There’s a reason why the market for dry shampoo has exploded: styling our hair requires time and effort we simply can’t afford to lose.

When you factor in the blow drying, the brushing, the sectioning and the straightening, it’s no wonder we prolong the time between shampoos as much as possible. Here at Miss FQ, we’re always on the alert for a styling tool that will dramatically cut down the amount of time we spend on our hair and keep it looking fresh for as long as we can. So when we had the chance to trial the Silver Bullet Hybrid Luxe Straightening Brush, it was totally a no-brainer (gimme gimme!).

BEFORE THE TRIAL

We’d heard lots of good things about the Silver Bullet Hybrid Luxe Straightening Brush but the real kicker was hearing the 2-in-1 action of brushing and straightening could be done without the fuss of cordoning off sections of hair, which you so often have to do with straightening irons. This will drastically reduce the time toiling with your hair tools but also lessen the potential damage as we won’t have to clamp and drag an iron through.

MISS FQ’S DIGITAL EDITOR KELLY MCAULIFFE TRIALS THE SILVER BULLET HYBRID LUXE STRAIGHTENING BRUSH

“My hair is challenging. To give you some context, my hair type is thick, long, and, when left to dry naturally, has something between a wave and a curl that is zero per cent cute. Add to that the fact that it has been colour-treated and peroxided for more years than I’d like to say, and you can see why I am always looking for tools and products to make my life easier.

The day before I trialed the Silver Bullet Hybrid Luxe Straightening Brush, my hair had really been put through its paces, having faced a light drizzle of rain as I took my morning walk, and then the onset of harsh sun, humidity and crowds as I attended Laneway Festival later that day. In short, my hair was not in a good place (see ‘before’ shot) and needed all the help it could get.

To use the brush, I put my hair into a half top knot and focused on the hair underneath first. I sectioned it off in small pieces, spraying each strand with Fanola Thermo Force before running the brush through the lengths with the bristles facing downwards. I did this a few times for each strand, until it felt smoother and the frizz subsided.

Once I built up some confidence (and was working with a smoother base), I started freestyling, and just brushed my hair as if with a normal brush. The design of the brush head makes it easy to get relatively close to the roots and the cable, which I originally thought could be a nuisance, has a 360-degree swivel power cord so it was never an issue.

By the end, my hair had been almost completely tamed – I’m sure had I washed and blow-dried my hair beforehand I would have ended up with an even smoother, silkier result. I was also surprised at how quick it was to use (approximately 6 or 7 minutes) as using straightening irons to achieve the same outcome can take me up to 20 minutes or longer.”

HOW DOES IT WORK?

As you probably gathered, we had a lot of questions ahead of the trial. Will it reach our roots? Will it burn our hands? Just how ‘straight’ does it straighten? Won’t we burn our scalp?

Round-tipped bristles: The solid bristles, which don’t flex like an ordinary hairbrush, have round tips at the ends. This means you can hold your palm flat against the brush comfortably without making contact with the ceramic plates that are housed on the bristles AKA the hot parts. It also means your scalp, ears – you name it – are protected from any overzealous glides.

Ceramic plates: The idea behind the Silver Bullet Hybrid Straightening Brush is that instead of clamping the hair flat between two ceramic plates and dragging downwards, your hair is free to glide through a series of heated ceramic plated bristles as you sweep your hair in the direction you would as if you were brushing it. You’ve basically got heat coming at your hair from all angles without the pressure.

Adjustable temperature control: Just like modern straighteners, you can adjust the temperature based on your hair type and/or condition: 160- 210 °C. And an LCD digital temperature display makes it clear as day what temp you’re operating on too.

WOULD I USE IT AGAIN?

For everyday straightening and keeping my blow dry looking fresh? For sure. It takes a fraction of the time to transform my matted, frizzy mane into a smooth manageable head of hair, meaning it’s perfect for those mornings where I’ve I got to get out the door quick-smart and for those times I need to make my hair look presentable after a lunchtime gym sesh.

Silver Bullet Hybrid Luxe Straightening Brush, $160 from StyleHQ. 

Words: Kelly McAuliffe
Photos: Supplied

This article was brought to you in partnership with StyleHQ.