What About Thermal Brushes?
You might have seen two different kinds of brushes while shopping that promise blowout results. In this guide, the term blow-dry brush is exclusively used for devices that blow hot air out of the bristles onto wet hair to dry and style your hair. Meanwhile, devices for dry hair are called infrared or thermal brushes, as they use infrared heat instead of hot air to style your hair in a smooth blowout. Blow-dry brushes are only meant for wet hair, while thermal brushes are only meant for dry hair.
Thermal brushes might look similar to a blow-dry brush on the outside, but they work differently. They use a different type of heat—infrared surface heat, rather than hot air—and are intended for dry hair rather than wet. Infrared is different than your usual hot tools, since infrared will heat the hair from the inside out rather than outside in. I interviewed a handful of hairstylists and beauty experts, and nearly all of them confirmed that this style of heat is gentler on your hair. “Infrared heat works differently than traditional hot tools. Instead of heating just the surface, it penetrates the hair shaft, styling from the inside out. That means better moisture retention, less frizz, and way less damage over time,” says Vito Esposito, founder of Vito Esposito Salon in Beverly Hills.
I’ve tried a few different thermal brushes, and I haven’t had a huge difference in the results so far. It takes a little getting used to My favorite is the Wavytalk Heatwave Pro ($80) since it comes with a set of three different thermal heads, so you can choose the best size for the hairstyle you want to achieve that day.
Honorable Mentions
Beachwaver Blow Brush for $189: if you’re debating buying a blow-dryer brush or a diffuser for your curly days, I’ve got the answer for you. The Beachwaver Blow Brush is one of the only blow-dry brush sets that has a diffuser attachment, allowing you to choose freely between a blowout or curly day without needing multiple gadgets. My blowouts did look a touch frizzier when I used the Beachwaver compared to the Drybar or the T3, but not so frizzy that anyone besides me would notice. That could also be solved by smoothing or frizz control products, which I didn’t use in my tests for accurate results but would usually use on my own. It comes with a paddle brush and concentrator attachments, too.
BondiBoost Blowout Brush Pro 75 mm for $70: The BondiBoost (6/10, WIRED Review) gave me results on par with the Drybar and T3 for half the price. Amazing, right? The only problem is that online users have reported the BondiBoost breaks after a few months of use. If you’re willing to roll the dice, the results are great; they just might not last forever.
Chi Volumizer 4-in-1 Blowout Brush for $77: This set comes with four attachments, including an oval brush, a small diffuser, a paddle brush, and a nozzle. The set works fine, but it gave me more frizz than other options and the hardware feels cheap. It’s a fine, affordable set if you want all these attachments on a budget.
Drybar Half Shot for $155: This is the round version of the Double Shot I recommend above. I like it, but I preferred the T3’s lower temps with the smaller brush. The Half Shot also got hotter to the touch than the Double Shot did, sometimes scalding my forehead while I did my bangs.
T3 Aire360 Ceramic Air Styler for $300: This set is gorgeous, but the ceramic makes it heavy, and I didn’t see hugely different results with it compared to our lighter, cheaper picks.
Dyson Airwrap for $600: The Dyson Airwrap set (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is great, and was my first introduction to a blow-dry brush attachment. But it’s better compared to other blow-dryers than just a blow-dry brush, especially given the price. Check out our guide to the Best Hair Dryers for more advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Wet Does Your Hair Need to Be?
You’ll be tempted to use a blow-dry brush while your hair is sopping wet, but it’s best to wait until your hair is mostly dry. Alanna Safarik-Ashby (also known as @folliclefatale), hair stylist and co-owner of Ivy & Luna Studio in Carlsbad, California, recommends waiting until your hair is 90 percent dry to protect it. “Your hair is its most fragile when it’s wet,” she says. “Think of when you pull on cooked spaghetti. It’s super elastic and breakable, right? Wet hair is the same way. So the more dry, the better.”
How Do You Use a Blow-Dry Brush?
As with other styling tools, it’s best to separate your hair into three or four sections to style it. Taking one section at a time, you’ll start at the root with the blow-dry brush and pass through to the ends. I do this at least once on both the top and bottom of a section, if not twice for each side to create plenty of volume and fully dry the hair. Julie Chung, cofounder of T3, also shared a tip for getting the best volume in your blowout: “For extra lift at the roots, hold the brush under the roots for two to three seconds,” she says.
Play around with your hair and your brush of choice to figure out how you want your ends to look. With my shoulder-length hair, I find flipping out the ends easiest, but you’ll have to experiment with your own hair length and brush shape to see what works best for you. Whether you choose an oval- or round-shaped brush can influence how this works as well.
How I Test Blow-Dry Brushes
I use each pick for a minimum of five wash days, which can take place over two weeks or sometimes the better part of a month. I try both high and low settings to see how different it feels on my hair, and how much the results change. I also record the results in the same sweatshirt and spot in my bathroom to easily compare how well the blowout turned out, and I track how hot each blow-dry brush gets to see how that affected my final blow-out look. I use a heat protectant each time, primarily using the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil ($25), the top pick from our guide to the Best Heat Protectant Sprays. I’ve found that a heat protectant does help give me smoother results, on top of protecting my hair from heat damage.
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