Hot Tools' Signature One-Step Makes Blowouts a Breeze

We put the Hot Tools Signature Series One-Step Blowout Detachable Volumizer and Hair Dryer to the test after receiving a complimentary sample from the brand. Keep reading for our full product review.

My routine is as follows: I wake up, walk my dogs, hop in the shower, and sign into work. With a new puppy, my life has felt chaotic and I barely have time to shower, let alone style my hair for Zoom meetings. That is, until I got my hands on the Hot Tools Signature Series One-Step Blowout Detachable Volumizer and Hair Dryer. 

The tool's gold accents bring back fond memories of going to hair salons with my mom, where she’d get her hair styled with the 24K gold curling wands that the brand was initially famous for. This excited me and set my expectations high, right off the bat. Once I tried it out, it was easy to see why this product has so many rave reviews. Ahead, learn more about my experience with the Hot Tools Signature Series One-Step Blowout and how it changed my hairstyling experience.

About My Hair: Medium thickness and easy to style

I've always considered myself blessed with easy-to-style hair. It’s straight with a very slight wave, and even though it has thinned out over the years, it’s still medium in thickness. It has a tendency to get oily closer to the root and very dry at the ends, so I like to wash my hair every other day. If not styled, it can look stringy and dry.

My styling tools of choice for freshly washed hair include my Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer and a large, round brush; I use a flat iron to touch up on day two. (That is, if I have time to style my hair.) I'm always on the hunt for a hair tool that can help me achieve a polished, put-together look for work, all while being easy to use and efficient.

The Design: Smart and ergonomic

The Hot Tools Signature Series One-Step Blowout comes with a large, oval head that creates more surface area for your hair to lay than any other hot brushes I’ve used in the past,  making styling and smoothing hair quick and easy.  The oval shape of the ceramic head not only leaves hair glossy, but it also leaves the ends with a slight bevel.  The handle’s contour and light weight make it easy to grip and control the device, which helps since the brush gets very hot.

How to Use: Choose your ideal settings

The Hot Tools Signature Series One-Step Blowout is super easy to use right out of the box. You simply plug it in, snap the brush head in place, and twist the bottom of the handle to select your options. 

The tool works on both both wet and dry hair, whether freshly washed or not. Although you can use it directly out of the shower on towel-dried hair, my favorite way to use this device is on freshly washed, air-dried, or slightly dampened hair with a heat protectant. This not only cuts down on drying time, but it further minimizes the toll heat styling can take on my drier ends. I usually section my hair in two parts, separating the top from the bottom by securing it with a clip.  

I then proceed to use the tool in its high setting the way I would normally round brush, passing it through two-inch pieces with my right hand (I’m right-handed).  With my left hand, now free and sans hairdryer, I help guide the tool through sections of hair with the cool tip end, or I keep the hair piece taut as I pass through it with the tool. I recommend using two or more passes, flipping hair in different directions, for a sleek yet bouncy blowout. 

If you’re anything like me and you’re worried about heat damage, don’t skip the heat protectant and be mindful of how long your passes are—the brush head can get very hot.

The Results: A silky blowout at lightning speed

For me, it was love at first use when I tried the Hot Tools Signature Series One-Step Blowout. It elevated my stringy, air-dried hair to a sleek, voluminous, and shiny blowout in under 15 minutes, a fraction of the time it used to take me with a conventional hair dryer and round brush. While more heat options would be helpful to ensure a balance of creating your ideal look while minimizing any damage, the results were incredible and this is truly a game-changing product for my busy routine.

The Value: Relatively affordable

Retailing at $70, this product is budget-friendly and lies on the lower end of the range for this kind of product. The price range for styling tools like this is pretty wide, with options like this coming in at less than $100 and fan-favorite investments like the Dyson Airwrap at $550. If you've been looking for an affordable tool that streamlines drying and styling into a single step, it doesn't get much better than Hot Tools.

Similar Products: You've got options

Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer: This slightly less expensive option ($60) claims to deliver “just the right amount of heat” and allows the user to use it closer to the scalp. It can result in a longer styling time, but you still end up with an easy blowout in significantly less time than with a traditional dryer-and-round-brush method.

Drybar The Double Shot Blow-Dryer Brush: Straight from the pros at popular blowout-focused salon Drybar, this option ($150) retails for double the price of the Hot Tools Signature Series One-Step Blowout. It has a smaller, 2.44" barrel size, which can be helpful for precise styling, but the brush head is built in and therefore cannot be replaced.  If you want a different-sized brush head, you'll need to buy a different model.