My Hair Is My Most-Complimented Feature, and It’s Thanks to This £56 Tool

If there is one thing about me that you should know, it's that I love testing out new hairstyling tools. If there's a gadget that can make my long and frizzy hair easier to style in the mornings, I want to know about it. I've tried many hair tools, from the holy-grail Dyson AirWrap to this affordable £35 curling wand that I will loyally use for the foreseeable future, through to iconic favourites such as GHD hair straighteners and wet-to-dry hairstyling tools—I've tried everything.

Having sat in the chair of many hair salons and chatted with several top celebrity hairstylists, there is one hair tool brand that I spot in the hands of the industry's best hairstylists time and time again. The brand in question? Babyliss. It is one of the most respected hair tool brands around, and is used professionally in salons but also offers a great range of at-home hair styling tools too, from hot brushes to curling wands. Whenever a hairdresser has used one of its curling wands on my hair, I've always loved the results. So, when I heard Babyliss had launched a brand new hairstyling tool, the Hydro Fusion 4-in-1 Hair Dryer Brush (£80), I had to get my hands on it.

Babyliss Hydro Fusion 4-in-1 Hair Dryer Review

The Tech

Firstly, let's get down to the science. This uses Advanced Plasma Technology, which combines both positive and negative ions that help to hydrate hair and reduce frizz as you dry your hair. They snap onto the main handle easily and lock into place—you just have to squeeze the two silver buttons on either side to release the styling head.

The handle has a sliding power button, which has two heat settings, as well as a cooling setting to help set your style into place.

The Attachements

I think having four styling attachments for £80 is pretty good value. The hair dryer attachment is useful to bring damp hair to around 80% dry (which is what Babyliss recommends to begin styling your hair).

The Hairdryer Attachment: It's not the most powerful hairdryer, so I wouldn't rely on it like my usual hairdryer to dry my hair from wet to dry, but it's good for rough drying hair before going in with one of the other three attachments.

The Smoothing Brush: This tool has bendy bristles and a cushioned base, which is perfect for detangling and smoothing hair before using either the straightening brush or the volumising round brush.

The Straightening Brush: In comparison, the bristles of the straightening brush head are more rigid and tightly packed together, so it's ideal for achieving that straight and sleek look.

The Round Brush: The round brush (which I used on my hair below) is actually oval-shaped and has a mixture of firmer bristles and softer fibre bristles designed to give volume and a bouncy salon blowout.

How To Use The Hair Tool

After I spritzed through a heat-protecting spray, I used the hair drying attachment to dry my damp hair to around 80% dry. I then when through with the smoothing brush which left my hair smooth, tangle-free, and ready for styling.

I sectioned my hair through the middle to make styling easier—this also allows you to get right into the root of the hair. I used the highest heat setting on my hair, as it's thicker and generally needs more heat. If you have fine or very damaged hair, I'd opt for the lower heat option.

I'll admit that it took a few tries to get the hang of how to use this attachment best. The round brush is large, so while it is tempting to use larger sections of hair, I'd recommend using smaller sections at first to avoid any tangles, and I also found that this created longer-lasting curls anyway.

I got the best results by running the brush through my hair and twirling it at the end, before releasing the hair and repeating the process another two times. Then, I twirled the brush all the way up to the roots, holding for 10 seconds, before flicking the switch to the cooling setting to set my hair into place.

I found that the cooling button takes a while to really cool down and set the hair (the ceramic base of the brush gets very hot), so, I preferred to leave the brush in place for a few extra seconds while the device is fully switched off so it could cool down fully.

One thing I will say is that this worked much better on the shorter layers at the front of my hair. If you have really long and heavy hair without layers, you may find that your curls might fall out more quickly. For that reason, I'd definitely recommend it for those with shorter hair who want to create shape and volume in their hair through the lengths and the roots, or those with layers through their hair. If you do have long hair with some layers, this will still work for you if you want to add some subtle shape and bounce through your lengths. I do wish that the harder bristles were slightly softer, as I found I occasionally got a little tangled up as I twisted the brush out of my hair.

The Result

This is the final result from styling my hair with the dryer, smoothing brush and finishing with a round oval round brush. While it did take me around 50 minutes from start to finish, I found it did a great job at giving my hair some bounce and shape through my layers. The longer sections of my hair did fall flat, so I went back in with the round brush to just add some flicks at the ends, which held up better than trying to add a full curl in.

I lightly spritzed some hairspray through my hair to finish, and this held up well for a few hours, but I did experience some of the shape falling as the day went on. I've yet to use a hot-brush tool that does keep the shape in my hair all day long. I also tied my hair up into a bun later in the day and I was pleased to see that my hair retained its bounce after being up for a couple of hours. I find wearing my hair in a bun also helps to keep the style "memory" overnight too, so you can continue to enjoy bounce the next day.

The Verdict

The bottom line? If you want an affordable hairstyling brush tool that gives you multiple styling options on a budget, then I would highly recommend it. I think those with shoulder-length hair or shorter will benefit most from the round brush tool, and all hair lengths will benefit from the smoothing and straightening brush attachments. However, if you have long hair that's all one length, you may be better off creating shape in your hair with a curling wand.

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