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Recreating a professional blow dry at home rarely goes as smoothly we'd like. Luckily, the best hot brushes are on hand to get your hair looking sleek and salon-worthy, acting as a hair dryer, straightener and sometimes even a curling iron in one.
But, with so many models on the market, where do you start? We tested them with our at-home panel and analysed their performance in the lab, to find the hottest buys (not literally 0f course).
Black Friday 2024 takes place on 29th of November this year, running until Cyber Monday on the 2nd of December. Some retailers have already started releasing their deals early, so we'll be updating this page throughout the month to highlight the best ones. Keep an eye on our best beauty deals page too, where we're spotlighting discounts on hair straighteners, epilators and more.
Here are the Good Housekeeping Institute’s top picks for 2024 at a glance, but read on for our detailed reviews.
Some hot brushes also come with extra attachments, such as a rough dryer or a curling tong, so you can achieve everything from poker-straight ends to bouncy curls.
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 strands in a shorter space of time.
If used correctly, a hot brush is less damaging and faster than a traditional hair straightener, but only use your hot brush on dry to mostly dry hair, unless it harnesses hot air to style.
GHI tip: Always use a heat protection spray when doing any heat styling — including using a hair dryer.
This depends on the type of hot brush you’re using. While there are models designed to take you from wet to dry with similar airflow to your hair dryer, brushes with ceramic plates get too hot for wet hair and will break fragile strands.
You can use hot air stylers on damp or wet hair, but we recommend towel drying first to remove excess water. Hair is more fragile when wet, so styling at high temperatures will not only damage delicate strands, but you probably won't achieve the look you're after either.
Again, applying a heat protectant before picking up your hot brush will also do wonders for the health of your tresses.
Short hair: Use a brush with a slimmer head and variable bristle length to ensure even styling.
Long hair: Choose a brush with long bristles, so you can capture and style large amounts of hair at once, reducing styling time.
Curly hair: Use a hot air styler with a cool shot setting to seal the hair cuticle and prevent humidity from frizzing up your style.
Fine hair: Keep an eye out for lower temperature settings or choose a hot air styler designed to boost volume.
Thick hair: Look for a variable temperature brush. Thicker hair tends to need more heat to lock in style that will last.
Afro hair: Consider a hot air styler, which can be effective at straightening without the higher heat of a brush. Harder bristles can also help to detangle your coils as you style.
To find the best hot brushes, over 270 testers with different hair types tried out 32 different models. Each hair brush styler was judged on ease of use, design, quality of instructions and performance.
In the GHI lab, we carried out a temperature test to ensure each hot brush didn’t overheat, as well as assessing them on design features such as automatic switch-off and the accessibility of controls.
We also used a Bossa Nova Shuffle machine to analyse how frizzy hair got after styling with each hot brush and exposure to humidity.
So, which ones are more than just a lot of hot air?
Dyson's innovative Airwrap styler was crowned the winner by our testers for its high quality feel and ability to create a glossy, frizz-free finish. This multitasker comes with six different heads, to create everything from poker-straight strands to retro curls.
It aced our lab test, keeping frizz and flyaways at bay and leaving hair silky smooth, with no dryness in sight. Everyone was impressed with how speedy it was, resulting in a very happy panel.
ghd's first professional hot brush impressed our panel, who found it easy to use (thanks to the one control button), comfortable to hold with its slim handle, and lightweight.
Nearly all our panel said it glided easily through their hair, leaving it smooth and shiny, as if they'd had a blow dry. Testers achieved their sleek styles in record time (faster than straighteners in some cases), thanks to its 185C heat. Most found that it significantly reduced their flyaway hairs, too.
For most of our testers, the SmoothStyle from Shark straightened and styled their hair quickly. It may not have all the bells and whistles of the FlexStyle (or its six interchangeable heads), but this hot brush does deliver a sleek dose of shine to locks, at a more affordable price. Bear in mind that while some hot brushes promise to add a curl or bounce, this one was most effective at straight styling. But straight doesn’t mean flat, with one tester praising its ability to deliver “lots of volume at the roots”. If long, well-behaved lengths are what you’re after, this could be the pick for you.
If adding oomph to your roots is your aim, try our second ghd entry. Our testers found it boosted volume, successfully straightening hair, and its high-quality design earned universal praise. Everybody found it satisfyingly speedy to heat up too, and the panel loved the luxuriously silky and shiny finish it gave them.
It tackled frizz with aplomb — the panel saw a reduction in flyaways — and the majority found it comfortable to hold, if a little bulky. It proved an excellent detangler, too, with our testers saying it glided effortlessly through their ends.
If you find your style regularly drops by noon, this blow dry brush is worth a try. It managed to keep bouncy, voluminous styles intact for longer.
It was particularly good at leaving hair tangle-free, with many of our testers also reporting less frizz and added softness after use. Glossy hair in just one swipe — what’s not to love?
The larger the brush, the shorter your styling time — it's that simple. And you won’t have to go over the same area twice with this extra-large styler, which left hair tangle-free for most of our panel.
It got a thumbs up for reducing flyaways and frizz, and can be used to style right up to the roots without causing discomfort.
The design would make it tricky to curl strands (try the Dyson instead if that's what you're looking for), but it was ideal for straightening, with one tester commenting: "I absolutely love this product and wouldn't hesitate to buy it."
If you can't step outside without your hair turning into a ball of frizz, this dual-ended brush will be a game changer. Whether you want salon-worthy XL curls, or poker-straight ends, it helps you achieve both easily.
It managed to banish frizz and flyaways, while avoiding desert-dry ends. And most testers saw a boost in smoothness, softness and shine after use. It also avoided pesky snags and did a great job at nailing beachy waves.
This bristle brush claims to adjust the temperature to your hair’s styling needs during use for the best results. In the lab, it aced our tests with a quick heat-up time and accurate maximum temperature claims.
It also impressed our panel with its effortless ability to fight frizz and flyaways, and allowed them to tackle often hard-to-reach areas such as the back of the neck and the roots, delivering a smooth finish.
Thick hair may be enviable, but it takes double the time to style. That’s where this brush’s deeper bristles came in handy, allowing testers to grab larger sections of hair and speed up the job.
It proved effective at straightening too, leaving our panel with poker straight strands. Not skimping on smoothness either, most said it left their hair silky and were happy with how fabulously soft their locks felt.
In the lab, it reached its promised temperatures but was a touch slow to heat up to its maximum. That said, no testers reported any problems.
As multi-purpose as it gets, this styler comes with seven attachments to create every style you could ever need.
It heated up quickly and efficiently according to our lab test and testers commended its snag-free styling. Most achieved a shiny, smooth and soft finish, with less frizz, and it was a doddle to reach the back of the head too.
It’s hard to argue with a hot brush that comes with five attachments to adapt to your ever-changing moods and looks, especially if you love mixing it up when it comes to your hairstyle. Our panel praised the range of attachments, with even the least adventurous telling us it encouraged them to be a little bit braver.
It was easy to hold and not too heavy, and, thanks to the air power technology, which means you don’t have to wrap your hair around the barrel yourself, it automatically created perfect curls in seconds — ideal for hot brush beginners.
Easy to use, this brush styled without snagging and didn’t leave hair feeling dry. It also worked on thick, frizzy hair, with testers commenting that it left it much smoother.
This tool also never got too hot, with most finding they could comfortably style right up to the roots. For professional results on a budget, Revlon is a safe bet.
If you're looking for quick, effective, and silky-smooth styling, look no further than our winning Dyson Airwrap – it’s a big investment, but there's a reason why it's such an iconic product (and scored 90/100 on test).
The Revlon One-Step Volumiser is a great budget option, which still impressed our testers with its smooth finish.
For a hot brush that leaves you with a salon-worthy blow dry at home, the ghd Glide will deliver.
At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we have been testing products for over 100 years – from mattresses and shampoos to hair dryers and treadmills – so we know what we’re looking for.
Nora Merik, the lead tester for hot brushes has a master’s degree in cosmetic science, and we use specialist machines in the lab to assess the performance of each hair tool, alongside detailed feedback from our panel of at-home testers.
Our writers are also experts in their fields. Senior Beauty Writer Florence Reeves-White has years of experience within the industry, writing about skincare, haircare and beauty tools.
Florence is our Senior Beauty Writer, specialising in expert-tested beauty and grooming reviews — from toothbrushes to the latest skincare launches. She’s committed to sharing recommendations for products that truly work and make people feel confident and healthy. Prior to this she was at Tropic Skincare, where she worked closely with biochemists in the lab, delving into the functions of each fresh, natural ingredient and conveying its efficacy to her audience in easy-to-digest terms.
With over five years’ experience in beauty and health journalism, Florence has written for ELLE, Women’s Fitness, Sister Magazine, National Geographic Traveller and many more, with a strong sustainability angle thread through much of her work.
When she isn’t packing for a trip away, working out, eating out or reading up on retinol serums, you’ll probably find her experimenting with her film camera and building her portfolio of portraits. Florence’s photography can be found at florencereeves-white.com, her Instagram is @florencereeveswhite and her twitter is @floreadsnwrites
Madeleine is our Lifestyle Writer, specialising in expert-tested reviews and round-ups on the latest beauty Beauty and Health & Wellness products. From skincare to protein powders, Maddie is committed to providing honest and helpful reviews to help guide readers to the best product for them. Maddie has a BA in English Literature and Language, which stemmed from her lifelong interest in reading and writing. She started her post graduate life at Hearst UK within a marketing capacity, which quickly turned into a desire to fulfil a writing career.
When she is not writing about the latest expert reviewed products, you can find her rifling through vintage shops or car boots, reading a print magazine, or capturing portraits on her film camera.
Nora is our Beauty and Grooming Tester and has a master's degree in cosmetic science. She is using her expert knowledge of product development, formulation, product evaluation and market research to test a wide range of hair and beauty products in the beauty labs for Good Housekeeping, Women’s Health, ELLE, Men’s Health. In the lab she uses a variety of methods such as the Diastron, The Multi Skin Test Centre, The VISIA Complexion Analyser to test anything from hydration, skin barrier function, pore size and more.
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