Your flat iron better watch its back

Straightening my hair is essentially a waste of time in South Florida this time of year, but if I don’t, the end result involves fluff, flyaways and frizz. Most days I can get away with it by putting on a hat or a scarf—but others require the full blow-dry/flat-iron monte if I want to look presentable. I thought a more middle-of-the-road summer-hair approach would elude me forever, but then the DAFNI go literally landed on my doorstep.

Part brush, part flat iron, this heated ceramic styler does the jobs of both with just one tool. Smaller (and more portable) than the original DAFNI, this straightening brush is ideal for touch-ups after the gym, when going out after work or basically any time your strands need a little smoothing (and you have a plug nearby).

You get evenly-distributed heat in less than a minute and spring-loaded bristles so you won’t burn your scalp if you happen to press too hard. The detachable cord fits perfectly alongside the brush in the heat-resistant travel case, and it will shut itself off in 15 minutes if you forget to. The compact brush head makes it easy to style bangs and shorter hair, but just remember the DAFNI is designed to act as a finishing tool—don’t use it on damp or wet hair!

It took me a few tries to get the hang of the technique since you have to get your hair deep into the brush to reap the smoothing benefits of its heat. (I found that using one hand to pull my hair taut while holding the brush with the other helped.) No, it doesn’t deliver the stick-straightness of an iron (but it could be used to maintain your super-sleek style after the fact) and that’s ok. Summer beauty is all about easy, breezy—but that doesn’t mean you have to live with frizz until fall!