Don’t be put off by the name! It’s long but it’s worth it to cut your hair styling time in half.
Let’s be serious, I’m not known for being well coordinated. Wrangling a blowdryer and brush simultaneously is just not my strong suit. I stumbled across the Styler Dryer on Amazon and was instantly intrigued. Blowdryer and brush in one? Surely too good to be true? But no, the reviews, all from similarly curly people, were tremendous. For $20, it seemed worth a shot!
I picked up a thermal protectant, worried that the increased heat styling would cause breakage. TJ Maxx had this Rusk Thermal Serum for $8.99 so I figured I’d give that a shot too.
Quick aside about the Rusk Thermal Serum: it’s amazing. I wouldn’t say it makes my hair MORE healthy, but it protects my hair beautifully to the point where you definitely can’t tell I heat style. It smooths and shines, really helping to give the blowout a natural look. A little goes a long way, but as long as you keep it away from the last 2 inches of roots, you almost can’t use too much.
Back to the Styler Dryer! I will admit that it took a little time to get the hang of, but the results are fantastic. It comes with 3 different attachments. “Detangling,” “Straightening” and “Styling.” I like the Straightening one best, and the Styling one second best. My long, curly hair is transformed from wet into a flowy, silky blowout in 20-30 minutes.
It takes some time to get used to the handling of the device, but with the right movements it’s easy to achieve hair flipped over or under at the ends. It can get very hot, so I’m glad to have the heat protectant serum. Friends who tried this on my suggestion ended up with some fried ends after a few months while just using a regular oil not specifically meant for heat protecting.
Once it’s blown out, you’re set for a good 3 days. I’ll usually shower and blow out smooth on Day 1, curl it with a wand on Day 2 and dry shampoo + refresh with curling wand on Day 3. I usually sleep in a loose ponytail. To maintain a smooth blowout, on Day 2 you could easily just use the Styler Dryer again on your dry hair with some smoothing creme to maintain.
The major drawback to this device is that the combs do succumb to wear and tear. After about 6 months (including lots of travel) many of the teeth broke off on the straightening/detangling attachments and the bristles got all frayed on the styling attachment. Supposedly you can reorder just the attachments directly from Conair by calling a number, but this isn’t 1985 so I ended up just buying a whole new dryer because it was easier (and it’s only 20 bucks). Now I keep one both in Boston and on the Cape, and bring the attachments back and forth. Okay, clearly I just need to reorder the attachments. Another great thing is that it’s so compact and convenient for traveling.
The verdict on this save or splurge? Save!
Keep it classy,
MufasaMufasaMufasa
The Lion's Mane 