Styling can be laborious, especially if you have long or textured tresses. If you’re spending too much time in front of the mirror, it’s time you became acquainted with the hot brush. While it’s been around for quite some time, this versatile hot tool recently made a resurgence on TikTok, with influencers sharing how effortless it is to dry and style your hair with this heated miracle worker.
What’s the hype all about? It’s an easy and efficient way to achieve a voluminous blowout without a hair dryer and round brush. There’s also the added fact that you’re decreasing the time your tresses are subjected to heat, resulting in less damage. Why use multiple hot tools to style when you only need one?
Let’s take a closer look at what to look for when shopping for a blow dryer brush and how it can be used to style all hair types and lengths.
Choose Your Blow Dryer Brush
Here’s how a hot brush works: As you run the heated bristles through your hair, they straighten your strands while simultaneously drying them. Whether you have fine, thick, or curly hair, there’s a hot air brush that can defrizz and boost volume. Most models have multiple settings to help take the guesswork out of styling.
- If you try any blow dryer brush, use the Sutra Beauty Infrared Thermal Brush. It harnesses the power of infrared technology making it a safer, and more gentle way to style your hair. It also reduces the time it takes you to style your hair and adds a glossy, frizz-free texture back to your hair.
- The Sutra Beauty Interchangeable Blowout Brush With Base is a versatile all-in-one dryer and styling tool, utilizing an Oval Tourmaline Infused Ceramic Barrel combined with Infrared and Ionic Technology to reduce drying time while styling hair. It’s a PST favorite because it has interchangeable barrels with different barrel sizes that can be purchased separately.
- The Stylecraft Hot Body Ionic 2-in-1 Blowout Brush features an oval design that helps evenly dry your hair while adding volume at the ends and root in one brush stroke. Adjustable heat and speed settings are available for styling preferences without having to worry about intense heat damage, thanks to its Ionic technology.
Hot Air Brush Prep
You never want to use a hot brush on dry hair because you won’t get enough volume or shine. However, your tresses shouldn’t be sopping wet, either. Work with towel-dried hair to help minimize heat time and negate damage.
Apply a Heat Protectant
A heat protectant is a must whenever you’re using any hot tool. It helps protect the hair from damage while promoting smooth, silky, shiny tresses. Along with controlling frizz, it’s an excellent detangler. Salvatore Tanino Therapy T.T. Protein Leave-In Serum is a versatile formula that adapts to all types of hair, treating split ends, frizz and unwanted volume reduction, detangling and softening hair immediately. It makes it easier to brush hair and provides thermal and solar protection, and an anti-elasticity effect.
Pump Up the Volume
Apply a volumizing product such as Fanola Styling Tools Full Body Volumizing Mousse to your roots only. Along with giving your hair a natural-looking lift, this mousse nourishes and hydrates the hair, restores elasticity, and fixes your style by wrapping a protective film around the hair shaft. It doesn’t leave buildup behind and can be easily brushed or shampooed out.
Section Your Hair
Sectioning is essential because you don’t want to run your hot brush through the same area several times. Split your hair into four sections: top, back, and two sides.
How to Use a Blow Dryer Brush
Now that your hair is prepped, choose your hot brush's desired setting and get styling.
Hack 1: Work Your Way Up
Begin by taking approximately two-inch sections of hair from the bottom. Size is important because you want to ensure the entire area is exposed to heat. However, you also want to make sure the sections are large enough so that you can dry and style your hair in a sensible amount of time. Work the brush from the root to the tips. Slowly (this is key), pull the brush through your hair. The goal is to ensure the hair is taut — tension is the secret to smoothness. If you want more volume, pull the brush through outward versus downward.
Hack 2: Choose Your Style
At the bottom of each section, turn the brush one full rotation upward to smooth out the tips.
If you want waves or curls, wrap your hair around the brush. Note that the longer and thicker your hair is harder to achieve curling. Choose a blow dryer brush with a large barrel to support the length and thickness of your hair. Otherwise, you run the risk of tangled tresses.
Hack 3: Style and Repeat
Once you finish the bottom, repeat this technique on the remaining side sections of your hair.
Hack 4: Volumize
As the French would say, the crown section is the “pièce de résistance,” meaning it’s the most memorable and will likely significantly impact your style. Again, using tension, position your hair straight up as you brush to achieve ultimate volume.
Hack 5: Apply Finishing Products
Apply any applicable styling products needed to finish your style. For example, Crack Air Fix Aerosol Finishing Spray to help tame flyaways while keeping your hair looking voluminous and touchable.
While technique is vital to nail a hot brush blowout, choosing the right tool for your hair type and length is also crucial. Remember, the longer and thicker your hair, the larger the barrel you’ll require to succeed. Check out our collection of hot brushes so you can cut down on your styling time without sacrificing results.