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Battle of the Best Travel-Friendly Flat Irons
I put three brands to the test.
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
One of my biggest goals is to start traveling lighter. I have a handful of weddings and personal vacations on the horizon. Instead of having a carry-on bag and checked luggage, I want to head to my destination with just one bag. However, the things that tend to be the bulkiest are usually my beauty items, especially my hair tools.
In my effort to pack smarter, I decided to start by investing in a new mini hair straightener that doesn't take up too much space and can tame my frizzy hair. I tried out three different brands–here's what I liked and didn't like about each one.
TYMO Cordless Hair Straightener Brush
I wanted to try a product that was different from the others, so I tested out this cordless hair straightener brush. Instead of a traditional iron, this tool uses a brush to comb through your hair and straighten your strands.
Pros of the TYMO Cordless Hair Straightener Brush
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
The hair straightener brush was super lightweight and small. It easily packed nicely in my carry-on or purse. Because it was cordless, I could bring it with me to an event or use it on the go, even in the car.
The brush was a unique spin on a traditional hair straightener; I found that it made my frizz go away faster and with less heat application than a traditional iron.
Cons of the TYMO Cordless Hair Straightener Brush
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
The biggest downside of this cordless hair straightener brush was that the charge on it didn't last. I found that after one use–around 15 minutes–it needed to be charged again. It's a great product for touch-ups but might not be the best for on the go usage.
Wavytalk Mini Flat Iron
I've never used a mini flat iron before, so I was eager to try one out that was like the ceramic iron I use daily at home. I found the Wavytalk Mini Flat Iron as the closest option to the one I have, except it's thinner and smaller, which makes it easier to pack in a suitcase.
Pros of the Wavytalk Mini Flat Iron
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
I was nervous that because of the iron's small size, it would take forever to heat up, but I was wrong–it was ready to be used within 30 seconds. Plus, it weighed under a half of a pound, so it was lightweight and compact to pack.
I liked how it made my hair shiny and smooth. It did as good of a job on my hair as the one I use at home, which is much larger in size.
Cons of the Wavytalk Mini Flat Iron
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
The biggest downside of this mini flat iron was that it took me five times as long to straighten all of my hair. I can usually blow dry my hair and then flat iron it in five minutes, while using this tool took around 25 minutes.
Because it's tiny, it can only iron a few strands at once. I have medium hair but if yours is thick, this might not be the best tool for you.
XCOOL Cordless Hair Straightener
I was excited to test out a cordless hair straightener that resembled a traditional flat iron. This one even had three settings to toggle between based on your hair type–fine, normal and thick hair.
Pros of the XCOOL Cordless Hair Straightener
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
This iron took around 20 seconds to heat up and was small in size. It came with a carrying case that helped it pack up nicely in my suitcase. Even though it was small, it only took me twice as long to straighten my hair in comparison to my full-size flat iron.
I also liked the different heat options. On the days when my hair was frizzy and needed extra help, the higher heat quickly straightened my hair.
Cons of the XCOOL Cordless Hair Straightener
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
I noticed that the iron says you can use it to curl your hair as well, but I found that difficult to do since the iron has a comb tooth design on the edges. When I tried curling my hair, my strands got stuck and tangled. Because it is cordless, the battery life didn’t last very long and had to be fully recharged after one 15-minute use.
The Bottom Line
After testing out three mini flat irons, I found that only one was reliable, portable and made my hair look smooth and straight: the Wavytalk Mini Flat Iron. I didn't have to worry about recharging it or the battery life.
Even though it took me a long time to straighten my hair, I knew that my hair would look nice when I was done. When traveling, I wanted to pack something that didn't take up space and added value, so this hair tool was the clear winner.
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