Styling your hair can often resemble a visit to NASA rather than a self-care ritual. Blowdryers boast supersonic engineering while flat irons feature trademarked heat-protectant technology. Flashy chrome accents and a range of customizable attachments have elevated the curling, straightening, and smoothing processes to the pinnacle of high-tech innovation.
Yet the hairbrush, with its straightforward facility—and lack of power cords—is proving to be the year’s most in-demand hair accessory, an elegant reminder of the industry’s return to “slow beauty,” and push towards more conscious consumerism. “I love innovation, and all these tools and gadgets are so fun, but there’s something about the simple foundational things that change the way we feel,” says Dianna Cohen, founder of the haircare company Crown Affair.
