If you’re reading this story, it’s probably safe to assume you’re not the wash-and-go type. That means you know that having hair that takes some styling to look its best opens up a whole world of problems ─ not of the life-and-death kind, we’ll admit, but the type that can add painful minutes to your morning routine.
That’s what makes recommendations on great hair-care appliances worth their weight not in gold but in minutes saved every single day, not to mention dollars saved on expensive products that disappoint.
So, Canstar Blue asked more than 700 Australian consumers for their feedback on hair dryers and straighteners and more than 600 Aussies on stylers they’d bought or been given over the past three years, to find out which appliances really did blow away the competition. To ensure we had all angles covered, we asked consumers about performance and reliability, weight and size, ease of use, value for money and overall satisfaction with the product. And we found that when it came to hair care appliances that real consumers rated, two brands dominated ─ one household name and another that you may not have encountered … yet.
What’s the best hair dryer brand?
Consumers rated hair-styling veteran VS Sassoon – which carries on the name of acclaimed stylist Vidal Sassoon ─ the best in Canstar Blue’s 2021 hair dryer review, giving the brand five stars for performance and reliability, weight and size and overall satisfaction. VS Sassoon was no slouch in the value for money and hair care categories either, rating four stars in each. It was the only brand to receive five stars for overall satisfaction, making it the winner of our Most Satisfied Customers 2021 award in the hair dryer category.
One of the latest products from VS Sassoon is its Digital Sensor Dryer ($249.95 RRP*). Designed and engineered in Italy, VS Sassoon says the dryer employs hair-protection technology that ensures faster styling with less hair damage. VS Sassoon is also big on travel dryers, saying that its Travel Pro ($39.95 RRP*) is the first AC motor travel dryer in Australia, which it claims will last up to three times longer than a standard DC dryer motor. Most VS Sassoon hair dryers retail for under $100 and come with a five-year warranty.
What’s the best hair straightener brand?
Remember when ghd was near impossible to beat when it came to cult hair straighteners? Cloud Nine changed all that with its second consecutive annual win for best hair straightener, according to consumers surveyed by Canstar Blue. Cloud Nine, which has been around since 2009 so it’s no overnight success, took out the Most Satisfied Customers 2021 award in the hair straightener category with the only five-star rating for overall satisfaction. It also received five stars for hair care, performance and reliability and value for money, and four stars for weight and size and ease of use.
(Ghd stalwarts will be interested to know that the former favourite received five stars for ease of use, four stars for overall satisfaction, hair care, performance and reliability and weight and size, and three stars for value for money.)
Cloud Nine, which hails from the UK, sells a range of hair tools, from dryers to curling wands, with a number of straighteners on offer. The products range in price from $155 RRP* for the Micro Iron to $495 RRP* for the Original Iron Pro. Cloud Nine says its straighteners use a micro-computer-controlled heating system that adjusts the temperature and combines with ceramic health element technology to ensure an even temperature across the ceramic surface of the straightener.
What’s the best hair styling brand?
It was a double-win for Cloud Nine, with the brand established by hair stylist Robert Powls taking out the Most Satisfied Customers 2021 award for hair stylers, as rated by real users. Again, it was the only brand to score five stars for overall satisfaction. Cloud Nine also clocked up five stars for value for money, and four stars for performance and reliability, hair care, ease of use and weight and size.
Cloud Nine has a range of stylers designed to meet different hair needs and goals, including the Micro Iron mentioned above for short hair and the Wide Iron ($340 RRP*) and Airshot Pro ($340 RRP*) bundle for thick or long hair. Its Waving Wand for wannabe curly girls (and boys) retails for $245 RRP*. While Cloud Nine’s prices tend to be at the higher end of the hair appliance scale, but the fact it scored five stars for value for money indicates that they are indeed worth the expenditure.
*Prices from respective retailers, correct at time of publication.
Picture credit: Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com
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