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Best hair styling tools 2026: hair dryers, air stylers and hot brushes tested
Which heated tools are worth the hype?
Gone are the days of a classic hair dryer, straightening iron and curling wand. Today’s hair stylers are often multi-tasking and bursting with technology to help reduce heat damage and get the job done quicker. It's not a case of wanting to look red-carpet ready, but rather a hard-working tool that is worth the splurge.
It’s no doubt a big investment, and a gadget you’ll want to hold onto for years, so what’s worth spending your money on? We tested various heated hair tools, from hair dryer brushes to air stylers from brands including GHD and Dyson to reveal what’s worth buying.
Great for: a speedy blow-dry solution
The brand that revolutionised hair straightening tools way back in 2001 has expanded beyond their ceramic plates to a whole host of styling gadgets, and one of their newest designs is this blow-dry brush that’s designed to be used on wet hair, cutting the need for a separate hairbrush while you use a traditional hairdryer.
Size-wise, it’s larger than your traditional brush, but sits comfortably in my hand and doesn’t feel heavy throughout. The long swivel cord means I’m not battling to manoeuvre it around my head while I use it. It may be a simple design element but it makes the brush all the more user-friendly.
Interestingly, the temperature is set to one level, and that’s 120°C. You can’t go higher or lower, and once you slide the ‘on’ switch, it beeps and the flashing light remains static to notify you when it’s ready to use; I counted this at approximately 48 seconds. GHD sets this as the optimum temperature to ensure it gets the job done without heat damage. Considering that you can easily ramp up other hair tools to 200°C, this is quite eye-opening. Did I feel like the brush wasn’t hot? Not at all. In fact, the heated bristles were hot to the touch.
The instructions guided me through loosely brushing from underneath until my hair was about 80% dry, before starting to style. The bristles are smooth and didn’t snag my hair once, like a traditional brush often did. The initial drying process on my long, fine hair took about three minutes. The next step was to use sectioning clips and style each area. You’ll need to buy these separately, I got mine from Boots.
Besides acting as a decent blow-dry option, one major element stood out for me. My hair was a lot less frizzy compared to normal, and this lasted throughout the day, too. There was also a decent amount of root lift thanks to being able to get the brush close to my scalp. For a slimmed-down approach to hair styling with a reassurance that I’m not frying my hair, this is a great option.
It's available directly through GHD, but we've spied a saving of over £100 on Boots and Amazon right now, while stocks last.
Tested by Helen Pike
BaByliss Style Secret Air Automatic Rotating Curler & Waver
BaByliss Style Secret Air Automatic Rotating Curler & Waver
Great for: adding curls and waves
This is the latest version of BaByliss’s Style Secret range - the brand previously launched ‘curl’ and ‘wave’ secret gadgets where a section of hair is ‘sucked’ into the device and styled, then released in its finished shape, removing the need for any skill and manoeuvring and essentially doing the job for you.
The Style Secret Air combines all of these jobs into one, offering settings from a gentle blow-dry way all the way to defined curls. The medium shaped heated barrel is encased in a removable plastic cover that features a small hole where the hair feeds into. It also acts as a protective casing from burns, which I have received from more traditional curling wands in the past. The grip is comfortable and it’s quick to get to temperature and switch between heat and style options.
There are four temperature settings, up to 200°C, and you can also select the curl time and direction (options include left, right, or alternating). Everything is clearly labelled so while it’s plenty of choice, it’s not overwhelming. BaByliss suggests in its instructions that those with fine, delicate, bleached or coloured hair use the lowest heat settings, while those with thicker hair can use the higher setting.
The device is louder than a traditional curling wand, but not as loud as my hair dryer. Its 2.4m swivel cord means reaching the back of my head isn’t a problem. It took about 30 minutes to style my hair, which is the average time it usually takes. Using the device takes a little getting used to, but the result was brilliant. I opted for tight curls then brushed them out to make more natural waves, which lasted in definition and volume all day.
As well as directly through BaByliss, where there's currently a £20 discount, you can also find the Style Secret Air at Boots, Look Fantastic and Argos.
Tested by Andrea Tonks
Dyson Airwrap Coanda 2x Multi Styler & Dryer
Great for: personalised tech
There's no ignoring the price tag here, so I was keen to see if Dyson's newest launch was worth the big investment.
There's six attachments to this gadget, all with slightly differing jobs.
The AirSmooth attachment creates straight, smooth styles. The fast dryer quickly dries hair and prepares it for styling. The 'Loop Brush' smooths and detangles hair while styling, and the tension comb brush adds volume and shape. There are two curling barrels: one 30mm and one 400mm, designed to created curls and waves respectively. Add to this the four heat settings (the highest being 150°C) and three speed settings, and there's plenty of versatility.
Most impressive has to be the app. Download it to your smartphone and connect to the Airwrap to create a personalised hair profile. I was able to input my hair type, length, texture plus more details on my current skill level and my styling goals, and the app gives recommendations and even optimises the curl settings to my hair, leaving minimal room for mistakes or disappointment.
The Airwrap is longer than some traditional styling tools, so it took a little time to adjust to the size but after a few uses it became natural, with all attachments gliding through or around my hair easily. As someone with thick hair, styling naturally takes longer, but the whole process was a lot faster than usual with this gadget.
For such a powerful tool, it's surprisingly quiet, making it much more pleasant to use. My favourite attachment was the Fast Dryer purely because of how quickly it dried my hair. A close second was the AirSmooth attachment because it made light work of controlling my frizz.
My hair generally feels and looks healthier, so if you're looking to invest in a high-quality, all-in-one styling tool, this is hard to fault.
As well as directly through the Dyson website, you can also buy the Multi-Styler and Dryer through Amazon.
Tested by Rachel Cope
StylPro Thermal Brush with Red & Near Infrared LEDs
Great for: refreshing day old hair
In a novel approach, this heated brush uses LEDs as part of its heating and styling process. The red and NIR (that’s “near infrared”) is said to gently heat through the hair shaft, as opposed to the surface, in a bid to reduce the potential for heat damage. It heats up speedily, and tells you the real-time temperature so you know when exactly it’s ready to use. For added convenience, it has a ‘smart memory function’ you can enable, which means the device remembers the previous heat setting you used and automatically switches to it for your next use.
This is designed to be used on dry hair only, so I used it both as a finishing touch to freshly blow-dried hair, and to refresh ‘older’ styles. The sturdy bristles don’t snag at any point, and it’s particularly good at smoothing down flyaways and taming any kinks. While any root lift takes a little time, it’s great at adding bouncy curls to the end of my hair, which creates a more natural look than some other heat styling devices.
Tested by Jenny Medlicott
Mark Hill Hair Flexi Air Styler Starter Kit
Great for: multi-tasking
At just under £170 (and often on offer, including at Boots), the Mark Hill Air Styler is one of the cheaper rivals to Dyson’s original Airwrap, and I’d say it’s excellent value for money. It’s a 3-in-1 system comprising of a hairdryer, hot air brush and curling barrels. The hairdryer isn’t your typical elongated, tapered nozzle but a rounded stick that blasts air through the middle and is easy to reach all sections so everything dries quickly and evenly. I soon got into the habit of doing this before switching to the blow-dry brush to smooth everything over. Its highest temperature setting is 125°C, which felt warm enough to do the job.
Moving between attachments is really straightforward, as everything operates on a clip and switch system. The only thing I needed to be mindful of was ensuring the attachments cooled down a little first, which didn’t take long. The 3-metre cord with swivel base made using it comfortable, too.
There are two curling barrels that are designed to wrap the hair around either left or right for an even finish, and this was easy to pick up. It works best with smaller sections of hair, and produces bigger, loose waves as opposed to tight curls, lasting all day. I find this a brilliant affordable alternative to some of the higher priced options on the market.
Tested by Sophie Chapple
BaByliss Air Power Smooth Wet to Dry Smoothing and Straightening
BaByliss Air Power Smooth Wet to Dry Smoothing and Straightening
Great for: a sleek finish
Cutting out the need for a traditional hair dryer, this paddle-shaped brush featuring a ceramic plate blasts heat so you can dry as you style. There’s four heat settings (including a cool option) and three speed settings so it’s easy to adjust to what suits your hair best.
The technology in this means that the air stream is directed whichever way you brush, so it naturally smooths as you go. The silicon bristles glided through my hair easily when wet, but it’s worth noting that I had a couple of instances where it snagged as it became dry. However, my arms didn’t tire, and the tool is lighter and no noisier than a standard dryer. It took 30 minutes to dry my thick, naturally curly hair straight. The plate and back of the brush both get hot, but the accompanying glove helps protect my hand when using.
It’s a great option for those looking to tame frizz and smooth their hair rather than add volume (if that’s what you’re after, BaByliss’s Air Wand does a good job.
Tested by Shyvonne Thomas
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