What Are The Best Blow Dryer Brushes?
The best brushes for blow-drying hair are Ugly Swan's ceramic barrel brushes. They make it so easy to get a salon-quality blow dry every time.
But just what are they and why should you use them?
What is a Blow Dryer Brush?
A blow dryer brush (also referred to as a hair dryer brush, blow dry brush, or blowout brush) can solve a range of hair woes experienced by all hair types.
A hair dryer brush is specially designed for the heat and the technique required to blow dry hair.
When used in combination with a blow dryer, hair can be styled and smoothed for the look you’re after, such as blow drying to add volume or blow drying hair straight.
Why Should I Use a Blow Dryer Brush?
If you’re looking to boost your fine hair with body and movement, a blow dryer brush is the answer.
If you have thicker hair and want to create smooth straight hair or tame frizzy hair, a blow dryer brush is the answer.
Using a regular brush when blow drying can cause damage not only to your brush but also to your hair.
A regular plastic-handled brush with plastic bristles can become soft and might even melt when used as a blow dryer brush.
What are the Best Blow Dryer Brushes?
Not all brushes are suitable for use with a hair dryer.
A ceramic round brush is ideal for blow-drying and creating the salon blow-out look.
Being ceramic means that it can withstand the heat of a blow dryer, while the round brush head shape makes it easy to create sleek, shiny hair with volume.
What Features Should a Blowout Brush Have?
There are a few features you should look for when researching the best blow dryer brush for you:
IONIC
Everyday actions like running your fingers through your hair or brushing it create fiction that strip the negative ions in your hair. This results in frizzy and dry-looking hair.
Ionic hair brushes restore these negative ions when combined with a hair dryer, as negative ions are activated by heat.
This helps eliminate the static electricity that causes frizzy hair and flyaways, keeping hair straight and silky.
The ions also hydrate and seal the hair cuticle, producing smooth hair with a soft texture, making them a great choice for hair dryer brushes.
Using a non-ionic brush when blow drying (and even with general use) won't give the restorative benefits of an ionic brush.
NANOTECHNOLOGY
The best hair dryer brushes are manufactured using nanotechnology.
Without getting too sciency, nanotechnology is the manipulation of atoms and molecules. Ions are atoms or molecules that have a positive or negative charge.
A hairbrush that uses nanotechnology helps to restore the negative ions in your hair (see the ionic section above for more info on what this actually means!).
This helps them glide through the hair with little effort, allowing them to lift hair and maximise your hair’s volume.
HEAT RESISTANT PARTS
Blow dryers can have high heat settings and most brushes aren’t designed for such high temperatures.
Having a hair dryer brush that is specially designed to handle blow-dry temperatures means you won’t need to worry about damaging your brush, or worse, melting it!
Look for ceramic brushes. Ceramic heats up fast without getting to a dangerously high temperature.
Avoid plastic and metal at all costs as they will get too hot and could burn you and your hair.
CERAMIC BARREL
If you’re blow-drying your hair regularly, you’ll need a hair dryer brush that has a thermal ceramic barrel.
The barrel heats up quickly under the warm air of the hair dryer and retains the heat longer making it easier and more efficient to style your hair without the damage of a hair straightener.
Using a hair straightener concentrates the heat in one specific section and effectively doubles it. Blow drying doesn't directly apply heat to the hair, allowing the heat to constantly move and flow around the hair.
The vents in the barrel create airflow that also reduces the time it takes to dry hair as it allows the air to move and flow more easily around the hair while letting the moisture out.
And for the reasons mentioned in the previous sections, avoid plastic or metal barrels.
BRISTLES
Good quality bristles make all the difference with any hair dryer brush.
You’ll want soft bristles that won’t damage your scalp or pull through the hair causing static electricity and damage.
The bristles also need to be heat resistant for use as a hair dryer brush to ensure that they're safe to use with any heat settings.
The best bristles for use with heat are nylon and/or boar bristles as they're soft but also heat resistant.
You'll want to avoid using brushes with plastic bristles or metal bristles as they're not heat resistant.
SECTIONING PICK
Having a styling pick on the end of your hair blow dryer brush will help cut down the time it takes to style your hair.
This little pick at the end allows you to section off parts of your hair for drying rather than putting down the brush and picking up a comb to do the sectioning.
Most hair dryer brushes will come with this nifty feature, but not all.
ROUND BRUSH SHAPE
To add volume to hair, you want to introduce some shape.
The brush head shape that you choose is important, as the round barrel of a hair dryer brush allows you to curl your hair around the brush and heat it.
This makes it a breeze to create sleek, shiny styles that are frizz-free or to create volume and give your hair body.
Using different-sized brushes allows you to obtain a more natural wave, which is why your salon often uses both a large and a smaller round brush while styling.
An ergonomic round brush handle fits in the palm of your hand easily and the non-slip surface means you’re less likely to lose grip as you're rotating hot air around the brush.
Larger foam handles, narrow handles or tapered handles should be avoided for blow-drying. They can be difficult to grip and might cause hand and wrist fatigue and/or soreness.
The Best Blow Dryer Brushes 2022
The best brushes for blow-drying hair are Ugly Swan's ceramic barrel brushes.
Ugly Swan has two ceramic barrel hair dryer brushes available, one that's best suited to short hair and fine hair, and one that's ideal for long and thick hair:
Best Hair Dryer Brush for Short Hair & Fine Hair
The Thermal Ceramic Barrel Brush from Ugly Swan is designed for use with a hairdryer and is the best hair dryer brush for blow drying short hair and fine hair as it's small (33mm).
If you're unsure how to blow dry curtain bangs or your fringe, the smaller size of this brush and round barrel will make it a breeze.
It has ionic technology that hydrates the cuticle and adds shine while smoothing frizzy hair types and eliminating flyaways.
The soft-tip nylon and tufted bristles won't tangle your hair, meaning less breakage. They're also heat resistant so you can be sure that the brush is safe to use with a blow dryer on all heat settings.
The hair dryer brush is the perfect brush for fine hair and short hair as it uses nano-technology to glide through your hair effortlessly to create maximum volume.
Being ceramic, it warms up faster and holds heat longer for faster, easier styling, making it one of the best hair dryer brushes available.
Best Hair Dryer Brush for Long Hair & Thick Hair
The Thermal Ceramic Large Barrel Brush from Ugly Swan has all of the features mentioned above in the 33mm, but with a larger 55mm round brush head that's perfect for blow drying long hair and thick hair.
It's the best brush for thick hair and/or long hair, as the bigger brush head can accommodate your hair properly.
Both the 33mm and 53mm hair dryer brush heads from Ugly Swan have a sectioning pick on the end, which is particularly helpful for styling long hair and thick hair with ease.
Why Use a Ceramic Round Brush as a Hair Dryer Brush?
A ceramic barrel is designed to quickly absorb and retain the heat for a faster blow-drying process, which means less damage to your hair and easier, quicker styling.
When combined with a ceramic barrel, a round brush head that has bristles and vents is designed to withstand and circulate the heat that’s pumped out of hairdryers and give you that salon finish.
The curved shape allows you to create a range of different hairstyles with ease.
Other Tips for Using Hair Dryer Brushes
MICROFIBRE HAIR TOWEL
Some people make the mistake of using a hair dryer soon after hopping out of the shower when they still have sopping wet hair.
Using a high-quality microfibre hair towel is one of the quickest and most gentle ways to absorb most of the water in preparation for blow drying.
Very wet hair takes a long time to dry and the prolonged heat from the hair dryer can be damaging.
The Ugly Swan Unicorn Microfibre Hair Towel holds up to seven times its weight in water and quickly absorbs up to a litre of water.
There's no need to rub your hair before blow drying with the Unicorn Hair Towel so it's friction-free, which is perfect for reducing frizz and preventing hair breakage.
HEAT SETTINGS
Using the wrong heat settings can also damage your hair.
The highest heat setting is for thick or dense, curly hair, but if you have fine or fragile hair, it’s best to use a lower setting.
Most hair dryers have three heat settings so you can choose the best for your hair type.
Heat-damaged hair can break and lose its shine so any time you use a hair dryer, it's essential to also use some form of heat protectant product to prevent damage.
HAIR DRYER POSITIONING
Holding the hair dryer too close to your hair can also cause permanent damage to your hair and burn your scalp.
Keep the dryer off your hair and point the nozzle diagonally down the hair shaft.
Drying from the top will reduce drying time.
Finding the Best Hair Dryer Brush for You
Finding the best hair dryer brush that is specifically designed for hair types like your own hair will give you a salon-quality blow dry finish every time.
When looking at hair dryer brushes, it's also important to take into account your hair length.
This will ensure that you purchase the best hair dryer brush for your hair.
A good hair dryer brush will have a round brush shape and a sectioning pick that makes it easy to style and shape your hair.
The best blowout brush for thick hair and long hair will have a larger brush head.
The best blowout brush for short hair and fine hair will have a smaller barrel.
Only the best brushes include ionic and ceramic technology, as well as nanotechnology, such as the Ugly Swan ceramic barrel brushes.
Blow Drying FAQ'S
Still have questions about blow drying your hair and blow dryer brushes?
Here are some questions that we're often asked about blow drying:
Is Blow Drying Your Hair Damaging?
Blow drying is not damaging to your hair if done correctly. As we've already mentioned, be sure to use the correct tools, always use a heat protectant, and make sure that your hair is damp (not sopping wet).
Why Use A Ceramic Round Brush Over a Hot Air Brush?
A hot air brush is a two-in-one tool that works as both a hair dryer and hair dryer brush.
However, you won't be able to create as much volume with a hot air brush as you will using a ceramic round brush in combination with a hair dryer.
A hot air brush can generate too much heat, which can damage your hair, and are often expensive, fiddly, heavy, and hard to clean.
How Often Should I Use a Blow Dryer Brush?
You can use a blow dryer brush any time you want to blow dry your hair! As long as you are using heat protectant and quality tools, you won't do any damage to your hair.
How to Avoid Frizz When Blow Drying Hair?
To avoid frizz when blow drying your hair, here's what you'll need:
- ionic blow dryer brush
Make sure that you always use an ionic blow dryer brush (like the Ugly Swan thermal ceramic barrel brush) to help restore those negative ions to your hair for a smooth finish.
- quality hair dryer
Investing in a professional-quality hair dryer will make all the difference to your blow dry. Want salon-quality results? You need salon-quality products!
- microfibre towel
Use a microfibre hair towel to make sure your hair is only damp (not sopping wet) when you begin blow-drying.
If you have any other queries about which hair dryer brush is right for you, get in contact with us.