great addition to an individual’s styling routine so long as they read all of the instructions and get some practice. Remember to always be aware of your hair type and to practice with this brush before any major events so you can get used to how it works and how long it takes you to straighten your hair. Once you figure it out, you can then enjoy luscious, shiny, and healthy straight hair!
What’s Next
Straightening seems to be a popular fashion trend, so it’s important to know that straightening brushes do in fact work for many women. If you liked this information guide and would like more useful and entertaining tips, tricks, and product reviews, check out our homepage. We regularly post new content just for you!
