WE ALL might dream of having effortless waves like Hailey Bieber, Hollywood curls like Sydney Sweeney, or the impossibly frizz-free, pin-straight hair of a Kardashian — but achieving such chic results without the aid of a professional hairstylist can be something of a challenge. Armed with the right tools though — hair dryers, curlers, straighteners and more — the task becomes a lot easier, especially if you’ve picked out the products with top ratings proven to make the hair of your dreams a reality.
We consulted award-winning celebrity hairstylist and entrepreneur Natalie Anne to let us in on all the secrets of hair styling — including how to go about choosing the right hair tools for you.
Read on for our guide to the best hair tools and tips you need for the best styling results from home.
What hair tools should I have?
The tools you need depends on your hair type, length, and what you’re trying to achieve with them.
“For amateurs, instead of choosing a blow dryer and a brush, I would strongly recommend starting out with a hot brush, such as the ghd Glide Smoothing Hot Brush. You really can’t go wrong with this tool as the hot brush allows you to style with just one motion,” says hairstylist Natalie Anne.
For those who are a little more comfortable with hot tools, Anne recommends opting for a straightener: “If we are looking at the most versatile styling tool, it will always be the straightener as it’s perfect to create a straight, wavy or curly look.”
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Which hair styling tool is best?
First consider the hairstyles you’re trying to recreate. Want pin-straight locks? Go for a smoothing hair dryer or a straightener for more stubborn hair. If you’re a fan of Hollywood starlet curls, a curling wand is the best choice. And fans of a beachy wave can achieve their desired look with a curler, straightener, or hair dryer — but note that the latter two require a little technique to wrap your head around.
“When looking to invest in hair tools, I always recommend quality over quantity! I suggest investing in brands that have been around for a long time such as ghd or similar, as they last a long time,” explains Anne.
“I would also consider a hair tool that is temperature controlled to avoid consistently hitting the hair with high temperatures. For most hair types, I suggest trying to keep the temperature of styling tools at 185 degrees as it is the optimal styling temperature and won’t compromise hair health.”
Looking for specific recommendations? Read on for our picks of the best hair dryers, straighteners, curlers and brushes.
Best hair tools to buy in 2024
Best hair dryers to buy in 2024
The jack of all trades, a hair dryer can do a lot more than just drying — you can also use it to smooth out frizz, add volume, and even curl hair.
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DYSON Supersonic Hair Dryer
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BEST LUXURY HAIR DRYER
DYSON Supersonic Hair Dryer
$499 (RRP$649)
It’s impossible to write about the best hair tools without mention of Dyson — yes, those are some hefty price tags, but according to all reviews there’s simply nothing else like them, so we’d be remiss to omit them. Their latest Supersonic is a revolutionary hair dryer which checks its own temperature 40 times a second to prevent excessive heat damage. It has three speed and four heat settings, and comes with five easily interchangeable attachments, including the new anti-flyaway one making waves on the beauty circuits.
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GHD helios professional hair dryer in pink peach
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BEST MID-RANGE HAIR DRYER
GHD helios professional hair dryer in pink peach
$345
Another iconic hair styling brand, ghd has released a number of hair dryers you’d love — and helios is one of the best. It has a long-life and brushless motor that allows you to style with speed and control. It’s lightweight to hold and has a lengthy cable for ease of use, along with variable power and temperature controls — and a cool shot for drying and styling. This peachy-pink version of helios hails from ghd’s annual limited edition pink campaign, which donates $20 from every purchase from the collection to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Best hair straighteners to buy in 2024
Whether you want frizz-free, dead-straight hair or a subtle wave, a straightener has you covered.
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CLOUD NINE The Original Iron
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BEST MID-RANGE HAIR STRAIGHTENER
CLOUD NINE The Original Iron
$339
A salon-quality tool, The Original Iron is top-tier. It has all the nifty design features you’d hope for: Smooth ceramic plates and variable temperature control for minimal heat damage, a conveniently long swivel cord that makes it easy to curl and wave as well as straighten, and an automatic hibernation mode after 30 minutes of no use. Reviewers say it lasts for years and glides through hair with ease leaving it frizz-free.
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DYSON Corrale Straightener
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BEST CORDLESS HAIR STRAIGHTENER
DYSON Corrale Straightener
$549 (RRP$699)
The Dyson Corrale is loaded with a lot of game-changing features, but the greatest of them all would have to be the cordless design — say goodbye to getting tangled up in cables or caught short with a cord that just quite doesn’t reach! It also has unique flexing copper plates which allow you to straighten your hair more gently, with less heat damage and less frizz.
Best hair stylers to buy in 2024
Seeking a multi-use tool that can manage everything from a silky blowout to a bouncy head of curls? These hair stylers are the perfect fit.
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DYSON Airwrap Complete Styler
5
BEST LUXE HAIR STYLER
DYSON Airwrap Complete Styler
$699 (RRP$949)
The new Dyson Airwrap is here, and it’s better than ever. Available in a short or long version — so you can choose the perfect one for your hair length — the new Airwrap features re-engineered attachments, with barrels that curl and wave in both directions; brushes to control and shape; and the multi-functional Coanda smoothing dryer to dry, smooth and hide flyaways. It’s everything you need for hair styling in the one luxurious package.
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VS SASSOON Digital Sensor Luxe Air Styler
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BEST AFFORDABLE HAIR STYLER
VS SASSOON Digital Sensor Luxe Air Styler
$189.95
Ideal for all hair types and lengths, the VS Sassoon Digital Sensor Luxe Air Styler is an affordable all-in-one styling solution. Crafted with a nine-blade centrifugal fan system that offers careful air pressure, alongside a digital sensor that adapts heat as needed, it comes with six attachments — so you can dry, smooth, shape and style for voluminous, healthy hair.
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SHARK BEAUTY Shark Flexstyle Air Styling & Drying System
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BEST MID-RANGE HAIR STYLER
SHARK BEAUTY Shark Flexstyle Air Styling & Drying System
$499
An all-in-one air drying and styling system, the Shark Flexstyle allows you to switch from a no-heat-damage hair dryer to a versatile multi-styler with its six attachments. The attachments include a styling concentrator, a curl-defining diffuser, a paddle brush, an oval brush, and two auto-wrapping curlers. Lightweight and powerful, it has four heat and three airflow settings plus a cool shot button to lock in your style.
Best hair curlers to buy in 2024
Curlers — from tongs to wands — make achieving everything from the softest waves to the bounciest ringlets an absolute breeze.
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SILVER BULLET Fastlane Large Ceramic Conical Curling Iron
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BEST CURLING WAND
SILVER BULLET Fastlane Large Ceramic Conical Curling Iron
$80.99 (RRP$89.95)
If you’re not a fan of clamp curling irons, a conical wand like this one is a great choice. The barrel size tapers from 32 to 19mm, perfect for giving you natural looking curls in no time at all. It comes with a heat protective mat, and the handle and tip are also heat resistant for your safety.
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MERMADE Waver PRO 32mm
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EASIEST HAIR CURLER
MERMADE Waver PRO 32mm
$82 (RRP$109)
If beachy waves are your preferred style, but they always seem like a little too much work, this is the tool you need to make them effortless. Now beloved by the likes of Rita Ora and Sofia Richie, the cult favourite styler is as easy as combing and clamping — and with its large triple barrels, you’ll be done curling in no time.
Best hairbrushes to buy in 2024
Picking the right hairbrush matters if you want to maintain shiny, smooth, tangle-free hair. Some can be paired with hot tools like hair dryers to achieve more complex styling, while others have in-built heat tech for two-in-one capabilities.
“A wet and dry brush is a safe and good investment for all hair types. Try and match them to your hair type — for example, there are brushes tailored to coarse hair and even some for sensitive scalps,” says Natalie Anne. “A question I always get asked is if people can brush their hair when it is wet — you can, but you should always refrain from using a boar bristle brush and vigorously brushing. The hair is most sensitive when it’s wet, as it is at its weakest state. It is preferred to brush your hair when it is wet with a brush that has wider bristles or a wide comb.”
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GHD Glide Hot Brush in Pink Peach
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BEST SMOOTHING HOT BRUSH
GHD Glide Hot Brush in Pink Peach
$260
Also from ghd’s pink campaign comes this peachy hued version of the Glide Brush. For those who want to keep their hair smooth and straight beyond wash day, this is the easiest tool to use. High density shorter and longer bristles allow you to style large sections of hair with ease, and there’s an auto-off function after 60 minutes.
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MOROCCANOIL Ceramic Barrel Brush 55mm
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BEST VOLUMISING ROUND BRUSH
MOROCCANOIL Ceramic Barrel Brush 55mm
$38
Perfect for adding volume to even the most stubbornly flat hair, this ceramic brush retains and evenly distributes heat — and ions within the bristles repel water, speeding up hair drying time and resulting in shinier, smoother hair.
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GHD Rise Volumizing Hot Brush
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BEST HOT BRUSH
GHD Rise Volumizing Hot Brush
$232 (RRP$290)
A hot brush is a great way to easily add volume, replicating the effects of the classic radial brush and hair dryer combination in one tool. It can also be used to curl and lift, with its optimum styling temperature of 185 degrees maintained evenly across the barrel.
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THE WET BRUSH Original Detangler Classic
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BEST HAIR BRUSH FOR DETANGLING
THE WET BRUSH Original Detangler Classic
$18.95
Smoothing out your hair is effortless with this beloved brush. It’ll glide through any tangles with ease, without any pulling or breaking of hair, and works well in or out of the shower.
What are the best tips for styling hair with hot tools?
Anne has two top tips for heat styling at home: “Number one: Try not to conquer all your hair all at one time — split into sections and make sure any styling or heat protectant product is spread evenly,” she begins.
“And number two: For a little extra hack, I love splitting the hair into four to five ponytail sections and pulling the hair elastic down to about where I want to start the curl — for a bouncy blow out, I start lower and for a tighter curl or wavy look, start higher.”
How do I style my hair without heat damage?
Hot tools can make your hair look fantastic, but when playing with heat, you have to be careful to make sure you don’t essentially fry your hair.
“I would always recommend a heat protectant product, such as the Nioxin 3D Styling ThermActiv Protector,” says Anne. “Another equally important way to style your hair without creating damage is to keep your hair really hydrated. For example, I would use the Natalie Anne Charcoal Repair Mask in the shower to make sure you are protected from all types of heat damage.”