The 6 Best Hot Air Brushes of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (2023)

FAQs

The 6 Best Hot Air Brushes of 2023, Tested and Reviewed? ›

A round hot-air brush dries your hair with boar or nylon bristles, lifting roots, smoothing and shaping your locks with plenty of bounce, while hot brushes that resemble a paddle brush use ceramic plates – of the type found in your straighteners – for a poker-straight style.

A round hot-air brush dries your hair with boar or nylon bristles, lifting roots, smoothing and shaping your locks with plenty of bounce, while hot brushes that resemble a paddle brush use ceramic plates – of the type found in your straighteners – for a poker-straight style.

If you have super fine hair, look for soft to medium bristles. If your hair is over-processed or damaged, choose a brush with a ceramic heater and use a lower temperature setting. If your hair is frizzy, select a hot air styler brush that has an ion generator.

Our experts generally preferr brushes with a combination of nylon and tufted bristles, which they say help create the best tension and control for styling most hair types. Ceramic bristles are also a good option as they help distribute heat evenly to prevent excess heat damage to hair.

The Revlon One-Step Volumizer Hot Air Brush isn't perfect, but it makes for a pretty great hair dryer alternative for a wide range of hair types. However, its bulky brush head, minimal heat settings, and limitations on styling different hair textures prevent it from being a universal, holy-grail product.

Start with Towel-Dried Hair

Don't use a hot brush on dry hair, note our experts: If your strands are too dry, you might not get the desired shine or volume.

The most basic rule of thumb is that the shorter your hair, the smaller the diameter of the brush you choose. On the other hand, the round brush with a smaller diameter will allow to add volume to the ends and curl the hair, while those with a larger diameter will give a soft blow-dry and a perfect straightening.

New 30% smaller*** oval brush design to create volume at roots and beautifully curled ends, also suitable for mid to short hair. Designed to distribute air quickly and evenly to the hair to dry and style faster for less heat damage. Ionic technology for less frizz and shiny, healthy-looking hair.

Round brushes are ideal for creating that volume and body in your hair. This is the brush you want to use when you are blow-drying your hair. Small size brushes create tighter curls, while brushes with larger barrels are known to straighten hair and create subtle waves.

For fine hair, Taylor recommends a paddle or flat brush with boar bristles, since these types cause the least amount of stress to strands and better distribute hair's natural oils.

Which blower brush is the best? ›

Our favorite hot air brush is the Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler Complete Long. Though it's definitely an investment, the variety of attachments it comes with, the thoughtful and ergonomic design, and how easy it is to use makes it the best option on the market for those looking to create a range of styles at home.

Designed to save time by styling damp or dry hair with one tool. The oval design allows hair to dry evenly while adding volume to the roots and ends in one brush stroke.

Hot air brushes give hair volume, soft curls or waves. Hot air brushes are not intended for use on wet hair. Use one to finish styling your hair when it is 75% - 80% dry. A curling iron should only be used on dry hair and can produce tighter curl.

A great hair brush to avoid breakage, a boar bristle brush is gentle on all hair types. One benefit of a boar brush is that it distributes your scalp oils to the rest of your hair, which protects and hydrates damaged strands.

Boar bristle brushes are popular because they won't tear or split your hair. They're also thought to increase blood flow to the hair follicles, which in turn stimulates growth. When it comes to size, go for a smaller brush that can work closer to the root to create more volume.

Are heated brushes bad for your hair? While any form of heat styling can damage your hair, heated brushes are one of the safest styling tools out there. Heated brushes create minimal damage because they use less direct heat than curling irons or hair straighteners.

While I had zero complaints about how smooth my hair looked after using the original Revlon, I saw even smoother, shinier results with the new model. The smaller head makes it even easier for me to rotate the wand to create volume at my roots or create a curl at the ends.

Compared to the original model, the new Revlon brush has a slimmer handle, a smaller oval-shaped head, and an additional medium heat setting.

Blocked Lint Filter

If the burning smell persists, it could possibly mean the lint filter is blocked and needs to be cleaned. Check out the Lint Filter Replacement guide in order to properly clean the filter and potentially fix the burning smell.

There are a few benefits to hot air brushes over hair straighteners: the lower temperatures result in less hair damage, they make it easier to build volume and they add shine and they dry your hair at the same time as styling it.

Should you dry brush before or during shower? ›

When should I dry brush? The best time to dry brush is just before a shower. Then you can wash off any dead skin cells and flaky skin. Be sure to apply lotion afterward to put moisture back into your skin.

While limiting your hair's exposure to heat is one of the best methods to protect it from harm, using a hair straightener brush on a regular basis is less hazardous than using a hair straightener because the heating element isn't in direct contact with the hair.

If you plan on creating some classic, Hollywood waves, a vented radial brush should be your top priority. Vented brushes let the heat from your blow dryer reach more of your hair, which cuts down on drying time and amps up the volume.

The number on the side of the paint brush refers to the thickness, length, or width of the bristles. Confusion arises because this number varies between manufacturers. A brush labeled with a "6" may look completely different than a "6" brush by a different manufacturer.

Are Hot Air Brushes Good for Fine Hair? Hot air brushes are actually great for those blessed with fine, limp hair. They can get really close to your scalp to lift the roots and add the right amount of oomph to your hair.

We recorded a maximum temperature range of 165°F to 175°F. Because our heat sensor is metal, the heat transfers faster and holds longer to it than it would to your hair, so your hair likely wouldn't actually heat up that high.

It's all about root control.

The key to smooth hair with lots of volume is to always use high-quality, 1^st cut boar bristle brushes because they are the least damaging to the follicle. Boar bristle brushes redistribute the natural oils from hair and scalp without stretching the hair cuticle.

The best hair brush for frizzy hair is one that incorporates good old boar bristles, which have been used since the 1800s. The cool thing about boar bristles is that they're super-gentle on your hair. Yet they're perfect for distributing the scalp's natural oils to keep your strands hydrated and reduce frizz.

Why are the Mason Pearson brushes so expensive? Mason Pearson brushes date back to 1885. The question you're likely wondering is why these brushes cost $100 or more. The answer: You're (probably) mostly paying for the history of the brush and its famous name.

If you are experiencing thinning hair and hair loss, being born curly is to your advantage because nothing will disguise finer strands like texture. To give them a boost, choose the right products, styles, and techniques for maximum volume with minimum effort.

Should you brush thinning hair? ›

Gentle brushing is a must.

Gentle strokes help prevent hair breakage and scalp irritation. It's also best to start brushing your hair at the ends and work your way up to toward the roots to prevent unnecessary tugging.

Best Overall: GHD Size 3 Ceramic Vented Radial Brush

Courtney's pick for the best overall round brush is the GHD Size 3 Ceramic Vented Radial Brush. It has a non-slip handle to ease styling and its ceramic vented barrel makes for some of the best at-home blowouts she has ever seen.

The brush I'm speaking of is the iconic Ibiza round brush . It's the kind that Jennifer Aniston uses to get her signature red carpet curls, according to her hair stylist.

Paddle or barrel size

Professional hair stylists need several sizes of paddle and barrel-type brushes. A paddle brush and a large barrel brush are typically best for styling long hair. A smaller barrel brush and cushion brush are ideal for shorter hair.

What is a hot brush for? A hot brush reduces your styling time by allowing you to smooth, volumize, dry, and straighten your hair in one step! This versatile, easy-to-use tool combines a hairbrush with a flat iron or blow dryer (or both!). Just choose your desired setting and brush slowly through dry or damp hair.

A hot air brush works like more like a blow dryer and brush combined, than like a curling iron. Warm air is forced through a vented barrel which has "teeth" to grab the hair and style while drying. Hot air brushes give hair volume, soft curls or waves. Hot air brushes are not intended for use on wet hair.

A straightening brush promises that its two-in-one product makes it both easier and faster to straighten your hair vs. using a traditional flat iron. While a flat iron is often used, it doesn't offer the ability to add volume to your strands like a straightening brush does.

The two best reasons to airbrush miniatures is 1) to speed up priming and base coating, and 2) allow you to spray indoors. For more about primers and the best way to apply primers, check out this primer article.

Hair straightening brushes work as a flat iron and a brush in one to help streamline the smoothing process, detangling as they style. These tools are essentially hot hair brushes, so you can effectively brush and detangle your hair while you straighten it for frizz-free, shiny hair in a single step.

Hot brushes are particularly useful for those who have thicker hair, as the heated plates are larger than those on hair straighteners, meaning you'll get through more hair in a shorter amount of time.

What size round brush should I use? ›

Bigger isn't necessarily better, especially when it comes to styling short hair. Round brushes with a small 1” to 1 ½” diameter barrel make quick work of styling pixie cuts and bobs, A large-barreled brush in the 2” to 3” range works great if your hair is below your shoulders and are looking for a beautiful blowout.

The major difference between the two plates is the rate and method by which it heats the hair. Ceramic plates heat the hair from the inside out, while titanium heats from the surface of the hair shaft. You might notice that your ceramic flat iron takes longer to heat up. And in the long run, that may be a good thing.

While minimizing your hair's exposure to heat is one of the ways to keep it safest from damage, it's less damaging to use a straightening brush daily than it would be to use a flat iron, due to the heating element not touching the hair directly.

Mechanical damage can occur when using the straightening brush because the tips of the bristle can snag on to the ends of the hair strands. This happened very rarely throughout reviews; however, the snagging of the hair can cause terrible split ends that require those ends to be trimmed.

Unlike a hot brush, a hot air brush replaces your blow dryer, so it's safe to use on wet or dry hair, says Dueñas.

Whether you have fine or curly hair, there's a hot air brush that can boost volume and shine—or smooth down frizz. But the key feature for any hot air brush is that it reduces styling time altogether (so you can spend less time in the bathroom and more time admiring your new 'do).