ROB MCCARTHY

After six months of testing 12 straightening brushes across three hair types, I can tell you exactly which ones deliver salon-smooth blowouts at home and which ones belong in the donation bin. My team and I tested each brush on fine, thick, and curly hair, timing every pass and photographing every result. The best hair … Read more

If you have spent any time scrolling through curly hair forums, you have already seen the same debate pop up again and again: should you invest in a hooded dryer, or can a diffuser get the job done? I asked our team to test the best hooded dryers on the market for to settle this … Read more

After thirty days of testing and chasing the kind of shine I see in salon ads, I can tell you the best hair steamers are not all built the same. My hair is a thick 3C curl pattern that drinks leave-in conditioner like it owes money. Our team put ten top-rated hair steamers through real … Read more

I spent the last three months testing eight of the most popular IPL hair removal devices on the market, and the results genuinely surprised me. After logging over 200 flashes across my legs, underarms, and bikini line, I can tell you which devices actually deliver on their promise of permanent hair reduction, and which ones … Read more

Finding the best laser hair removal devices used to mean booking an appointment at a clinic and dropping hundreds of dollars per session. I spent the last 90 days testing eight at-home IPL and diode devices to find which ones actually deliver on those promises of permanent hair reduction, and which ones just produce a … Read more

I tested my first epilator on a Tuesday night in March 2018, and the sound still makes me cringe. I dragged the rotating tweezers up my calf, yelped, stared at the wall for ten seconds, and then went back for round two. That was the moment I realized something had to change in my hair … Read more

I remember my first LED face mask session three years ago. I sat in a dermatologist’s office, anxious about the bright red light pressed against my skin, wondering if this was another skincare gimmick. Fast-forward to today, and my bathroom counter looks like a beauty lab with at-home light therapy masks I have personally tested … Read more

I spent the last three months testing six at-home microcurrent devices on my own face, and the results genuinely surprised me. As a 38-year-old woman watching my jawline start to soften, I went into this deep-dive skeptical but hopeful. After 12 weeks of daily and every-other-day treatments across multiple devices, I now have clear data … Read more

I’ve been testing facial cleansing brushes on my combination skin for over three years now, and the results genuinely surprised me. When I started this guide, I expected the high-end brands to dominate. Instead, I found that several mid-range and budget options cleaned just as well (sometimes better) than brushes costing three times as much. … Read more