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Best Deals on Health and Beauty Products

Some of these deals would make great Mother's Day gifts

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The back of a person's head with comb and hair drying in hands, drying and styling hair. Photo: Getty Images

Here at Consumer Reports, we evaluate a number of everyday tools you might use in your beauty and health routines. Whether you want to upgrade your hair dryer or you’ve been wanting to try a cold plunge, we can help you find some good options that will also let you save a little money.

Consumer Reports tests and evaluates plenty of these products in our homes and labs, and I keep track of all the prices to alert you when those that perform well are available at reasonable prices. With summer fast approaching and more people spending time outside, I’m also keeping an eye out for deals on sunscreen and insect repellent. Below you’ll find the best offers available right now.

If you don’t need anything right away and you can wait three weeks, Amazon Prime Day is coming. The four-day sales will run June 23 to 26, and odds are you’ll find even more products on sale, and possibly at better prices (not every discount is bigger than usual during the sale). In the meantime, you can use this list as a research tool. Getting an idea of what things cost now will make it easier to know if you’re really getting better prices than usual. It’s just one of the things you can do to get the best deals during Prime Day.

If you’re looking for something else, we’ve got you covered there, too. Visit the CR Deals Hub to see the best deals on everything we test.

Find Deals On

Sunscreens

This Neutrogena spray is $3 less than it was last month, making it a perfect opportunity to stock up. It is very good in overall performance across the board, with excellent UVA protection and very good protection from sunburn-producing rays. It does not meet its labeled SPF 50 in CR’s tests, but the protection is still adequate. It has a moderately strong tropical, fruity aroma and leaves a slightly greasy film and a notable sheen on the skin.

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This Eucerin Advanced Hydration SPF 50 spray is a solid performer with broad-spectrum protection. Its tested SPF comes close to its labeled SPF 50. Like the sunscreen above, it also has that plastic fragrance-free aroma, and it left a slightly draggy film on testers’ skin.

This CR Recommended sunscreen is above average for UVA protection and SPF, and it’s water-resistant for up to 80 minutes. Just note that with spray sunscreens, it can be harder to know if you’re getting even coverage, so CR suggests spraying the sunscreen into your hands and then applying it to your body to help ensure better coverage.

Hair Products

SheaMoisture Coconut + Hibiscus Frizz-Free Curl Mousse

SheaMoisture Coconut + Hibiscus Frizz-Free Curl Mousse

If you’re looking for soft curls, this lightweight foam could be worth a look. This mousse tells you how many pumps of product you should apply to each section of hair because it provides a guide for varying hair lengths. Because the foam is so lightweight and watery, it spread through our testers’ hair evenly and didn’t leave any clumps of sticky, stiff hair strands. We found it worked best for our testers who had finer hair, so if you’ve got thicker hair, it’s probably a skip.

Nail Polish Remover

Onyx Professional Nail Polish Remover Maximum Strength

Onyx Professional Nail Polish Remover Maximum Strength

The Onyx nail polish remover is $1 less than its recent sale price. It removed stubborn glitter nail polish faster than the other picks, and it held its own against traditional polish, coming in second place behind Cutex Ultra Powerful Gel Nail Polish Remover, but only by 48 milliseconds. It wasn’t the best for removing gel polish, but it was also far from being the worst. 

A few things tipped it over the edge, though, making it our Top Pick: Some acetone polish removers are extremely dry, and this one was not. It didn’t make the skin around my fingers white, like some removers. 

It also earned a 100 percent top-allergen-free rating from SkinSafe, which earned it a “best for sensitive skin” distinction, but it does contain a potential irritant, balsam of Peru. The kicker is that an 8-ounce bottle costs less than many others we tested, and it comes with a nail file.

Hair Dryers

The Shark SpeedStyle Pro Flex competes with the highly sought-after Dyson models, but at more than half the price—and it’s $20 less than the previous low. Like the Dyson models, our testers liked how easily the attachments snapped onto the hair dryer, and how you can rotate them without removing them. Its airflow is so strong that when turned on, it has a kickback. 

It has another high-end feature: its IQ Speed Styling & Drying Suite automatically adjusts heat and speed depending on the attachment. The attachments are unique and feature-rich, including the Frizzfighter, which is helpful in making sleek bangs (and flyaways). The diffuser features different prong lengths depending on hair type, and its brush attachment includes boar bristles. Its highest temperature reading in our tests was 115° F.

This is the best price we’ve seen for this hair dryer in over a month. It has been as low as $170, so it may cost less in the future if you want to wait.

The T3 Featherweight Stylemax truly is maxed out. It has four attachments, including two concentrators—one that’s wide, for drying, and another that’s narrow, for styling—plus a diffuser and a comb. And right now it’s $10 less than it was last month.

It has a plethora of settings, which you can set to your hair texture (fine, medium, or coarse) and match to each attachment for optimal drying and styling. If you prefer to manage your own settings, the Stylemax has three speeds and five heat settings. We found them to be easy to reach while using the hair dryer, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally turning on the wrong setting or fumbling around trying to change the temperature. 

The Featherweight Stylemax has one of the longest cords we tested—good news for those of us in old bathrooms without enough outlets. Its max heat was right in the middle of all the temps we calculated, hitting 119° F on high. And it’s one of the quieter models we tested, reaching 80 decibels.

Flat Irons

Hot Tools Pro Artist Black Gold Evolve Ionic Salon Hair Flat Iron

Hot Tools Pro Artist Black Gold Evolve Ionic Salon Hair Flat Iron

Hot Tools hair styling tools are a common sight at hair salons, and for good reason. Our evaluators found that this flat iron heated up fast and was easy to use. It has variable heat settings to give users more control, and the plates are slightly longer than most straighteners, a feature that could be useful for styling longer hair. It’s important to note that the temperature consistency isn’t reliable and could vary by as much as 20 degrees from the set temperature during use. It has a 2-hour window before it automatically shuts off, so you’ll want to remember to unplug it after every use.

GHD Platinum+ Flat iron

GHD Platinum+ Flat iron

The GHD Platinum+ flat iron is at the best price we’ve seen in a long time, dipping over $30 in the last few weeks. It delivered great results for all three evaluators who tried it. It has only one heat setting of 365° F, but it takes only 21 seconds to heat up and then keeps that heat consistent. It comes with a silicone holder so that you can store it before it’s cooled down all the way, and the swivel cord and pivoting plates make it easy to handle. Best of all, the On button is on the inside of the handle, so you won’t accidentally switch it off while you’re using it.

Detangling Brushes

FHI Heat Unbrush

FHI Heat Unbrush

Detangling brushes save not only time but also effort when tackling knots or an unruly mane. And for me, the FHI Heat Unbrush is the one to beat. It earned the distinction of being the best for curly hair in our evaluations of the best detangling brushes, and our testers liked its lightweight feel. I personally switched to it because my old brush had those beads at the end of the bristles, and they were snagging in my hair and ripping out my extensions. The Unbrush has smooth bristles, so it glides through my hair so smoothly and detangles without catching my extensions. It’s available in a variety of colors at different prices, but this is the lowest price you’ll find.

Razors

Gillette Venus Extra Smooth Sensitive Razor

Gillette Venus Extra Smooth Sensitive Razor

The Gillette Venus was a clear winner in our evaluations of the best razors. The silver handle is pleasantly weighted, and it has a grippy spot for your thumb that makes it easier to hold in the shower, and the razor head has a large lubricating strip. Since the head is so bulky, you may need to angle it carefully while shaving difficult areas, such as the hollow of an underarm or an ankle. 

Flamingo Original Razor

Flamingo Original Razor

The Flamingo razor has an exceptionally comfortable grip. “This razor is very comfortable to hold; I like the textured waves on the front of it because I can grip it well,” Lisa Fogarty, a writer at Consumer Reports, said. The five blades didn’t tug, and while the large head didn’t get in the way of a close shave as much as I feared, it did make it a bit difficult to manage around curved areas of the body (for example, the knees). 

The Flamingo razor comes with a wall holder that attaches via a suction cup. It doesn’t have a blade cover. You can, however, buy razor covers elsewhere if this is a deal breaker, but we didn’t test any. 

Neck and Back Massagers

Nektek Shiatsu Neck and Back Massager

Nektek Shiatsu Neck and Back Massager

This massager, made famous on TikTok, falls in the middle of the pack in terms of pricing, compared with the other models we evaluated. The reviewer found that the nodes pressed into their neck in an uncomfortable way, but two others who tried it loved it, so you might find the massager is just right or not right at all (but don’t worry—there’s a 30-day return window on Amazon). However, when it came to heat, this massager really shone. It reaches temperatures of 109° F. You can use this massager on various body parts, and it even comes with a car adapter, making it a boon for road trips.

Papillon Shiatsu Neck and Back Massager Pillow

Papillon  Shiatsu Neck and Back Massager Pillow

The Papillon Shiatsu Neck and Back Massager Pillow is at the lowest price we’ve ever seen. It checks a lot of the boxes for being the perfect massager. It’s effective and lightweight. In fact, it’s the lightest of all the electric massagers we tried, according to our measurements. It’s also fairly inexpensive. You can use the massager on different body parts, such as your back, neck, shoulders, legs, and feet. It also offers a good amount of heat.

Ice Baths

Pod Company Pro IcePod 2.0

Pod Company  Pro IcePod 2.0

This portable ice bath from Pod Company is now $20 less than I’ve ever seen, making it an even better deal than usual. It’s a great option if you’re thinking of investing in something like this to keep at home. In our evaluations, it was easy to set up and take apart. It is smaller than the comparable Cold Pod XL (which costs a bit more), but otherwise, the two are very similar. So it may be better suited for smaller individuals. For example, one of our evaluators was around 6 feet tall and about 200 pounds and found this one to be a bit cramped compared to the other model. That said, if you don’t mind close quarters and like the price to test out ice baths at home, this could be just what you’re looking for.

Toothbrushes

If you want an electric toothbrush that won’t cost an arm and a leg, the Sonicare 4100 is a good choice. This is the standard sale price that’s available more often than not, but it’s much cheaper than other options that rate just as highly in our tests. Although this toothbrush is on the simpler side when it comes to extra features, it still performs admirably when it comes to teeth cleaning and ease of use. It offers two cleaning modes, and it comes with two especially helpful features: a timer and a pressure sensor. It doesn’t offer any connectivity to an app.

Water Flossers

The Waterpik Ion Professional Cordless is $10 less than it was last month. It has a somewhat unusual design; it’s a countertop water flosser with a rather large footprint (about 6x6 inches). It’s rechargeable, so instead of a wall outlet plug, you use a magnetic USB-A cable. Waterpik claims that the flosser can last up to 4 weeks between charges.

The large opening on this product’s removable reservoir makes it quite easy to fill, and it earned top marks for ease of use. There’s one downside, though: It’s one of the noisier models in our ratings, which may bother some users. The Ion has a timer that alerts you at 30 seconds and 1 minute to let you know when to switch to another part of your mouth.

We found the Onlyone Water quite easy to use and charge. Despite its smaller countertop footprint, it holds quite a lot of water, which means longer flossing sessions without needing a refill. The removable tank has a large opening, which facilitates easy filling.

The Oral-B Water Flosser Advanced earned top marks for ease of use, both in battery charging and general operation. It offers an on-demand button, which allows you to activate the water jet only while you’re pressing a button. This flosser’s battery is particularly easy to charge; all you have to do is place it on top of the plugged-in charging unit. The device is on the quieter side, too. Its main flaw in our testing was its smaller tank capacity.

Neck Fans

Panergy Bladeless Neck Fan

Panergy Bladeless Neck Fan

The Panergy bladeless neck fan is the same delightful shade of pink as its handheld fan (it also comes in white and black). Our tester found that it performs its basic function just fine, with the added perk of being super flexible: Its pliable silicone back allows it to be nearly as wide or as narrow as desired.

Arctic Air Neck Fan

Arctic Air Neck Fan

The Arctic Air neck fan has the best airflow angle of every model our evaluator tried (and it’s not even adjustable). It’s also on the louder side, so it may only be a good choice if you don’t mind a little extra noise near your ears.

Jisulife Portable Neck Fan

Jisulife Portable Neck Fan

This neck fan may be a great tool to keep in your arsenal for hot days. For the price, you don’t get any bells and whistles like cooling or mist that you can find in pricier models. It simply blows air at three speeds. It’s also not adjustable, so you can’t aim the airflow, but the vents wrap all the way around the fan to cool your face and neck.

In-Ear Thermometers

This thermometer earned top marks for accuracy, consistency, and ease of cleaning. It’s made to be used with disposable plastic probe caps, so there’s no need to worry about earwax sticking to the probe and reducing accuracy. It’s an in-ear-only thermometer, so it can’t be used for children younger than 6 months. In terms of features, this is the most basic of the three Braun ThermoScan thermometers we tested, but it’s a solid choice if you’re looking for a less expensive option that gets the job done. 

This Braun model doesn’t indicate whether you’ve positioned the probe correctly inside the ear. It stores only one previous temperature recording. There’s also no option to mute the thermometer’s beeps, and the display lacks backlighting, making it difficult to read in the dark.

The Alcedo digital thermometer earned top marks for accuracy and consistency, and despite its very reasonable price, it’s packed with features. This model can be used as an in-ear thermometer and, when an included cap is affixed over the probe, it can also be used as a forehead thermometer. It isn’t used with disposable plastic probe caps, so it needs to be thoroughly cleaned after every in-ear use. But our testers found that it was quite easy to clean. The memory recall on this thermometer stores up to 20 temperature readings. You can also use the forehead mode to measure the temperature of objects, such as bottles of formula.

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Samantha B. Gordon

Samantha B. Gordon is the deals editor at Consumer Reports. She has been covering the online marketplace for CR since 2019, helping readers save money and find the best prices on high-quality products. Previously, Samantha was the managing editor of the e-commerce team at Reviewed. In her free time, Samantha can be found crafting and playing her guitar. Follow her on X: @sam_the_editor.