7 free-flowing curling irons to keep your hair smooth this summer, even on humid days – National | Globalnews.ca

This is my favorite and I reach for it whenever I need a quick fix. Just take a little product on the wand, brush it through those pesky side hairs, and everything is nice and smooth. It adds shine without a greasy feel. A quick application also lasts a long time — a few hours at least. But you may need to reapply on rainy days, hot days, or days with high humidity. Not a bad price for a two-pack: keep one at your desk and one in your purse!

If you can tolerate your hair feeling a bit wet after applying conditioner, this product works well to keep your hair from falling apart. The scent reminds me of hair spray. The good news is that this product probably lasts the longest in the mascara category, but I didn't find it to be drying quickly.

This hairspray has a lightweight texture, and as many reviewers have pointed out, the wand shape doesn't allow for too much product to be applied at once, which is probably a good thing! If you're going to be smoothing your hair a lot, you may need to use it a few times. Using this hairspray also takes a little practice—you need to sweep the wand in straight lines to avoid getting tangled in your hair. Of the three wands I tried, this one got the most re-uses.

With all rollerball hair rollers, you have to get used to the thicker texture – but this one provides shine without any noticeable sticky residue. I know this because I applied it and looked in a close mirror. Nothing! This is a nice medium hold hair roller that should last for hours, or even a day, depending on how voluminous you are. This is my personal favorite hair roller.

This one is stickier and more yellow than the others, but it worked smoothly through high ponytails, buns, and strands sticking out of braids. It lasted the longest of all the products I tried. Unfortunately, this meant that while the hair on the side of my bun was smooth, it was still sticky. I found it worked well for thicker hair than mine, or for buns that needed a strong hold all day.

Most of these products have beeswax as their main ingredient, but this one also contains castor seed oil and fruit waxes. This bar spread easily in my hair and left no residue after a little brushing. It has a very sweet, strong floral scent, so if you don't like scented products, you may want to avoid this one. The product description says it's unscented, but reviewers disagree (me too). The main downside is that I have to reapply multiple times a morning, so it doesn't seem to protect those broken/new hair as well as other products.

This is one of my favorite products. It works really well, has no pungent smell, and stays on pretty well all day! I think it's the best at dealing with breakage that tends to break out of any hair type. Depending on how thick or curly your hair is, you may have to use a little more. One thing to note: it's a little drier than other products I've tested, so you have to use a little more on the wand and may need to use a little more product.