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The Best Hot Tools For Styling Natural Hair
aimee simeon
The beauty of natural hair is that your curls and coils can really do it all, whether you let your ringlets roam free (and won’t dare use hot tools), prefer foolproof protective styles, or opt to heat style. You can wear braids and Bantu knots one day, then unravel them and have a bomb curl pattern the next, or pass a flat iron through your hair and have a silk press within minutes. In short, the possibilities are endless.
Of course, there's a catch. If you do choose to heat style your natural hair, using the right tools is an important part of keeping your strands intact. Excessive heat can cause damage to natural hair, but considering specific functions (like temperature and speed) when purchasing a dryer or straightener can prevent unnecessary damage. Luckily, there are some great stylers on the market that work like a charm on natural hair. To help you discover the best tools to heat style your 'do, we tapped pros and our own editors for their favorites, ahead.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
Koni Bennet, hairstylist and owner of Vanity Salon in Pennsylvania, gets at least 15 requests for silk presses per week at her salon — and she relies on this iron to complete them. "When your tools are effective, you can minimize damage," she tells us. "The titanium metal plates on this yields even heat distribution and heat control, which is super important when pressing natural hair," she says. "I love that this one heats up quickly. It leaves hair shiny and bouncy with one pass. There is no tool on the market comparable."
BaByliss Pro
Nano Titanium Ultra-Thin Straightening Iron,
$139.94
Buy
To blow out her clients, Bennet uses this styler from Babyliss. "It quickly delivers heat (and cool air, too)," she says. "It's lightweight, sleek, easy to use, and the Ferrari engine makes dry time insanely fast."
Mezei Jefferson, director of multicultural beauty education at L'Oréal, always keeps a half-inch curling wand in his kit. "I highly recommend keeping a tool like this in your collection if you want to define individual curls and make them appear tighter," he tells us. This Bed Head option heats up to 400 degrees so you can get quick definition. It also adds a shiny finish, so you don't need extra product.
Bed Head
1/2'' Tourmaline Ceramic Skinny Pop Styling Iron,
$29.99
Buy
"I've gone through plenty of flat irons since I went natural in 2013 but none of them compare to this one," Aimee Simeon, beauty writer at Refinery29 reports. "The titanium-plated iron gives me the shiniest, silkiest strands in just one swipe. I never have to go over my roots (which are coiler than the rest of my hair) a trillion times to get it straight. I get silky results on the first pass every time. The best part? I've been using it for about two years now and still have curls when I wet my hair. It's 100% worth the investment."
NuMe
Style Setter Hair Straightener,
$129.00 $83.00,
Buy
"I like to add waves to my hair two or three days after a fresh blowout," Simeon says. "That's when I pull out this curing wand. The 1-inch barrel gives me medium-sized curls that lasts for days. It heats to a nice temperature so I don't have to keep my strands wrapped around it for a long time to get a decent curl."
Hot Tools
1'' Flipperless Gold Curling Wand,
$39.99
Buy
"I'm obsessed with maintaining my length when it comes to my natural hair, even when traveling, and this hair dryer gives me the longest possible strands when I'm on the go," Ariana Romero, entertainment writer at Refinery29 says. "It has been an essential part of my travel routine for years and it even comes with a diffuser attachment to dry wet curls!"
Ona Diaz-Santin, owner and creative director at 5 Salon Spa, uses Dyson's dryer on all her natural hair clients. "I love this thing!" she says. "It has a fast dry time, which means less heat is used on your hair. It's also super quiet and is amazing for diffusing curls."