Conair Tourmaline Ionic Hair Brush ~ Better for Thick Hair
Written: Oct 08 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Ions for shine and reduced static, bristles don't break hair
Cons: Didn't make my hair shinier or smoother, fine hair slips through bristles to easily
The Bottom Line: Best for thick, coarse or curly hair. My fine hair slipped through the bristles too easily. Does a good job of detangling wet or dry hair though.
amyk49's Full Review: Conair 88016 Tourmaline Ionic Hair Brush
I've been trying out different types of brushes for blow drying my fine, straight hair, trying to get the smoothest possible look. I came across this Conair Tourmaline Ionic Brush and decided to try it.
~ Product Description
The Conair Tourmaline Ionic Hair Brush is a large, flat, vented brush with widely spaced plastic, round-tipped bristles. This brush features 100% crushed gemstones with ions, which supposedly creates an "intense shine," and also reduces static electricity.
Conair tells us this brush will detangle and smooth hair. The ball-tipped bristles won't pull or snag hair. There is a rather unique cushion where the bristles are attached to the brush that flexes - it's kind of like a cushy pillow - and this should help prevent breakage.
There are fairly big vents in the cushion which allows airflow to reach into the hair as you are blow drying.
Conair says this brush is for every day brushing and styling of all hair lengths and textures. I paid $10 for it.
This comes in different colors. Mine is white with dark purple bristles, and dark colored stripes on the handle.
~ My Experience
I have fine, thin, shoulder-length hair that is straight and color treated. It has become somewhat fragile and prone to breakage from all the chemical abuse. I generally wash and blow dry my hair daily. I had been using a round boar-bristle brush, but wanted to try this Conair brush because it was a flat, paddle-shape, and I also wanted to see if the ionic technology would make my hair shinier, smoother, and hopefully with less flyaways.
One thing - it says it has "100% crushed gemstones", but there is nothing that looks like crushed gemstones on this brush anywhere. I don't quite get where those crushed gemstones are, but whatever...
This brush is big! Big and very flat. The brush head measures about 3 ½" wide by 5" long. The handle has a non-slip rubber-like grip that is comfortable. The plastic bristles are very widely spaced, which makes it easy to detangle hair, whether wet or dry.
After washing my hair and towel-drying, I began to blow dry using my new Conair Tourmaline Ionic Brush. With my old round brush I would lift up my hair and pull it straight with the brush as I held the dryer to my hair. The Conair Tourmaline Ionic Brush slips through my hair and doesn't allow me to get any "traction" to pull my hair straight. I can sort of hold my hair up with the brush, but my hair just slips through those wide bristles.
I continued anyway, and dried my hair with the Conair Brush. I just had to use a different technique. All in all my hair ended up looking pretty much the same as usual. It didn't seem any shinier or smoother, and I had just as many flyaways as ever.
I went back to my old round brush, but tried the Conair again a couple of times. It's almost too large for my fine, limp hair, and I'm not able to pull my hair taut as I dry it when I use the Conair Brush, so I guess I'll stick with my old faithful round brush for now.
~ Final Thoughts
The Conair Tourmaline Ionic Brush didn't make my fine, straight hair any shinier or smoother, and I had just as many flyaways as usual. The widely spaced bristles allowed my wet hair to slip through and I couldn't pull it taut as I dried. It didn't work well for my fine hair, but maybe it would do better with thick, curly hair. I can't recommend for my hair type, but for very thick, coarse or curly hair it might be just right. You be the judge.
Flexible cushion prevents breakage - ideal for all hair types Releases IONS to reduce static electricity Ball-tipped bristles smooth and detangle with...More at Amazon
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