Beauty

NYLON BEAUTY AWARDS: EDITORS’ HAIR PICKS

unruly hair is no match for our favorite products and tools.

by nylon

Tried and true: It's the only way we want to give you guys the deal on which beauty products are really worth it. The first-ever Nylon Beauty Awards were started to do exactly that. Our editors tested every single product, and several makeup removal towelettes later we got this awesome guide to the best beauty products on the market. (Haven't checked it out yet? Here you go.)

But there were so many products that we wanted to favorite that we couldn't tell you why, exactly, they're so good. So for the next few weeks, NYLON's digital team will be sharing our stories (and, in some cases, tips) so you know why we love these products. We've already gone through the tales of our favorite eyeliners, how we get our skin so glowy, but this week we're tackling the hardest part: Hair. But we're about to make it a lot less hard. After you see our picks for the best new straighteners and styling products you'll see why frizzy, color-treated hair isn't going to be your problem anymore.

ORIBE DRY TEXTURIZING SPRAY, $39

We have Kate Moss to thank for a lot of our generational peculiarities. Interest in rock star boyfriends who are probably no good? Kate Moss. Obsession with skinny jean, even after all these years? Kate Moss. Love for anything British (and we mean anything--Cadbury, Topshop, Skins)? Kate Moss. She's even influenced our beauty habits in ways I never even realized before sitting down to write this: The rolled-out-of-bed, spent-last-night-at-a-really-fun-party hair look is all Moss', and one from which the entire dry shampoo industry owes her a debt of gratitude. Because with a good product that helps keep greasy tresses at bay, you could have a whole string of wild nights and not have to set your alarm an extra hour early. There are plenty of dry shampoos to chose from, but an informal survey of the women in the NYLON office found a clear favorite in Oribe's Texturizing Spray: It adds a bit of volume when you style your hair, it's paraben free, and it smells so good (no really, when is Oribe putting out a perfume?) that even a Kate Moss-esque night surrounded by smokers can be masked the morning after.

REBECCA WILLA DAVIS, EXECUTIVE WEB EDITOR

CONAIR INFINITI PRO FLAT IRON, $39

Something you don't know about me yet: I got my first grey hair when I was twelve years old. One of the more traumatic memories I can recall was the day that first grey hair was pointed out to me by one of my classmates in the junior high school cafeteria. You'd never know about my premature greys because I'm a master at hiding them even when my trip to the colorist is long overdue and the drugstore fresh out of Clairol Perfect 10 (it's my box hair color of choice). Needless to say, it's been a long decade of coloring my hair every color that you can think of. I've super blonde and highlighted, to hot pink for a minute, and most recently Kristen Stewart I'm-practically-a-vampire dark. (At least my condition has forced me to be experimental!) It's been fun, but my hair is paying the price for all of that damaging color. So I've had no choice but to make it a point to avoid heat styling and everything else that stresses out my hair—until yesterday. I'm beyond excited to tell you about my new favorite flat iron because it does the opposite of causing damage—using it actually makes your hair healthier. The iron comes with argan oil that's used to infuse the cermaic part, which reverse hair breakage, makes your hair softer and it doesn't smell like like you just lit your head on fire. This isn't one of those things that turns out to be too good to be true. Just to be sure, I tested it on some of the frizziest hair in the office (no offense, Blair from NYLON TV). It works on every hair type. Beautifully, I might add. I saw some sad faces when I was packing it away to take home, so I've generously donated it to be our new in-house hair straightener.

RAY SIEGEL, SENIOR WEB EDITOR

Bumble and Bumble Color Minded UV Protective Styling Balm, $28

HI, I'm Ali and I color my hair. Ever since my hair childhood blonde locks began to fade, I've been doing everything in my power to get my hair back to fresh sunny color I once had. And yes, I admit it, this often involves using the worst chemical of them all…BLEACH! Yes, it strips your hair of all its natural shine. Yes, it changes the texture to something that is a not-so-distant cousin of straw. But no, there isn't any other way to achieve that icey, Abbey Lee Kershaw blonde. As a result, I've become a bit crazy when it comes to what products I use between color treatments. To combat the damaged-dehydrated look, I've quit using any shampoo with sulfate listed as an ingredient. But that wasn't enough, because regardless of the soft-factor, I didn't know how to stop my color from fading quickly (thus resulting in more frequent visits to my colorist, which obviously meant more bleach...eek!)—until now. Enter Bumble and Bumble's Color Minded UV Protective Styling Balm: A multitasking cream that uses UV filters to protect your hair from heat and a preserving complex to slow down the color fading process. Applying just a dab of it on clean, damp hair, this magic potion literally improves the condition of your locks with each use, while simultaneously postponing your next dye-job. Did I mention it smells like a mix of coconuts and clean laundry?  Yes, I'm in love.  ALI HOFFMAN, WEB EDITOR