- Since my late teens, I have had wavy, unruly hair that is susceptible to frizz from heat damage.

- I've made a conscious effort to try and eliminate heat styling products from my hair regimen in order to do less damage in the form of split ends and hair loss.

- When I first tried Tineco's MODA ONE Smart Ionic Hair Dryer, I was immediately amazed by how quickly it dried my thick strands and how straight/sleek my hair was with minimal work.

Up to my late teen years, my thick, soft, silky straight hair was the envy of nearly everyone I encountered. I totally took it for granted till my hair began to evolve into being more wavy and unruly with random patches of wavy and straight hair.

At that point, I began spending the next several years using straighteners and curling wands on my hair to make my hair look barely put together. The end result was even worse — my hair got so damaged that all of my strands had split ends and my hair was even falling out.

When I decided to do a full hair detox a few years ago, I threw out all of my heat tools and slowly worked on rebuilding my hair health. Once I got to a comfortable place, I started using heat tools sparingly, just for special events or occasions.

When I do decide to use heat tools, I am extremely careful about the products I put on my hair from the heat protectant to the actual tools. When I was sent the Tineco MODA ONE, my first reaction was that the high-tech device looked like it came from the robotic future. My second reaction was wondering what exactly made it a "smart" hair dryer.

Essentially, the technology in the hair dryer detects hair moisture levels and automatically adjusts damaging heat — it even has a light sensor that tells you when you're getting dangerously close to your scalp in a way that could cause damage. The result is a soft, smooth blowout similar to ones I've spent thousands of dollars on over the course of my life, straight from my home with minimal product, damage, and time spent.

How It Works

I use this one of two ways: either with a paddle brush to get a sleek, straight look or with a big round brush to get big, voluminous waves.

When I'm out of the shower, I wait for my hair to air dry about halfway and put in a hair oil like this one with heat protectant in it from Playa, for some moisture. After combing through my hair gently, I'll plug in the hair dryer.

Whether I'm choosing a straight, sleek look or a wavy one, I'll section my hair off into three to five parts on each side of my head, slowly brushing through my hair with one hand and letting the hair dryer follow along with my other. Before using this hair dryer, I've used a lot of low-quality ones, so I'm used to having it nearly touch my hair, or at least the hairbrush.

However, the focused nozzle on the MODA ONE makes it easy to hold the dryer about six to eight inches away from my head and still feel like it's providing heat — more than that, the neon blue ring light surrounding the base of the dryer turns red when it senses you've gotten close enough to your scalp to cause damage.

I just have to go through each strand of hair once or twice before it's completely dry, after which I put in another serum or some more dry oil for added shine.

How It Compares

I've used the famous Dyson Hair Dryer several times because they have them at the gym I go to. The MODA ONE is comparable in its speed, magnetic attachments, and smart technology.

When I'm getting ready for a big occasion or special event, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to style my hair with the MODA ONE from start to finish, whereas the Dyson usually takes at least 15 to 20 minutes to dry my hair.

Both are equipped with the ability to cause less heat damage than a standard low-quality hair dryer, though I prefer the MODA ONE for the fact that it has the light that tells me when I'm getting too close to my scalp and that it leaves my hair shinier than the Dyson ever did.

The MODA ONE is also less expensive than a Dyson — the former is $300 where the Dyson is $400.

Conclusion

While the MODA ONE is, of course, expensive, I highly recommend it to anyone who gets regular blowouts and wants to avoid frequent salon visits. I have friends who get blowouts every weekend or at least every month. This is great for them. I also think this is an incredibly important investment for anyone who regularly blow-dries their hair — the way it prevents heat damage is a true investment in hair health.

I also recommend this is a great tool for anyone with really curly hair. For example, the diffuser attachment worked wonders on my sister's thick, curly, coarse hair.

Get the Tineco MODA ONE Smart Ionic Hair Dryer on Amazon for $300.

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