If I can help it, I avoid blow drying my hair. Call it a lack of will, but I’ve never been up to the challenge it takes (arm strength, skill, patience) to frequently heat style my hair. Enter hot brushes. It took several months of seeing them all over my social media feeds before I tried Revlon’s One-Step Volumizer Hair Dryer and Styler, the under-$50 favorite of nearly 500,000 Amazon shoppers.
If you’re in the market for an affordable, easy-to-use hair dryer that dries, smooths and adds ‘90s-style body and volume in one step, this is the place to start. Ask anyone (especially my younger brother), I am famously uncoordinated and even I can maneuver the One-Step Volumizer with ease. Before I recently cut several inches off my hair, the original’s 2.8 inch brush head was a dream for drying and styling my long locks in record time. (Now that my hair is shorter, I’d prefer a smaller brush. Eventually, I’ll swap this for the newer version that’s more compact overall.) Even better for my amateur hair styling status, the three-heat/speed setting is foolproof: low, medium and high. Plus, its ceramic tourmaline technology drastically cuts down on drying time, effectively protecting my strands from heat damage and saving my sanity.
Revlon’s hair styler has racked up over 380,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. “There was so much bounce to my hair that it felt like I just got a haircut,” said one fan. A second commented they “totally thought it was a gimmick” but now calls it “unbelievable” for “sleekness” and bounce. A third reviewer with “long thick curly/wavy hair” says the styler works like an “absolute dream. My hair hasn’t been so shiny, soft, and manageable in a long time,” they rave. “I can dry my hair in less than five minutes,” said another. A shopper who admits they “never really learned how to blow dry [their] hair” reports the Revlon One-Step Volumizer “resolved [their] issue completely.”
If you’re going to be heat styling more often, a good heat protectant product is a non-negotiable. This summer I’ve been loving Briogeo’s Farewell Frizz Blow Dry Perfection Heat Protectant Creme ($26) for how smooth and sleek it makes my frizz-ier hair. When I want a little more bounce and touchable softness, I grab dae’s Agave Dry Heat & Hold Styling Mist ($30); a few spritzes provides heat protection up to 450 degrees.
I know Revlon’s One-Step Volumizer is a game-changer because when asked by a friend to get a blowout before a wedding, I opted to do my hair myself. (Old me would never.) Simply put, if you don’t think you can get a salon-worthy blowout at home, try this $40 styler first.
