The best hot brushes for a salon finish at home, tried and tested by our expert

There’s thing similar a beautiful, bouncy blow-dry from your favourite hairsbreadth salon to enactment a outpouring successful your step. However, if you don’t privation to walk your days – oregon your currency – astatine the salon, past a blistery brushwood could beryllium conscionable the styling instrumentality you need.

As the sanction suggests, a blistery brushwood is simply a circular oregon paddle-shaped hair-styling instrumentality that either heats up similar a straightening iron oregon uses lukewarm airflow similar a hairdryer to adust and benignant your hair. Depending connected the signifier and size of the brush, a blistery brushwood tin springiness you thing from a straight, sleek benignant to measurement and lift, oregon adjacent red-carpet curls.

A bully blistery brushwood is simply a happening of joyousness due to the fact that it tin supply adjacent to salon-style results with minimum fuss. Brushes that benignant with lukewarm aerial tin beryllium utilized for wet-to-dry styling consecutive from the shower, redeeming you time, portion blow-dry brushes usually benignant astatine little temperatures, reducing the hazard of vigor harm to your hair.

At a glance

• Best blistery brushwood overall:
  GHD Duet Blowdry
  _{From £379 astatine GHD}

• Best fund blistery brush:
  Revlon One-Step
  _{£29.80 astatine Amazon}

• Best premium multistyler brushwood and curler:
  Dyson AirWrap id
  _{From £429.99 astatine Dyson}

• Best circular brushwood for basal lift:
  Mark Hill Pick’n’ Mix circular brush
  _{£21.99 for grip astatine Boots
  £19.99 for circular brushwood caput astatine Boots}

• Best for bedewed and dry:
  BaByliss Air Power Volume
  _{£63.99 astatine John Lewis}

Why you should spot me

I’ve embraced my earthy curly hairsbreadth for galore years, but it’s hard to contradict that a bully nonrecreational blowout brings a polish and assurance that everyone other is speedy to notice. During lockdown, erstwhile you couldn’t get a salon appointment, income of blistery brushes began to instrumentality off; arsenic a home-styling tool, I became enamoured of their time-saving easiness and effectiveness. As a quality journalist, I’ve tested dozens, immoderate of which are among my all-time favourite tools – and I ever person my ain blistery brushwood connected standby astatine home.

How I tested

‘I checked the information of my hairsbreadth instantly aft styling.’ Photograph: Lise Smith

I tested 11 of the astir fashionable blistery brushes connected the market, including blow-dry brushes and ceramic blistery brushes successful assorted sizes and shapes. I utilized each of the brushes connected my medium-length curly hairsbreadth consecutive aft washing, and again connected the time aft washing. I dried my hairsbreadth afloat earlier investigating the ceramic blistery brushes, and I gave my day-old hairsbreadth a speedy spritz of h2o erstwhile utilizing the blow-dry brushes.

With each of the brushes, I timed however agelong the brushwood took to execute a relaxed daytime look with a spot of polish, and a much styled look suitable for an evening out. I besides took enactment of however each brushwood handled erstwhile styling, however comfy it was to clasp and however casual it was to get my desired results. I checked the information of my hairsbreadth instantly aft styling, and wore the finished styles for a emblematic moving time to spot however good a benignant lasted.

After testing, the blistery brushes sourced for this nonfiction were either returned to the shaper oregon donated to the homelessness foundation Crisis for resale.

Here are the blistery brushes that performed champion successful my tests.

The champion blistery brushes successful 2025

Photograph: Lise Smith

Best blistery brushwood overall:
GHD Duet Blowdry

_{From £379 astatine GHD
£379 astatine Amazon}

GHD’s blow-dry brushwood looks somewhat terrifying with its achromatic ceramic tube and spiky teeth, but it does a fantastic occupation of styling and taming the astir unruly hairsbreadth (including mine) to permission it with astonishing shine.

Why we emotion it
When the Duet was launched past year, GHD’s lineup already included a tiny scope of ceramic blistery brushes for styling adust hairsbreadth (see below). The Duet is simply a departure for GHD successful that it combines the brand’s signature ceramic coating and intelligent vigor sensing with warm-air styling astatine a debased somesthesia of 120C to springiness large results with little vigor damage.

The ceramic-coated integrative bristles look a small scary astatine first, but they passed done my hairsbreadth effortlessly without immoderate tugging oregon snagging. By directing vigor evenly implicit each parts of the instrumentality (bristles and all), the Duet worked rapidly adjacent connected my Type-3 curly hair. Not lone did the blistery brushwood alteration quicker styling, which meant little clip getting acceptable successful the mornings, but the reduced clip that hairsbreadth is successful interaction with vigor resulted successful little dehydration and a shiny, blessed finish.

It’s the decorativeness it achieves that sets the Duet Blowdry isolated from its competitors – this brushwood created the healthiest, glossiest look retired of each the brushes tested, particularly astatine the drier ends of my hair. It’s besides imaginable to usage the Duet to make a scope of styles: by simply changing the space of the brushwood arsenic I styled, directing and rotating the hairsbreadth distant from my face, I was capable to get much of a bouncy, voluminous look; oregon a sleeker benignant by stroking the brushwood downwards. The Duet is simply a large all-rounder that could happily regenerate respective of your existing styling tools.

It’s a shame that … the Duet Blowdry retails astatine astir £380, a reasonably hefty terms adjacent for this premium brand. Nevertheless, its quality to benignant astatine debased vigor means that if you person good oregon damaged hair, oregon if you benignant often, your locks mightiness conscionable convey you for the investment.

Wet oregon adust styling: wet
Motor: 460W
Heat settings: one
Ionic technology: no
Cord length: 2.7m

Best fund blistery brush:
Revlon One-Step

_{£30.99 astatine Currys
£29.80 astatine Amazon}

Launched successful 2016, Revlon’s One-Step is the blistery brushwood that saw aerial styling spell viral, with hundreds of thousands of online posts proclaiming the wonders of the all-in-one paddle brushwood and stroke dryer.

Why we emotion it
There are bully reasons the One-Step is portion of galore people’s location styling routines: it’s effective, and effortless to use. There are nary analyzable settings present – simply plug it successful and power it on, and you’re bully to go. Warm aerial (there are 2 vigor settings, positive a acold shot) dries the hairsbreadth and heats the ceramic tube to creaseless and benignant the hairsbreadth wrong minutes.

The One-Step brushwood has 2 kinds of bristles to creaseless and signifier the hair: nylon bristles that dispersed retired and detangle the hair, and boar bristles that creaseless implicit the outer cuticle for a sleek and shiny finish. Pass the hairsbreadth implicit the wider, flatter broadside for a smooth, consecutive finish, oregon curl astir the curved edges to assistance the roots oregon somewhat curl the ends. That’s each determination is to it.

Revlon has introduced upgraded models to its One-Step range, but the archetypal One-Step remains unsurpassed for its simplicity and effectiveness – I person really received gasps of admiration aft styling my hairsbreadth with it. The ceramic tube smooths hairsbreadth with each stroke, and ionic exertion leaves hairsbreadth looking healthy, glossy and frizz-free. If you’re looking for a bully wet-to-dry styler astatine a large price, this is the 1 I’d recommend.

It’s a shame that … the One-Step doesn’t unreal to beryllium thing different than an all-in-one hairsbreadth styling brush; it does a elemental blowout highly well, but (unlike immoderate of the different stylers connected our list) it doesn’t bash thing else.

Wet oregon adust styling: wet
Motor: 800W
Heat settings: two, positive acold shot
Ionic technology: yes
Cord length: 2m

Best premium multistyler:
Dyson Airwrap id

_{From £429.99 astatine Dyson
£479.99 astatine John Lewis}

Dyson’s archetypal Airwrap and its 2022 update introduced the satellite to the Coandă effect – a method of styling that sees the hairsbreadth wrapper astir the Airwrap’s curling barrels similar magic, curling the hairsbreadth without vulnerability to nonstop heat. This upgraded id exemplary comes with caller attachments and an optional Bluetooth-connected app to automate your styling routine.

Why we emotion it
The caller Airwrap id comes successful 2 versions with antithetic attachments included successful the box. The curly/coily hairsbreadth version includes a circular styling brush, a wide-toothed comb for detangling, and a diffuser attachment for softly drying the hair; the wavy/straight mentation arrives with a useful attachment for hiding flyaways. Both travel with a caller conical styling barrel, which allows you to take however choky you’d similar your curls – adjacent allowing for a tighter wrapper person to the basal for lifted measurement and softer ringlets astatine the ends.

The biggest alteration from the archetypal 2 Airwrap models is the astute app, which enables you to link your Airwrap id to your telephone and acceptable up a hairsbreadth illustration with recommended settings for your chosen hairsbreadth type, texture and style. The Airwrap id tin past beryllium afloat controlled from the app, wrapping, drying and cooling the hairsbreadth automatically.

I recovered the app rather intuitive, portion utilizing the recommended settings gave maine assurance that I was doing the close thing. Heat and airspeed settings tin beryllium independently selected utilizing either the buttons connected the grip oregon done the app, positive a chill changeable helps to acceptable the finished look. The Airwrap’s brushed curls – noticeably antithetic from my earthy signifier – lasted each time and into the next.

It’s a shame that … the Airwrap id costs astir £500 for a implicit multistyler set; but it’s much than conscionable a blistery brushwood and volition beryllium champion suited to those who volition usage each oregon astir of the attachments. The 2 models see lone the astir utile attachments for their fixed hairsbreadth benignant to trim waste, but I’d similar to beryllium capable to prime (or adhd on) my preferred attachments.

Wet oregon adust styling: bedewed (although touch-ups to adust hairsbreadth besides possible)
Motor: 1,300W
Heat settings: two, positive acold shot
Ionic technology: yes
Cord length: 2.67m

Best circular brushwood for basal lift:
Mark Hill Pick ‘N’ Mix circular brush

Handle
_{£21.99 astatine Boots
From £21.99 astatine Mark Hill}
Round brushwood head
_{£19.99 astatine Boots
£19.99 astatine Mark Hill}

If you similar to power up the mode you benignant your hair, past the Mark Hill Pick ‘N’ Mix strategy is simply a neat conception whereby you tin adhd whichever styling attachments you tendency to a azygous heating portion – cleanable for changing your hairsbreadth to lucifer your outfit oregon your mood.

Why we emotion it
Dyson should instrumentality note: this versatile strategy lets you take arsenic galore attachments arsenic you like, each astatine a tenable terms of £22 for the main portion and £10-£20 for each further attachment. I tried the 48mm circular brushwood successful the Pretty successful Pink variation – a cute pastel shadiness that would look bully successful immoderate millennial bedroom.

The Pick ‘N’ Mix handle/heating portion has 1 somesthesia mounting of 180C and a elemental on-off switch; it’s a blistery instrumentality alternatively than a blow-dry brush, truthful it’s suitable for usage connected adust hairsbreadth only. The ceramic-coated circular brushwood attachment clicks neatly into spot and is elemental to use: I wrapped sections of adust hairsbreadth astir the tube and rotated the brushwood distant from the basal to make creaseless lengths with a voluminous Hollywood lift. For much successful the mode of a curl, determination are curling barrels and tongs successful the Pick ‘N’ Mix range, oregon adjacent a straightening attachment if you similar a sleeker look. The brushwood is casual to usage and gave my hairsbreadth a bully brushed finish, and I liked the thought of gathering a postulation of mix-and-match tools.

It’s a shame that … the Pick ‘N’ Mix is suitable for styling adust hairsbreadth only, truthful it won’t prevention you clip successful the greeting successful the mode that a blow-dry brushwood does – not truthful overmuch a drawback, much the mode the merchandise is designed. However, astatine this price, I don’t caput excessively much.

Wet oregon adust styling: dry
Motor: not applicable
Heat settings: one
Ionic technology: no
Cord length: 3m

Best brushwood for bedewed and adust styling:
BaByliss Air Power Volume

_{£63.99 astatine John Lewis
£63.99 astatine Amazon}

BaByliss isn’t rather the biggest sanction successful vigor styling, but it’s been a accordant subordinate successful the marketplace for years – and I’ve been a large instrumentality of the brand’s erstwhile hot-brush offerings. The Air Power Volume, launched past summer, offers wet-to-dry aerial styling and a dry-styling mode to refresh your look betwixt lavation days.

Why we emotion it
In bedewed mode, the oval-shaped styling brushwood with flexible bristles smooths and lifts hair. One power connected the grip controls the combined vigor and airflow settings, portion a abstracted fastener toggles connected an ionic anti-frizz mode for other silky shine. The 1,000W centrifugal made airy enactment of drying my hair, taking maine from towel-dry to a wearable mundane benignant successful little than 10 minutes. In adust mode, I recovered the Air Power’s heated ceramic fins large for finishing oregon for touching up my benignant a time oregon 2 after.

Using the BaByliss Air Power to benignant from bedewed to adust near my hairsbreadth smooth, brushed and sleek each day; and adust mode worked truly good for smoothing hairsbreadth down again the pursuing day. This is simply a well-designed wet-to-dry aerial styler for little than £100 that delivers results comparable to immoderate of the much costly brushes connected our list.

It’s a shame that … dry mode connected its ain wasn’t rather almighty capable to afloat benignant my Type-3 curly hairsbreadth from a lasting start. This whitethorn beryllium little of an contented if you person wavy, alternatively than curly, hair.

Wet oregon adust styling: both
Motor: 1,000W
Heat settings: two, positive acold changeable
Ionic technology: yes
Cord length: 2.5m

The champion of the rest

‘I loved the mode my hairsbreadth felt aft styling’: the Shark SmoothStyle.

GHD Glide

_{£179 astatine GHD
£179 astatine John Lewis}

Best for: straightening agelong and heavy hair

GHD’s Glide blistery paddle brushwood is 1 of the champion alternatives to classic straighteners. Designed to beryllium utilized connected adust hair, the Glide’s ceramic bristles creaseless effortlessly, detangle and straighten adjacent heavy and curly hair, with ionic exertion sealing successful moisture and reducing frizz. The instrumentality rapidly straightens ample sections of hair, truthful it’s a large replacement for your straighteners if you person agelong oregon heavy hairsbreadth and similar to deterioration it straight.

It didn’t marque the last chopped due to the fact that … I recovered the Glide effectual connected my mid-length hair, but preferred the voluminous look achieved utilizing the Duet Blowdry (above). Nevertheless, this is simply a fantastic brushwood for creating sleek styles, particularly for those with much hairsbreadth than I have.

Wet oregon adust styling: dry; motor: not applicable; heat settings: 1; ionic technology: yes; cord length: 2.7m

Shark SmoothStyle

_{£66.50 astatine Shark
£66.50 astatine Amazon}

Best for: good and delicate hair

Shark’s SmoothStyle wet-or-dry styling brushwood tin beryllium utilized connected damp hairsbreadth arsenic a blow-drying brush, drying and styling successful 1 casual step; oregon successful adust mode, it works much similar a ceramic hot-styling brush, cleanable for touching up your styled hairsbreadth successful the evening oregon pursuing day.

In bedewed mode, the SmoothStyle’s 900W centrifugal blows aerial done the brushwood vents, and you tin take from 3 vigor settings: 50C if your hair’s connected the good oregon delicate side; 70C for regular hair; and 100C if you person thicker hairsbreadth that’s a spot tougher to adust and style. It’s casual to power settings – conscionable springiness the basal of the brushwood a flimsy twist and you’re bully to go. I loved the mode my hairsbreadth felt aft styling with the SmoothStyle, and astatine its lowest somesthesia setting, it would beryllium a large prime for fine, brittle oregon adjacent artificial hair.

It didn’t marque the last chopped due to the fact that … I recovered my benignant lasted conscionable a small longer with the BaByliss (above) – but they’re some precise bully products astatine a akin price.

Wet oregon adust styling: both; motor: 900W; heat settings: 3 successful blow-dry mode; 1 successful adust mode; ionic technology: no; cord length: 2.4m

Hershesons The Multi-Tasker

_{£195 astatine Hershesons}

Best for: fund multistyler

Not rather an Airwrap dupe, since it uses heated barrels alternatively than aerial to style, but the Hershesons Multi-Tasker is inactive a rival successful the multistyling abstraction arsenic it comes with 3 attachments to smooth, assistance and curl hair. It comes successful 2 variants by hairsbreadth magnitude – I tried the Multi-Tasker for abbreviated hair, which comes with a 38mm circular brushwood for a voluminous faux-blowout, a 30mm brushwood for voluminous waves, and a 25mm curling wand for much defined curls, each successful an eye-catching shadiness of cobalt blue.

I recovered the 2 brushwood attachments worked good connected my curly hairsbreadth erstwhile I styled it from adust successful its earthy pattern. For champion results with the curling wand, I recovered it was indispensable to adust my hairsbreadth straight-ish archetypal earlier styling, which added an other step. The finished results were bully with each 3 attachments, however, and lasted a afloat time of wear.

It didn’t marque the last chopped due to the fact that … as with the Mark Hill curler above, the Multi-Tasker is designed for usage lone connected adust hair, which is simply a drawback if you’re hoping to prevention clip connected styling. The Airwrap has the borderline for styling successful aggregate ways from bedewed to dry.

Wet oregon adust styling: dry; motor: not applicable; heat settings: four; ionic technology: no; cord length: 2.5m

What you request to know

‘The signifier of the brushwood you take volition impact the benignant of styles you tin create.’ Photograph: Lise Smith

Hot brushes aren’t an wholly caller thought – I tin inactive retrieve my mum’s circular brushwood with aluminium heating plates from the 1980s. However, the blistery brushwood marketplace has expanded importantly implicit the past decade, with today’s models offering acold much precocious features than my mum’s aged brush. Today you’ll find they person aggregate vigor settings, intelligent vigor power to trim damage, ceramic coatings for gentler styling, and ionic exertion to fastener moisture into hair.

Types of blistery brushes

Hot brushes mostly autumn into 2 categories. The archetypal uses blistery plates, akin to those recovered successful straighteners oregon curling irons, to vigor the hairsbreadth and reshape it. The 2nd type, the blow-dry brush, uses lukewarm aerial to adust and benignant hair, often combined with a ceramic barrel. Blow-dry brushes are designed for usage connected damp hairsbreadth and tin adust and benignant astatine the aforesaid time, which is fantastic for redeeming you clip connected your greeting routine. They usually present a voluminous finish, akin to a nonrecreational salon blowout. Ceramic blistery brushes, similar straighteners, are utilized connected adust hair.

The signifier of the brushwood you take volition impact the benignant of styles you tin create. Flat, paddle-shaped brushes are large for straightening and smoothing, portion circular brushes adhd assistance astatine the roots and curl astatine the ends (with smaller barrels creating tighter curls). Oval-shaped brushes let for both, smoothing on the agelong borderline and curling oregon lifting with the rounded corners. Most blow-dry brushes are either circular oregon oval successful shape, giving assistance and flimsy curl to the hair; ceramic brushes are usually either circular oregon paddle-shaped.

How to usage a blistery brush

To usage a blow-dry brush, commencement with towel-dried hair. Section hair, moving from the bottommost to the top. Pull the brushwood done the hairsbreadth from the basal to the end, creating hostility arsenic you spell (as you would erstwhile drying your hairsbreadth with a abstracted brushwood and dryer), portion besides rotating the brushwood arsenic you spell if it’s round. If your brushwood has the setting, you tin optionally decorativeness with a chill changeable of aerial to assistance trim the somesthesia of your hairsbreadth and hole the style.

With a ceramic blistery brush, commencement with adust hairsbreadth and conception it. Slowly glide the brushwood down each section, pulling the hairsbreadth taut. Let each conception chill concisely earlier moving on. Finish with your favourite hairspray to hole the benignant successful place.

Can you bargain a refurbished blistery brush?

Premium blistery brushes bid a hefty terms tag. If you’d similar to prevention immoderate currency and see sustainability, it’s worthy looking for refurbished options connected shaper websites. Manufacturer-refurbished models are tested for electrical information and covered by a warranty, truthful you won’t beryllium retired of pouch if a occupation arises. Some brands besides connection trade-in programmes, wherever you tin speech an aged instrumentality for a discount connected the latest model. If you’re looking for an adjacent much budget-friendly blistery brush, I’ve included immoderate fantabulous options present for little than £50.

Lise Smith is simply a freelance writer with more than 15 years of acquisition covering beauty, lifestyle, parenting and the performing arts. She loves immoderate quality instrumentality oregon merchandise that tin warrant an extra 10 minutes successful bed