Tool Time: Hair Appliances Get an Upgrade

The newest styling tools aim to do more than simply curl or smooth hair. Some of the latest improve hair quality as well, says Janet Taake, senior vice president of merchandising at Ulta Beauty. High-tech add-ons, like digital-thermometer gauges, are prompting many consumers to trade up to newer models. Retail sales for hair appliances, which includes stylers, dryers and trimmers, gained 1.74 percent to 74.6 million units in 2012, says Virginia Lee of Euromonitor International. Here, some new tools that promise to heat up the category.

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