How To Use A Hot Brush For Long Lasting Curls, According To A Hairstylist

If there is one common question that I always get asked as a beauty editor, it’s how to use a hot brush. Many are met with the problem that their hot brush curls don’t last and drop out too quickly. I’ll admit, a blowdry brush can be tricky if you have never used one before, and they can take a lot of practice to get the hang of.

As someone who has long hair, I find it hard to get that blowdry look to last in my hair. It’s heavy and often falls out easily after styling. But I love the initial volume and bounce that a hot brush gives me, all without having to visit the salon.

How To Use A Hot Brush, Step By Step

In my quest to find the true answer to making hot brush styles last for longer, I tapped international artist in residence at Billi Currie and expert hairstylist, Tom Smith, to share his words of wisdom.

“The use of a hot brush at home makes it very easy to style your hair without the need to use two hands at once,” he says. “The leading feature is the fact that it dries and styles your hair with one device, meaning that this may be a perfect solution for those of you who find blow-drying your hair with a hairdryer and round brush at the same time challenging.”

After speaking with Smith, I found that I was making some hot brush mistakes when styling my hair, and I picked up plenty of great tips to ensure that your blowout won’t flop after an hour. Scroll ahead for his step by step guide on getting the most out of your hot brush styler, as well as the mistakes to avoid.

1. Clean Your Hair With the Right Shampoo

Prepping your hair with the right—or wrong—hair products can make or break your hairstyle. “It’s really important for the hair to be perfectly clean before any styling process in order for the hair to be manageable and for the style to last,” says Smith.

He recommends using a clarifying shampoo to remove oil and product build-up from the hair that can make your hair feel heavy. “Start with a deep cleaning shampoo to create a perfect clean canvas—I like Olaplex 4C. Shampoo,” says Smith. Look for shampoos mention ‘clarifying’ and avoid shampoos and conditioners labelled ‘repairing’ or ‘smoothing.

“Often, before styling, I prefer to opt for shampoos that do not make inflated claims such as deep repairing or smoothing, as these can leave the hair heavier and more challenging to work with long-term,” he says. “However, choose your conditioner based on the needs of your hair, if your hair is dry, use a moisturising conditioner, if it is fine or lacks volume a lightweight or volumising conditioner will be best.”

2. Prep Your Hair With The Right Styling Products

“Once you have effectively cleaned your hair, spray a leave-in conditioning and heat protection spray and gently detangle,” says Smith. “Right now my favourites are Olaplex Volumising Blowdry Mist for light weight protection, or Evo Happy Campers for nourishment and style support.”

3. Style From Wet to Dry

For the most long-lasting results, work from damp hair. Working wet to dry will ensure your style holds. If your hot brush is the kind that emits hot air to dry and style at the same time, you’ll want to start using it with your hair when it’s around 80%-90% dry.

“Some hot brushes require you to have the hair almost dry before beginning to style, while with others you can begin from slightly more wet,” says Smith. Using a blowdry brush on completely dry hair will lessen the chances of your style holding. The exception to this is if you’re using a heated thermal brush, such as the GHD Rise, which you’ll want to use on totally dry hair, as it works much like a curling wand.

Making sure your hair is rough dried will also take a lot of leg work out of styling your hair. “I find it’s always better to have the hair dried off slightly before use as this will make the whole styling process easier and gentler on your hair,” says Smith. “Either allow your hair to air dry for a bit or use a hairdryer to gently rough dry your hair until it feels almost dry.” By working from wet to dry, your style will hold far, far better—ensure to take particular attention to the roots and the back of your head.

4. Start at the front of your hair

“One of my best tips for blow drying you own hair is to start at the front perfecting the area you’ll see the most before moving to the crown and then the nape of the neck last,” says Smith. “I know this seems slightly backwards, but in my experience many people start meticulously blow drying at the nape of the neck, but by the time they get to the front pieces have lost energy and interest and have run out of time,” he says.

“By starting with the front you can perfect the area that frames your face which most people will see, before gradually working back to the hair underneath that will be more easily concealed and therefore requires less meticulous styling,” says Smith.

5. Twist the Brush Through Your Hair

Begin by taking a section that’s fits easily in the size your brush—too big and it will be harder to work with. Run it through your hair, running it both on top and the underside of your section for a smooth finish. Then, starting at the end of your hair, roll the brush upwards to gather the hair in the brush and keep twisting until the full length is in the brush. Keep the brush in this position for around 10 seconds.

You can experiment with the direction of twisting depending on the result you want to achieve. By rolling the hair into the underside of the brush, you can create more volume at the roots. By twisting the hair over the top of the brush, you can create a face framing effect.

6. Use the Cool Shot Setting to Set Your Style

One of the biggest mistakes made when using a hot brush is not allowing each section to cool before removing it from the brush—especially if your hair drops out quickly or if you have long, thick hair. Taking the brush out immediately while it is still warm will make it drop quickly. Think of your hair as a candle; when warm, the wax is malleable, but once it cools, it locks into place. The same principle applies to you hair, so make use of the cool shot button on your hot brush.

If your blowdry brush doesn’t have a cold shot setting, use a sectioning clip to pin your hair up, or place into a velcro hair roller as it cools. “If your hair drops out easily, once you have styled each section with a hot brush, winding it up and clipping it into place until it has cooled down will allow you to hold the style for longer,” says Smith. For extra hold, you can always use the cold shot button and then pin your hair up as you style the rest of your hair.

7. Repeat and Allow Hair to Cool

Repeat the process on your entire hair until you have styled all of the sections.

Allow your hair to cool completely to set the style into place.

8. Shake Out Hair with Fingers, Not a Brush

“Only once the hair is completely cool and styled should you shake out the result and position as desired,” says Smith. It’s important to to use your fingers rather than a brush, as this can deflate the shape and volume.

9. Finish With Hairstyling Products to Hold

Now it’s time to set your style into place. “To hold the style in longer, using a dry styling product, such as a light dry shampoo or a dry texturising spray in the roots and body of the hair will stop the style from falling flat,” he says. “Polish the ends with some serum to give definition and hydration to the most vulnerable parts of your hair, I like the Olaplex No.7 bonding oil or the Sam McKnight Love Me Do hair oil for this.” You can then finish with hairspray for extra hold.

The Result

And here is the result from following Smith’s steps. To help keep your blowdry bounce last for as long as possible, you can use silk or satin hair ties to twist your hair into a bun which helps to keep the bouncy-ness in for longer. I also like to sleep on a silk pillowcase which creates less friction on the hair and helps the style last for longer.