In the GHI lab, we carried out a temperature test to ensure each hot brush didn’t overheat and assessed them on design features such as automatic switch-off and the accessibility of controls. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ 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 to boost volume. Some hot brushes come with extra attachments such as a rough dryer or a curling tong, too, so you can achieve everything from poker-straight ends to bouncy curls.

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 most likely won't achieve the look you're after either.A hot brush is a hybrid hair tool designed for easy styling. It looks similar to a round or paddle hairbrush and works in the same way, but also has a built-in straightener. This means you're styling as you're detangling — saving you some valuable time.

If used correctly, a hot brush is less damaging and faster to use than a traditional hair straightener, but only use your hot brush on dry to mostly dry hair, unless it uses hot air to style. We also used a Bossa Nova Shuffle machine to analyse how frizzy hair got after styling with each hot brush and exposure to humidity. Long hair: Choose a brush with long bristles, so you can capture and style large amounts of hair at once, reducing styling time. 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. How we test hot brushes To find the best hot brushes, over 270 testers with different hair types tried out 31 different models. Each styler was judged on ease of use, design, instructions and performance.

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. GHI tip: Always use a heat protection spray when doing any heat styling — including using a hair dryer. Can you use a hot brush on wet hair? 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 go-to hair dryer, brushes with ceramic plates get too hot for wet hair and will break fragile strands.