I love a great blow-out just as much as the next girl, but my life is far too complicated (and my bank account too modest) to set time and money aside to head to the salon for regular sessions (or maybe I’m just too disorganized?). And try as a might to do it at home, it feels (and usually looks) like I’m all thumbs. The blow dryer plus round brush combo never works—I end up with hair flying all over the place, or worse the brush gets stuck and my husband comes running when he hears me yelping from the bathroom. And if I use a flat iron the results, though straight, could hardly be described as attractive: my hair just looks lifeless and dull. Plus I inevitably fry my follicles and fill the bathroom with the smell of my burning hair (I can feel my tortured ends splitting as I write). To read more click after the jump.

So, imagine how truly psyched I was to discover the InStyler, a combo curling iron/flat iron/heated hair brush that delivers a salon-look minus the time investment. How does it work? It’s shaped like a flat iron but it has a significant and wonderful difference: one paddle is shaped as a hair brush and the other has an automatically rotating cylinder that gently coaxes your hair into the flawless, coifed results. I know that it sounds a little robotic, but trust me—with this nifty tool you can straighten, curl, flip or just add volume to your hair without adding hours to your routine. I straightened my hair perfectly in just 10 minutes, flat (no pun intended—well, maybe a little). If I don’t say so myself, the results are salon-worthy, no? At $99, this tool is definitely an investment, but remember that a professional blow-dry costs around $30 and so you can own this gem for the same cost as slighty more than three salon visits (but believe me, you’ll use this fantastic tool for years). Not bad in my books.

(Left) Before with natural wavy hair; (Right) Volia! Smooth and soft.

Available on theshoppingchannel.com ($99). To learn more about this join me tonight as I talk about beauty tricks and summer trends on The Shopping Channel live on LOULOU Shops Here at 6pm EST.