Best Hot Combs for Caring for Natural Hair

Your natural hair or weave looks all nice and shiny, but wait until all those unnecessary coils and knots start showing up. The thick, rough hair can be unsightly, and hard to manage. The hydrating conditioner won’t do the trick. If you are looking for an easy and quick fix that will not take up lots of your time in the morning (and of course without frustrations), you will love a hot comb/electric hot comb.

Whether you suffer from unruly locks or hard-to-tame hair, a hot comb will do the trick. This is simply a metal comb that is heated to help you straighten kinky hair. It will style your hair without the risk of damaging it.

Let us help you discover some of the best hot combs in the market today and some information to help you shop for the right one.

Top 10 Hot Combs of 2020 Reviewed

1. Andis 450ºF High Heat Ceramic Press Comb 

2. ENZO Milano SX ENZOcool Professional 2-In-1 Hot Comb 

3. DAN Technology Hair Straightener Ceramic for Women

4.  Vimpro Multifunctional Electric Hot Comb 

5.  Profession Ionic Hair Straightener Brush 

6. Tymo Hair Straightener Brush

7. HAI GOLD CONVERTABLE Professional Flat Iron

8. PRITECH Eletric Straightening Comb Hair Brush 

9. Ubeator Electric Hot Straightening Comb 

10.  Tesoky Beard Straightening Comb

How to Choose the Best Hot Combs: The Ultimate Buying Guides

These reviews have been done with the assumption that you are familiar with hot combs and their associated features. Each of the products listed has its own standout features and will be sure to provide you differing experiences depending on what you consider your major point of concern. Having done all the corresponding research, we have managed to outline all the purchase considerations you need to have in mind when looking for a hot comb that works for you. 

Types of Hot Combs: Stove Powered Hot comb vs. Electric Hot Comb

As might have been evident from the name itself, a stove powered hot comb uses heat from either an electric or a gas stove. How this works is, you hold the comb over the stove fire or a hot burner if an electric stove is the heat source you’re working with. We do this so as to gain enough heat for the straightening and styling process. The tool itself has only one standout feature: its heat resistant handle. It is generally an analog device, doesn’t require any electrical stimuli and any of the corresponding accessories. This means, no plug socket, no cord, and no temperature settings.

It obviously has its advantages. One of which includes: convenience, as it is not subject to power outages. However, since we’re being honest, the pros are generally overwhelmed by the cons. For instance, using an open flame to heat the comb teeth is a hazardous endeavor. This goes even for expert users; fire can be an excellent servant, but once it gets out of hand, it can be an absolute nightmare of a master. It is so easy to burn down the house when using this type of hot comb. Moreover, it is a time-wasting process as you have to test the comb’s heat on a white paper or cloth, to ensure the temperature is just right for the whole process.

How About Electrical Combs?

Then, on the other hand, we have the electrical hot combs. These are metals combs that use electricity to charge the straightening brush with enough heat to make for a more versatile hairdo. They are generally made from good heat conductors and materials beneficial for prolonged hair health. In addition to this, they come with a variable temperature setting so as to align your hair needs with the appropriate heat level. They are preferred to the stove hot combs as they gain heat fast, have a constant output of the required temperature, are convenient, and are far safer than the non-electric alternative.

What Material is the Plate Made of?

If there is one feature that could make or break your hairstyle, it is the plate. It is what gets the heat, it is the part that makes most of the contact with your scalp, and it is the feature most responsible for all your hair-straightening needs. Its efficiency directly correlated to the material your hot comb is made of. This means that they do come in differing materials. These include ceramic, tourmaline, gold, or any other hybrid of these three compounds. They have been specifically chosen as they can take in the most heat in the shortest time. Not only can they do this, but they can also maintain such a temperature for the longest time.

Of all three, the prime material is ceramics. This is because ceramic is capable of handling changing temperatures, which can range up to a high of 450F without destroying your hair. Furthermore, they release ions of a negative nature that negate the positive ions present in hair that’s responsible for the crimp and frizz prevalent in hair. All this means you have to pick a hot comb that has ceramic plating and not just a ceramic coat on top. This will ensure that you’re getting a hundred percent of what the hairbrush has to offer. In spite of all these positives, a straightening brush that is made from ceramic all the way from the plate to the handle is expensive.

How Compatible is Your Hair?

Everyone is unique, and so are our individual hair types. This goes to show that different hot combs will work differently when paired with certain hair types. You have to make sure the comb you get is compatible with your hair type. Not limiting ourselves to just the hair-type, the hot comb you have may work differently depending on the length of your hair. Some brushes will not do the job properly when coupled with short hair. In case of long hair, getting a brush with a roller or round brushes might be your best bet. Opt for flat brushes when dealing with shorter hair.

Long or Short Hair?

As with the case with long hair and short hair, dense and less dense hair will require a varied response in terms of plate and temperature setting. It goes without saying that dense hair translates to more hair follicles per unit area, and the reverse is true. This means that dense hair will mean a higher temperature level to bring your mane under control. We’ve talked about density, so let’s now talk about thickness.

First of all, have you ever measured how thick your hair strands are? Don’t worry if you haven’t. If you happen to pinch a hair follicle and can feel them between the forefinger and thumb, then my friend, you will need heat exceeding 400F to get it to behave. While for thin hair, this temperature level is way less. This happens as the thicker your hair is, the less sensitive it is while the thinner it is, the more sensitive you’ll find it.

Hot Comb Bristles

How can we talk about the hair comb without taking into account the bristles? They are made from materials like the plates we were talking about earlier. But in spite of all the variety out there, you can’t go wrong with nylon or boar bristles as these are hair and skin-friendly. Depending on what kind of hair you have, we know you’ve had to deal with tangled up hair at one point or another. Ball-tipped bristles will help you out with that. In addition to type and the tip design, the distribution of the bristles matters too. Spread them out haphazardly, and the required amount of heat will not penetrate into your hair strands, inevitably leading to disappointing results. Once you get one with proper distribution, the straightening process will tend to be more efficient while taking a shorter time as well.

All About the Heat Settings

This is another factor that comes hand-in-hand with the type of hair in question. African or Afro-American hair is especially difficult to tame, and thus it will obviously require a higher temperature for satisfactory results when it comes to styling and straightening it. This is where the adjustable heat settings come in. A lower temperature setting, while okay for silky and soft hair types, will generally not work and consequently remove the natural kinks if you have tough hair. While too high a setting will lead to completely burnt manes.

For hairs with strong natural stresses, getting precise and quick results, we recommend a range of between 350F to 450F. They will cater for all that natural kink while limiting the damage to a minimum or nothing at all. This kind of hot comb will do all this while making burns non-existent and ensuring the styling session is precise and quick. We can’t talk about the heat levels without mentioning a little something on the warm-up time.

So What’s the Right Temperature?

It goes without saying that most of us will get to fix up our hairs either in the morning before going to work or some other arrangement or in the evening before going painting the town red. Either way, time is of the essence. While you can easily find a unit that’ll take you from 0 to 400F in about 60-90 seconds, this wait-time can be considered to be on the higher side. You can find electric hot combs that can do this in 15 seconds or even less. The catch is the hot combs that can do this ten to be quite pricey and hence might be out of your buying budget.  

Then there’s this pair of features: the detailed heat control dial and an instant heat recovery technology. What the former does is to make it easier to set the desired temperature as a labeled dial increases the ease of choosing your preferred heat level accurately without being blindsided. While the latter is a revolutionary scientific innovation that levels the styling temperature for a uniform styling experience, it shouldn’t be looked at as an additional feature but as a staple characteristic for quality styling. It enables you to fix your hair up with zero damage/hot-spots and a reduced straightening time.

 How the Handle affects Handling

The first thing you absolutely need to look out for is the handle material. For this, you will need an insulator. This is because the last thing you need when you’re almost running late for work is looking for a cold towel to deal with your increasingly heated handle. This will waste a lot of time as the cold rag will eventually become hot if your handle is an especially good conductor. It might also mean making an additional purchase to get a glove that will sort out this problem for you.

Do we need to mention a device capable of reaching 400F should have a non-slippery handle? Well, it does. Not only will it save you a lot of time as you wouldn’t need to readjust your grip every 2 minutes, but it also significantly reduces the chances of you getting burnt accidentally. An optimal grip will also improve on the overall performance as a sturdy hold will increase the amount of control you have over the comb and, consequently, your hair.

Size of the Hot Comb’s Handle

In addition to a proper functioning handle, it should also be of the right size. This consideration is totally subjective, as we all have varying hand sizes. However, the general rule of thumb is, you need to get a product that fits adequately within the grasp of your hand. You need a comb that will not fatigue you when styling. This goes hand in hand with how lightweight it is. It should be extremely lightweight. Hand cramps and fatiguing is something you should expect if your handle fits and feels awkward when you’re clasping it. You need not suffer this discomfort, just get a comb with a handle that works for you.

Safety and Your Personal Well-being

As with most other electrical appliances, hot combs also have to comply with regulations and standards set by national and international quality assessment bodies. Certification is given only when compliance has been ensured. In addition to these marks of safety, electrical hot combs also ought to have any thermo-regulation features. They could have a timed switch just in case the electrical appliance has been determined to have run for an unusually long amount of time or a thermostat to regulate temperatures once a certain critical temperature level has been reached or exceeded. These features can save your home from burning down or your electricity bill from going up.

Since these tools come into direct contact with your scalp, avoiding burns in this area is also a prime priority for any quality manufacturer. Most experts and hair specialists recommend acquiring into your arsenal a hot comb with anti-scalding plates to protect your sensitive head. Integrated ionic technology is an additional safety feature added in for your health-oriented usability. It helps minimize the risk of damage while making sure your hair remains significantly less unruly after styling and straightening.

Cord Length

Lastly, we’re going to talk about cord length. Getting an unnaturally long electric cord will likely cause someone to trip sooner rather than later and sustain injuries. Whereas getting a cord that is too short will hamper your movements. It will mean having to work exceedingly close to the power outlet. Dealing with a fidgety plug-in-socket will bring in a lot of inconveniences; however, this isn’t the only point of concern; when pulling out the plug suddenly, depending on the circumstances, it can lead to a short circuit effectively frying your device.

Conclusion

There you have it, we have reviewed the 10 best hot combs for home use. With all things considered, it is therefore important to know your hair type. A hair comb that works for fine Caucasian hair may not necessarily work for Natural Black hair and vice versa. It is also important to know the recommended heat temperature for different hair types. Best of luck as you order your new hot comb and rock your lustrous hair every day.