Review: Hair Straightening Brush for Natural Hair

Hot pink and intriguing, is this heated hair straightening brush too good to be true for natural hair? After weeks of seeing Instagram videos of the elusive hair straightening brush, I bought one to test it out and see what the fuss is about.

I purchased the Apalus straightener from AliExpress priced (as of 1/2/2016) at $24.00 with free shipping. Now, that’s a great price but be ready to wait a 3-4 weeks for your product to arrive. If you don’t want to wait that long or want the security and assurance of Amazon Prime, worry not. You can order a hair straightening brush on Amazon Prime for $39.99 with free 2 day shipping. It’s a little marked up but I guess that’s the price you pay for convenience.

The product is not without flaws but I really liked the results. You simply plug the hair straightening brush into an outlet, hold the small round “on” button, and adjust the temperature to your preference. To change the brush temperature setting from Celsius to Fahrenheit just hold the + and – heat control buttons at the same time and the setting should flip. I washed, conditioned, heat protected and blow dried my hair prior to use.

Pro: It got my hair straight and I don’t feel like it was burning. 

I have spent almost 2 years growing out my natural hair, the last thing I want is heat damage. I really don’t like putting heat on my fro so I was nervous to try this. 450 F on this hair straightening brush doesn’t feel nearly as hot as 450 F on a ceramic straightener (not sure why, maybe all the anti-scald heat protection elements make for a cooler product). I like that about it though.

Con: The buttons are a tad inconveniently placed.

I am right handed and the way that I hold the brush causes me to mash the “on/off” button as I’m my brushing it through my hair. Every few passes I have to double check that the device is still on. I have a lot of hair so straightening it is time consuming. This little kink prolonged the process at first but I’ve gotten used it and adjusted my grip. I’m considering ordering a pair of those heat resistant hair straightening gloves so I can hold higher up on the brush without mashing the buttons. I notice that the Aliexpress seller I purchased from has changed the item to include a pair of these gloves, so yay!

Pro: It works better on larger chunks of hair.

When taming an afro, this is a definite perk. Unlike other hair straightening products, I enjoy that I am able to straighten larger sections of hair at once. In a perfect world the straightening brush would get my hair to the desired straightness in one pass but that’s not the case. It doesn’t seem to matter if I do really small sections or larger chunks, it always takes about 3-4 passes of the straightening brush through my hair before it’s straight.

Pro: My house doesn’t smell like burnt hair.

You know what I’m talking about, that 1990s hair salon burnt hair smell. Thankfully, the hair straightening brush on the highest setting (450 F) doesn’t cause a bunch of steam/smoke to come off of my hair. The unfortunate smell side effect that plagues ceramic straighteners is thankfully not as noticeable with the hair straightening brush.

Con: It’s a leeeeetle cheapy

I honestly kind of figured this product wouldn’t be salon quality. It’s plastic and has a bit of a playskool feel to it. My fro is pretty relentless but I lost a tooth from my hair straightening brush during the first use. I have used it a few times since then and that’s the only tooth I’ve lost though.  When ordering from AliExpress, I keep my expectations relatively low so I am not mad at the quality.

Overall – This product is a win! 

I really like this product and it definitely worked to tame my 4c natural hair. For the price I paid, I am happy with the results and I’m not surprised at the quality.

The hair straightening brush got my hair straight but not nearly as bone straight as a flat iron would. There was still some body. I deep conditioned and thoroughly brushed my hair with a paddle brush prior to use which I think helped. The hair straightening brush results don’t last as long as regular straightening but I feel like there was way less damage. Even as my hair starts to repoof at the end of about 5 days my hair is easier to brush through and more manageable. I straighten it once using the hair straightening brush and don’t do any retouches during the week. I have had zero problems with my natural curls bouncing back. Still, this is putting heat on my natural hair so I will only use it for special occasion every few months. There are a couple of other more expensive hair straightening brushes available on Amazon that I am considering trying.

I can only speak for my own hair, hair type, and my own experiences so I would love to hear your thoughts. Let me know what you think!

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat @TheNashAttack