From Flat Irons to Hair Straighteners, Here’s the Difference Between Your Favourite Hot Tools

Straightening brushes work a lot like blow dryers, blowing hot air on your hair. These brushes grab your hair, allowing you to gently blow it straight without pressing your hair between two scorching hot plates. The BabylissPRO Elegant Hot Air Brush - 32mm is a great example of this, with a round barrel that smoothes the hair while adding volume and heat. It’s quick and easy, allowing you to get two jobs done at once.

Some hot brushes don’t blow air, but simply glide through your tresses, applying heat and providing glossy results. One of our favourites is the Silver Bullet Hybrid Ceramic & Ionic Straightening Brush. This innovative styling brush helps to apply a smooth frizz-free finish and is extremely easy to use. However, this one is a skip if you are looking for a dead straight finish as it does supply some volume and movement.

The original straightening tool, blow dryers are an ideal choice for anyone with wavy hair. If your hair only has a slight bend, simply blowing it dry will be enough to straighten it. Curlier hair needs a more proactive approach, including the use of a brush to flatten the hair shaft whilst creating volume. The Parlux 3800 Ceramic and Ionic Hair Dryer is an excellent choice for all hair types. It relies on negative ions to protect the hair from heat, producing luscious locks and a glossy shine.

When it comes to hot tools, you want one that will provide every finish. Enter the Dyson Airwrap Complete Multi-Styler Fuchsia Nickel. Beyond the perfect curls this styling tool provides it also comes with volumizing and smoothing brushes, for your lushest hair ever. Plus, it comes with a pre-styling dryer attachment for a perfect blowout. While it is an investment this is a highly versatile styler that will get you where you need to go any day of the week.

To minimise the damage of your flat iron, invest in a quality iron that heats evenly. We love the ghd max hair straightener for its versatility and ease of use. It’s wide Ceramic plates help to gather more hair and heat it in fewer passes, causing less damage overall. It is also perfect for those with thick, long hair, and significantly cuts down styling time. For a salon finish, we recommend making this upgrade.

For sleeker styling try a flat iron with Titanium plates like the BaBylissPRO Graphite Titanium Straightener. This clever straightener comes with 10 heat settings so you can choose the right option for your hair type. The slim plates are 25mm so they are particularly ideal for shorter hair types or for concentrated heat. Using this styler you are bound to have silky hair in no time as it uses Titanium, Ceramic and Graphite elements to help you achieve the perfect results.

The Dyson Corrale Hair Straightener - Nickel/Fuchsia is an innovative styling option that uses unique and flexible copper alloy plates to heat the hair and provide an outstanding finish. Hair is easily gathered so you can heat the hair in fewer passes, thus creating less damage. Intelligent heat control allows you to choose between three optimal temperatures depending on your hair type. Plus, it has a cord free option, which we think is the ultimate freedom.

The Cloud Nine The Original Iron has a reputation for being an all-round outstanding straightener that is straightforward and easy to use. It heats up in 20 seconds and provides variable heat from 00-200 degrees celsius, which is the perfect range for most hair types. It’s the original, and arguably the best one-and-done Ceramic straightener, which is certainly a fan favourite for a reason.

The ghd unplugged hair straightener - Matte White is a cordless straightner you can make your favourite travel companion. With a 45 second heat up time, this nifty straightener can last for 20 minutes off the charger, so you can style on the go with added flexibity. It's lightweight, compact design makes it perfect for travel and ideal for more fine hair types. For those with thicker hair, this styler is best for touch ups only. You'll need a wider plate to get a dead straight effect quickly.