Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After seeing so many ads in my Facebook newsfeed for hair straightening brushes, I decided to see if the hype was real. Little did I know how many there would be to choose from! It was difficult to sort through the reviews of the competing products on Amazon because most were by reviewers who received their products free or at a discount in exchange for writing a review, and although they claimed to be unbiased, I have my doubts about a company that can only collect reviews by "bribing" people to write them. This product didn't have any reviews on Amazon when I bought the product, but they are a U.S. company, they have a 10-day no-questions-asked return policy, and I did find a couple of bloggers on the internet who claimed to have used the product and liked it. They also appear to be trying to market their product to salon stylists who in my experience have higher expectations of product quality. So, I decided to take a chance on this, try it for a week, and then send it back if I didn't like it. I've had it for two weeks, and I definitely won't be sending it back! I love it. I have naturally curly/frizzy hair, and my flat iron (I have a Chi and a ghd) has been my best friend for the past decade. This product straightens my hair as well as my flat iron, and true to the claims, does so in less time. I also find it much easier to use. Some reviewers of other similar products said that they felt "cheap," but this one, which is more expensive than some of the alternatives, looks and feels like it will hold up. I like the paddle brush style as well. i have only tried it on my hair after blowing it dry (as opposed to letting it air dry, or sleeping on it wet), and it works great for me. It takes me less than 10 minutes to get my hair straight, vs. 15-20 minutes with a straightener. As when using a straightener, I have to section my hair, but with the brush I can use bigger sections. I find it much easier to use this on the back of my head than a hair straightener, and it also feels more natural to use because, well, its a brush! I have only used it by brushing my hair from the underside because I like looking like my hair has a little more volume. It is especially great for touching up my hair between washings, especially with the summer humidity. I was worried that my hair might get more frizzy after being straightened when out in the humidity with this brush vs. a flat iron, but I haven't really seen a difference between the two on that front. The look I get is very similar to when I use a flat iron, but it is less "stick straight" overall, there is a little more volume near my part, and there are fewer flyaways, all of which I like. For me, this is an improvement over the flat iron in every dimension, but if you use a flat iron to curl your hair, I suspect this brush can't do the same thing. My two daughters have also tried it. One has very thin hair but long hair. She straightened her hair in 5 minutes. My other daughter tried it after sleeping on wet hair. In that case, it did smooth out her hair, but it did not "equalize" the volume in some of the spots where her hair was really smushed against her head. But I don't think a straightener would have done such a great job at that task either. My conclusion is that if you want straight hair, this product is is good on hair that has been blown dry, but not so great on hair that has dried curly or kinky if you want a uniformly straight look. I will not be getting rid of my flat iron, but for now, this is my go to product. (Update one year later): I've now had this for a year, and still love it. When I'm in the USA, it has completely replaced my straightener. The only time I use my straightener now is when I travel internationally, and then only because my ghd straightener will work with 220/240v. current, whereas the hair straightening brush will not. I use is 2-3 times per week, and have had no problems whatsoever. It still looks and works like new. If they come out with one that will work with both 110/120 and 220/240 current, I will gladly buy another!