The Best Hair Tools For Curly Hair

Curly hair has a lot of personality built into it, but it almost always has a mind of its own (and it never really seems to curl the same way twice). It’ll be bouncy and beautiful one day, and a frizzy mess the next… and you never know quite what you’re gonna get from day to day.

The right styling tools and care habits can make all the difference between a good curly hair day and one that has you reaching for the nearest hat.

(Although I stand by the belief that a beret is a cute addition to just about any outfit.)

Best Curly Hair Tools At A Glance

Compare	Styling Type	Curl Type	Price
Ella Bella Smart Plasma	Dryer, diffuser, concentrator	Any	$199
Pattern Beauty Heat Bundle	Dryer, diffuser, wide-tooth comb, brush, concentrator	3a–4c	$221
Revlon Shine Boost	Dryer, diffuser, concentrator	Any	<$30
Ella Bella Curling Iron	Curling and touch-ups	2a–3b	$99
Denman D6 Shower Brush	Detangling, product distribution, scalp massage	Any	$14

Whether your hair is tightly coiled, loosely waved, or somewhere in between, I’ll share the best curly hair tools designed to make styling easier, along with helpful advice for keeping your hair happy and healthy. 

Tips For Curls That Won’t Quit

It isn’t necessarily difficult to care for curly hair, but it can take a little trial and error, especially at first. It’s also important to understand the differences between each curl type so you can use the styling tools (and treatments) that will benefit your hair the most.

Curl types are broken into four categories, with subtypes within most of them:

• 1: Straight hair (no curvature at all from root to tip)
• 2: Wavy hair
  • 2a: Very loose S-shape along the hair that may not be consistent throughout the strand
  • 2b: Hair has a more defined S-shape that’s tighter and consistent
  • 2c: Tighter S-waves that border on curly (and may curl with the use of a diffuser)
• 3: Curly hair
  • 3a: Loose spiral curls that are springy (but not super tight)
  • 3b: Tighter spiraled ringlets with more volume
  • 3c: Dense spiral ringlets/corkscrew curls with considerable volume
• 4: Coily hair
  • 4a: Very tight and densely-packed smaller spirals from root to tip
  • 4b: Dense zigzag pattern (basically a very tight S-curve that makes a Z shape)
  • 4c: Extremely tight, dense curls with a less defined curl pattern and a lot of shrinkage in the total length of the strand

The curlier your hair, the more prone it is to dryness (and the more moisture it needs to maintain that curl pattern) because your scalp’s natural oils can’t travel the length as easily as they would in straight or loosely-waved hair.

So with all that in mind:

• Use shampoos that are free from sulfates, as these strip the natural oils from your hair (which results in dry, frizzy curls).
• Try to shampoo your hair less often; too-frequent washing also strips those oils, and your curls need them to retain moisture and maintain their texture.
• Conditioners are a given, since they smooth the cuticle and help with detangling, but choose options that are silicone-free to prevent dullness and product buildup over time.
• It’s best to detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb or shower brush while it’s wet and while you’re conditioning. The comb/brush distributes the product more evenly, but the pins or bristles glide through the hair more easily, preventing breakage.
• Use a cotton t-shirt or soft microfiber towel on your hair and don’t rub it dry. Blot gently, and you can also wrap your hair if you prefer. Towels can roughen the outermost part of the hair strands, making them frizzy.
• You can air-dry if you prefer, but drying with a diffuser (after applying heat protectant) can give you better control over the finished result, especially if you like more volume at the root.
• Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase or use a bonnet made from either material. This protects your hair from rubbing against rougher material all night, helping to further reduce frizz.
• Use a curling iron here and there if you need to get wayward curls back in line, but whenever you use hot styling tools, always use a heat protectant first.
• Limit chemical treatments like bleaching or highlighting, and if you do either of these at home, stick with a 10-volume developer. It’ll lighten more slowly and may not give you level-10 platinum results, but it’ll also help to reduce damage and not destroy your curl pattern. (Once your curl pattern is wrecked, it’s basically impossible to get it back until it grows out.)
• You may need to adjust your hair treatments (oils, masks, leave-in conditioners) based on the season, especially if you live in an area that experiences hot, humid summers and frigid winters.

The Best Curl-Loving Hair Tools To Try Right Now

If you’re rocking a head full of curls, we’ll take a closer look at my top recommendations for the most curl-friendly hair tools below.

Ella Bella Smart Plasma Hair Dryer

While a good diffuser will preserve your curl pattern while drying, you also need to minimize frizz in the process, and the Smart Plasma Hair Dryer from Ella Bella does this beautifully.

This drying tool releases both negative and positive ions that essentially rebalance the static charge in your hair from root to tip, leaving you with curls that are defined, smooth, and shiny.

What’s unique about the Smart Plasma Hair Dryer is that it really is smart: it self-adjusts the temperature and airflow based on the wetness of your hair and the distance between it and the dryer. That helps to prevent heat damage, of course, but also takes a lot of the guesswork out of fussing with temperature and air speed.

Ella Bella’s Smart Plasma Hair Dryer comes with a concentrator nozzle and a diffuser, both of which attach magnetically (and easily). Plus, when you’re drying with the diffuser, you can finish each section with the cool shot button to set your curls for lasting shape.

One thing I really love about this dryer is how lightweight and compact it is. Arm fatigue isn’t an issue during use, and it doesn’t take up much room in your suitcase or bag during travel.

Smart Plasma Hair Dryer Pros:

• Plasma technology completely rebalances the electrical charge in your hair to smooth and add shine
• Auto-adjusts temperature and air flow
• Includes a diffuser and concentrator
• Lightweight and compact
• Dries quickly and effectively to reduce heat damage

Smart Plasma Hair Dryer Cons:

• Is on the expensive side when not on sale ($199)

Pattern Beauty Heat Bundle

The Heat Bundle from Pattern Beauty is the ultimate hair dryer set for curly, kinky, or coily hair. (And at $221, it’s also the most expensive… but very much worth it.)

Pattern Beauty’s Heat Bundle features a ceramic and ionic hair dryer with four attachments that detangle, stretch, smooth, and define any curl pattern while also protecting your hair from damage.

The diffuser that comes with this set is large, so you can hold your curls in place easily while drying without disturbing their shape, but this also comes with a wide-tooth comb attachment and a brush attachment modeled after Pattern Beauty’s own shower brush.

Basically, it’s got everything your curls, kinks, or coils need, all in one tool collection.

The dryer has an ionic button for releasing those negative ions that combat static electricity and frizz, but it’s also got a cool shot button so you can set the shape and style without fiddling with the temperature control.

Speaking of temperature, Pattern Beauty’s dryer has three heat settings and two speed settings for plenty of styling flexibility, and the heat bundle also includes a quality (silicone-free) heat protectant spray. 

No matter your hair texture, this is a smartly designed dryer set that will treat your curls (or kinks or coils) right.

Pattern Beauty Heat Bundle Pros:

• Includes diffuser, wide-tooth comb, concentrator, and brush attachments
• Uses ionic technology to smooth strands and reduce frizz
• Cool shot button for setting your style
• Comes with hair-friendly heat protectant spray

Pattern Beauty Heat Bundle Cons:

• Is the most expensive tool on this list

Revlon 1875w Shine Boost Dryer

If your budget can’t swing the Ella Bella or the Pattern Beauty, Revlon’s Shine Boost Dryer is an ionic hair tool you can get your hands on for under $30.

The ionic technology reduces static electricity while drying, but it’s also got a separate ion generator (for shine boost, hence the name!) that you can turn on when you want to release 30% more negative ions for greater smoothing.

But if your hair is thick and curly (or long and curly), you’ll love the size of the diffuser attachment that comes with this dryer. It’s huge… in my experience, it holds a ton of hair in place at once, so you can minimize scrunching and movement around your head as you’re drying.

And even if you’ve got the air speed on high, the diffuser attachment keeps your hair from blowing around so you can dry quickly (on cool, warm, or hot heat settings), and when you’re done with each section, you can hit the cool shot button to lock in the curl shape.

This is a bulkier hair dryer, however, and that’s really the biggest downside. I don’t find it especially heavy during use, but it does take up quite a bit of space in my drawer.

That said, for everything else it offers, 

Revlon Shine Boost Pros:

• Is ionic to combat static electricity, but also has an ion boost button
• The diffuser is large and super effective on curly hair
• Includes a concentrator attachment
• Three heat settings (cool, warm, hot) plus a cool shot
• Two speed settings (low and high)
• Costs less than $30

Revlon Shine Boost Cons:

• Is a bit on the bulky side

Ella Bella Curling Iron

When some of your curls are living life on their own terms and you need to force them back into shape, the curling irons from Ella Bella are a handy tool to have on hand for touchups. 

Available in 1-inch, 1.25-inch, and 1.5-inch barrel sizes, each curling iron uses ceramic technology that results in perfectly smooth and frizz-free curls quickly. What I love about these irons is the fact that not only is the temperature control extensive (from 180ºF to 410ºF), but it isn’t adjusted through a button on the handle.

The bottom of the iron (near where the cord attaches) twists to turn the device on and to cycle through the temperature settings. Which means at no point will your thumb accidentally turn the curling iron off or change things up unexpectedly while you’re styling.

That’s just a super smart design and one I didn’t even realize I needed until I held it in my hands.

Like many of Ella Bella’s hot styling tools, the curling iron comes with a glove to protect your hand (although I live on the edge and don’t normally use it, it’s nice to have).

Now if you’re curling your entire head of hair from scratch, that can be a lengthy process with this, or any curling iron, for that matter; I typically prefer hot rollers that I can put in, leave in, and then take out since my hair is long and my arms get tired if I’m using an iron for the whole style.

But the Ella Bella curling irons do work quickly, so whether you just need a few curl touch-ups or the whole shebang, they’re great tools to have on hand.

Ella Bella Curling Iron Pros:

• Available in three barrel sizes (1 to 1.5 inches)
• Ceramic technology styles quickly, smooths, and adds shine
• Precise temperature control (180–410ºF)
• Power and temp control is on the bottom of the iron, and not by your thumb

Ella Bella Curling Iron Cons:

• No cool shot button (but that’s typical of irons)
• Somewhat expensive ($99 each when not on sale)

Denman D6 Shower Brush

Whenever my hair is permed (and honestly, even when it isn’t), I only ever brush my hair in the shower while distributing conditioner throughout. The D6 Shower Brush from Denman is an inexpensive hair tool that detangles and defines curls, distributes product evenly, and massages your scalp, all in one.

If you comb your curls wet, this is a must-have. The Denman Shower Brush gently detangles strands without breakage and it separates curls for better definition without “poof” (meaning, it won’t make you look like you just got electrocuted).

But what I really love is the scalp massage you get from the soft and flexible pin bristles. It’s good for sloughing away loose hairs but also enhances blood flow to the scalp, which promotes better hair growth over time.

This particular brush does not have a traditional handle. Instead, the “handle” slides over the back of your hand so the brush is against your palm, and that provides better control (and fewer chances of dropping it) in the shower. And it’s really compact, too, so it’s super travel-friendly.

Denman Shower Brush Pros:

• Perfect for all curl and coil types
• Detangles and defines curls gently
• Provides thorough product distribution
• Inexpensive (about $14)

Denman Shower Brush Cons:

• May not be ideal for super long or very thick hair

Closing Thoughts

Caring for curly hair isn’t exactly rocket science, but there also isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to it, either. 

Once you understand your curl pattern and pair that with the right treatments and styling tools, however, your curls can be healthy, shiny, and frizz-free with relatively minimal effort. And although it may take some trial and error at first, the results are well worth it!