As one of the first to combine multiple styling methods into one tool, it’s no wonder the InStyler became as popular as it did. “A lot of people want the salon look, but don’t want to take the time to create it,” says Utah-based hairstylist Heggy Gonzalez, who has dabbled with the InStyler. “These tools kind of are the best of both worlds; they allow you to do more intensive blowouts or add curls to your hair without it being too difficult.” And it makes all the more sense why its diehard fans would clutch it so dearly in a time when the beauty industry is set on convincing us to own as many specialized products as we possibly can.
Hair gadget technology has come a long way, but the high-tech tools of the current day share DNA with throwback hair tools like the InStyler, which I consider the godmother of all the fancy blowout brushes we rely on today. Without its runaway success, would we have blowout brushes like the Revlon One-Step Volumizer or rotating curling irons like the Beachwaver? Probably not! In other words, the InStyler walked so the Dyson Airwrap could run.
There’s something eternally alluring about such unconventional hot tools that feel like an artifact of a time gone by—which is probably why the InStyler and its fleet of hot tool offspring remain so popular today. Just search TikTok’s current favorite product, the Wavytalk Thermal Brush, and you’ll see what I mean.
If you thought the InStyler simply disappeared when it stopped airing its commercials back in the day, think again! The tool is still available to purchase today, and not just from your local thrifts, bargain stores, or eBay. The InStyler company has been expanding its product line since 2008, but it still makes rotating iron tools similar to the original. (I haven’t tried the 2024 version, so I can’t speak to how it compares—or if they made it less noisy.)
While there’s no major harm in unearthing and using your perfectly functional high school InStyler—just use protection!—I don’t think it’s so much better than any other tools on the market that you need to devote your next Sunday to prowling local Goodwills to find one of your own. But if you do have one hiding away somewhere, happen to come across one on your latest thrift haul, or you simply never stopped using yours at all, there’s never been a better time to give it a (literal) spin.