Excellent Must-Have Product for My Hair Type
I purchased this product to replace a Conair Hot Curling unit that was probably 10 years old. Let me be clear that the reason that the old product lasted so long was that I rarely used it until about a year or two ago-mainly because I wasn't using it properly and my hair was longer and styled differently. My hair is now just shoulder length, in lots of layers. My hair is very fine and if left to air dry will have some natural waves to it. It is color treated and very "fly away". I use this product as follows: After towel drying hair, I always use a leave-in product (I have used very expensive variations and I am happy to report that my favorite it currently a bargain, Loreal EverPure Smooth Frizz-Free Serum). Then I dry my hair on the lowest heat setting (yes, it takes a little longer but it makes a big difference) with my regular hair dryer and a round boar bristle brush. Important: do not dry completely-ends should be dry but hair should still feel very slightly damp near your scalp. I really do not style my hair at all at this stage with the brush it's just that the boar bristles will mimimize breakage while creating lift when brushing the roots up and away from the scalp. Now I am ready for the Conair 1.5. I like the barrel with the shorter bristles, it seems to work better with fine hair. THIS product will NOT make your hair curly NOR do you want to try and dry your hair with it. This product will give you volume and smoothness with ends curled under or up. I use only the high heat setting because it is not very hot. Again, my hair is just shoulder length, so I just brush a section of hair from the roots to the ends and roll it half to two thirds the way up, hold it for ten seconds and unroll. I don't "pull the brush" through. If you want a very smooth look, after finishing each section, lightly brush and use a light hair spray. If you want a more "unkempt" effect, after styling each section, allow hair to cool and style with your fingers, then spray. If you want curlier hair, keep your hair dryer handy. After the "10 second curl" turn the Conair off while your hair is still "rolled up" and blow cool air directly onto the barrel from your dryer for a few seconds until hair is cooled then unroll. I also purchased the Conair BC171CS Ceramic Ionic Hot Air Brush 1.25 Conair BC171CS Ceramic Ionic Hot Air Brush, Black, 1.25 Inch inch at the same time I purchased this one. As I mentioned, my product that died was very old and I wasn't sure which one would work best for me so I just went for both of them. I do not like 1.25 inch for myself nearly as much because: It seems to get too hot, even on the lower setting. My hair is color treated and too fine for this much heat. If you try it, you may want your hair more damp. I also do not like the size of the barrel. I have small hands and it is very unwieldy. It will "curl" your hair to a greater degree and may work well for certain hair types. I did not send it back but would recommend with caution. When making this purchase on Amazon, I noted that one reviewer raved about the difference in the "ionic" feature. I noticed zero differnce, perhaps because the higher heat of this unit cancelled out any "ionic" benefit for my hair type. If I had it to do over, I would have ordered two of the 1.5 and saved one of them until the one I am currently using dies. I love it and highly recommend for my hair type. Read more