As a beauty editor, I may be committing blasphemy by saying this, but I just cannot get on with my Dyson Airwrap. Now, I will fully admit, this is more than likely down to my hairstyling skills (minimal) and my natural hair type (wavy with a halo of frizz), rather than the tool itself—I'm aware I'm in the minority when it comes to my complex relationship with this cult tool. But achieving the sleek, bouncy blowout of my dreams has sadly never come easily to me, even when armed with what many describe as the best tool in the biz.
In my quest to learn everything I could to make it work for me, I of course, took to TikTok, the fount of all beauty knowledge, and while I did learn a few tips that helped (setting the style with a cool shot was a game changer), I also stumbled across another tool that's now become my go-to for achieving the sleek look I always hoped for with minimal effort. If you haven’t heard about Amika’s Blowout Babe Thermal Brush, get ready to read a whole love letter to it.
Unlike the Dyson Airwrap, which styles by directing hot air onto your strands, the Amika Blowout Babe is a traditional hot brush. For this reason, it’s designed to be used on dry hair as it uses heat to set your style in place. Alongside the ceramic barrel which heats to 180°c using infrared to prevent damage, it also features nylon bristles to grip the hair and pull it close to the barrel and ion technology, which smooths and leaves strands looking extra glossy. You see why I was intrigued right?
So hyped is this brush that it went viral on TikTok last year leaving Amika struggling to keep it in stock. Thankfully it's now back and I've been testing it for the past few months. Keep scrolling for my honest thoughts...
My honest review
Described as ‘convenient, easy-to-use and ultra-versatile,’ Amika’s Blowout Brush seems too good to be true, or at least it did to me. On first inspection, it looks unremarkable, yes it’s sleek and pretty compact for a hot brush, but I didn’t expect it to revolutionise my hair styling routine.
The first difference between the Amika Blowout Babe and the Dyson Airwrap, is that it has to be used on dry hair. Over the past few months, I’ve tried it both on my natural air-dried hair and on straightened hair and I have to say it works well on both. If i had to pick, I’d say I get a slightly sleeker finish on my pre-straightened hair, however most of the time, I just go in on it au naturale.
When styling, I section my hair, then taking small pieces, I use the first pass to pull my hair through the brush. This smooths everything over but doesn’t necessarily build volume at this point. With the second pass, I twist my hair around the barrel as I pull, this time to create shape and body. As I’m someone who likes a 90’s style blow-dry, as opposed to bouncy curls, I like to focus on the ends, pulling the hair both away and towards my face for maximum movement.
One thing I love about this brush is the barrel size as at 1.5"—it’s large enough to build lift at the root while also creating a defined shape on the lengths. If you’ve ever tried a large blow dry brush and wondered why your curls don’t last, the barrel size may be the issue, so I’m pleased to say this isn’t a problem with the Amika. My favourite thing about the barrel size however is that it allows me to get much closer to the root than the Dyson Airwrap, something that anyone with wavy or curly hair will know is incredibly important if you want to get a really sleek look. There’s also no knack when it comes using it, simply brush and twist until you achieve your desired shape.
Lastly, I have to shout out the ionizer mode, which I use when doing a third and final pass on the top layer of my hair. This seals everything in and creates an even sleeker look. On some hair types this third step may not be necessary but, as I mentioned, frizz is a common occurrence for me, so this helps to smooth everything over and give my hair a glossy finish.
Overall, the Amika Blowout Brush does everything I hoped the Dyson would for my hair without any fuss. While it may not be as glamorous, for me, the results definitely are, so if you want an easy way to create that freshly blow-dried look at home definitely give this a try.
