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Have you ever gone to the salon and wondered what magic they used to get your hair silky soft? Was it the way they washed your hair? The fancy salon hair products? Well, those definitely play a role. But I’m here to tell you, that actually might be the hairdryer. Here’s my full review after using the T3 Cura hair dryer for 2 weeks.
I’m not the kind of person who invests in fancy hair tools. I never have been because I just hadn’t seen the value. My last hairdryer was chosen because it was an “Amazon Bestseller” and came with 2-day free shipping. But, I’m here to say that my tune has changed. I have seen the light that is a good quality hair dryer and my hair is singing the phrases of breaking the cycle of fry, straighten with more heat, hair mask, repeat.
My friends at T3 sent me the Cura model hair dryer (<– best price at the time of this post) to test out for my honest review. So let’s break it down:
The Claim
From the T3 Website:
“Fight the frizz in less time with T3 Digital IonAir. A digitally controlled wide volume of air is enhanced with negative ions to dry hair quickly for soft, healthy-looking results.”
The hairdryer also touts the following features:
- Digital Ionair (not sure what that is, but it sounds fancy)
- 3 Heat Settings
- Lock-in Cool Shot
- Pure Stream Cap (I honestly still don’t know what this is)
Packaging
The good: This hairdryer is beautiful. I received a white and rose gold Cura, and aside from being able to match all of my Apple products (really important folks), it really is quite beautiful. The box comes with the dryer and two styling attachments: a drying concentrator and styling concentrator. There are some other attachments you can buy such as one for curly hair, and a soft-touch diffuser.
I really like how the dryer feels in your hand. It’s not bulky, but it doesn’t feel too small either. The weight is nice, where it feels balanced in my hand. The Cura is slightly larger than a travel hairdryer, so in certain situations I’ll probably travel with it because not only is it amazing (more on that below), but also because of it’s compact size.
The Bad: I wish I was able to retract the cord into the dryer, or have some other cord-keeper mechanism, so I’m not constantly wrapping the cord around…everything.
Features
The Good: Favorite feature so far has been the lock-in cool shot. You don’t need to hold the button down, just press for on, and again for off. The three heat settings are nice, but I really have been just using it on the highest setting and that’s been fine for me.
The Bad: The ‘eh: (because I’m being picky) There are two fan strengths and that’s the only reason I’m knocking it down a star. I really wished there were three fan strength settings so that I could customize the settings to my exact preference.
Results
The Good: Bottom line – this hair dryer works and does exactly what it says! After washing my hair, I use the L’Oreal hair primer to help protect and dry my hair faster (because my hair is super thick). During the first half of my first hair drying experience, I actually wondered why this hair dryer was so expensive. But, when my hair was about 75% dry – BAM! My hair was super soft and didn’t have the puffy frizz that I usually have after drying my hair.
The best part? I didn’t need to straighten my hair afterward. Game. Changer.
Here’s a before and after using my old hair dryer and the T3 Cura. TBH, I shot the before after I started using the T3 Cura and it was actually painful for me to use my old hair dryer again. You can see the amount of frizz I have in the before compared to the after. My hair actually looks darker because it’s not completely fried. I’m drinking the T3 kool-aid – wait, scratch that, I’m chugging the T3 kool-aid from a beer bong. All while rocking silky fresh-from-the-salon hair.
My favorite aspect of this hair dryer is that the it doesn’t blow your hair everywhere. I can actually give myself a true blow out with a roll brush where my old hair dryer just kind of blew my hair everywhere without doing much. The way you are able to maneuver this hair dryer for styling is top notch.
The Bad: I didn’t notice a huge improvement in how quickly the hair dryer dried my hair. I have very thick hair and it’s usually a full 10 minute process and while it might have shaved off a couple minutes, I was hoping to dry my hair in 2-3 minutes.
It’s also important to note that my mom who has thin, straight, hair also tried this product and noticed zero difference between using the T3 Cura and her $30 Conair hair dryer. Therefore, I think this dryer will be mainly impactful for those with thick, curly, and/or frizzy hair.
Overall Rating
The Good: I love this hair dryer and it does what it says and I completely recommend it for those with long, thick, curly and/or frizzy hair. I also think the price-point is spot on for this product. While T3 products are at the top of the market, I was actually surprised that the Cura retails for only $285 and I’ve been seeing it on special for as low as $119 (a total steal IMO). I’ve connected with other bloggers about T3 products on the price, because while they are great, they are also pricey. From that research I have learned that these products are true investments and will last 10+ years and can be family hand-me-downs, if taken care of properly.
I also want to add that I like that this hair dryer isn’t too loud (my old one scared my cat every time I turned it on) and it makes a pleasant ‘woosh’ sound when you turn it off.
The Bad: My dislikes of this product; no cord keeper, an extra fan setting, and better drying time, are minor and I can see being addressed in future releases. Also, if you have thin, straight hair, I don’t think this product would provide much benefit to you (but please let me know if I’m wrong about this in the comments!).
This is definitely a good product for a holiday gift, or to add to your own wishlist.
Good For
- Thick and/or Curly Hair
- Hair Frizz Issues
- Heat-damaged Hair
- Home blow-outs
- Traveling
- Small apartments/spaces
- Sound/Noise Sensitive
Not Ideal For
- Thin Hair
- Short Hair (pixie cut or shorter)
- Straight Hair
- Budget Conscious
Have you tried the T3 Cura, or do you have a holy grail hair tool? Let me know in the comments!
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