• Original review date: July 2021
• Still the latest hair dryer from GHD
• Launch price: $279.00 / £159 / AU$280
• Official price now: The same

Updated: February 2024. Rejoice, the GHD Helios is now available in the US and Australia, and remains the best hair dryer we've tested. That should come as no surprise to those familiar with the brand; in the UK, certainly, GHD has long been the champion of haircare. However, next-generation hair technology is getting better, with many companies opting for the Dyson Supersonic-esque technology, utilizing far faster and more powerful motors. The jury's out on if that technology is really worth the lofty price tag; in our opinion, the still relatively expensive GHD Helios offers better value for money. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

It’s been eight years since GHD first entered the hair dryer game – one of the original brands to bring a salon-style, professional hair dryer to the masses with the GHD Air – and a lot has changed.  

There are now dozens of professional dryers from both traditional hair companies and non-traditional firms, which are more well known for vacuums than styling products (Dyson, we’re looking at you). In our GHD Air review, we explained that despite a rise in competition and an improvement in drying technology, GHD’s original hair dryer still more than holds its own and is one of best hair dryers you can buy. Yet, it was starting to show its age. A point that appears to have not gone unnoticed at GHD. 

Taking what we loved about the GHD Air and fixing a number of the points we didn't, the hair giant has launched the GHD Helios. We’ve been using the £159 hair dryer exclusively for the past fortnight and we’d be as bold to say that we have a new favorite hair dryer – it's high price tag notwithstanding.  

Design

Hair dryers have largely moved away from the black (read: boring) designs that are popular in hairdressers. They have become an accessory, rather than just a tool, and come in a range of colors from bright red to “Fuschia” and beyond. The Helios follows suit, but in a classy, elegant way that we’ve come to expect from GHD. 

We tested the white and rose gold model and it’s absolutely stunning. It also comes in maroon and gold, black and silver, and navy and black. The different colored versions of GHD Helios’ plastic shell are additionally covered in a thin coating that feels almost like silicone to the touch and this gives the dryer a smooth, luxurious feel.  

Weight-wise, the Helios is lighter than the Air tipping the scales at 780g compared to its predecessor’s 1.54kg. What’s more, where – on paper – it’s heavier than other dryers we’ve tested, the Helios is incredibly well-balanced so it doesn’t feel any more bulky and it isn’t any more difficult to use. There is a downside to this, however. The extra weight on the GHD Air made it feel expensive and sturdy, which helped us to rationalise its high price. The Helios’ light weight, by contrast, feels just like many of the other cheaper hair dryers on the market. A feeling that even its elegant colorways and smooth shell can’t quite counteract. 

Everything else, including the placement of the two-speed and dual-temperature switches, the cold shot button and the branded grille are almost an exact copy and paste from the Air. 

Performance

GHD claims its Helios is “faster, lighter and quieter” than the Air. We’ve already confirmed it’s lighter, but does it live up to the other claims? Yes – very much so! Its motor is marginally more powerful – up from 2,100w on the Air to 2,200w – and the holes in its grille have apparently been redesigned to reduce noise. It is noticeably less loud in real-world use, and when measured with a decibel meter, it’s a whole two decibels quieter than the Air.  

When it comes to speed, the Helios similarly smashed it out of the park. Not just in comparison to the Air, but when pitted against the drying speeds of every hair dryer we’ve ever tested. Until the Helios, the Dyson Supersonic was the fastest dryer – taking our hair from wet from a shower to completely dry in 2 minutes 6 seconds. The Helios took an entire minute off this time. This meant our hair was rough dried in 1 minute and 6 seconds and is an absolute game changer. 

 The Helios was similarly a minute and eight seconds faster than the Supersonic at drying our hair after a swim, offering a total dry time of 1 minute and 50 seconds. With the concentrator nozzle attached to the Helios – a nozzle which has been made thinner with a curved edge designed to reduce turbulence – it took us just two minutes and 20 seconds to style our hair. Again, a minute faster than the Dyson Supersonic. 

We didn’t even have to sacrifice hair quality and shine for this improved speed, either. After every use, our hair was almost frizz-free with only minimal flyaways and we never once had to resort to running straighteners over it to complete the look. Two weeks into testing and our hair definitely feels stronger and we’re seeing fewer breakages and less hair loss in the shower. 

There is a but, though. Helios’ lightning speed and precision, which made our hair so smooth and shiny, left it lacking volume. It’s almost as if the flow of air is so powerful, it beats the hair into submission. This was disappointing, particularly when everything else was going so well. 

Verdict

Just as cheaper rivals were starting to catch up on, and overtake, the power and performance of the original Air hair dryer, GHD has come out swinging with the Helios. A dryer that surpassed most of our, already high, expectations and one that we’ve found ourselves gravitating towards over every other hair dryer in our collection. Until the release of the GHD Helios, our go-to dryer was the Dyson Supersonic. This is now in second place. 

Sadly, £159 for a hair dryer will be out of the reach of many people meaning its superior performance is out of reach, too. As a result, the Helios is unlikely to be an impulse buy and will be considered an investment. An investment we highly recommend you make. 

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Dyson Airwrap: two-minute review

The Dyson Airwrap is a high-end multi-styler that can be used to create curls, waves, and bouncy blow drys. Tapping into the current vogue for 'healthy' hair styling, the Airwrap avoids extreme heat, instead employing something called the Coanda effect to bend and shape the hair as it dries it into place.

The Airwrap blew the beauty world away when it launched in 2018, and combined with the success of the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer (now updated to become the Dyson Supersonic Nural) to cement this brand as a force to be reckoned with in the haircare world.

The original Airwrap had a few flaws, but most of these were addressed in a revised version released in 2022. The current Airwrap comes bundled with more accessories to enable it to create a wider range of hairstyles, as well as new bi-directional barrels. The original Airwrap was good, but this now feels like a fully realized product – albeit still a frighteningly expensive one.

I've been using mine for a year now, and, as someone who doesn't take much joy in hairstyling, it's been a real game-changer. It's not quite perfect, but overall it delivers on what it promises: a swift, less damaging and easier way to achieve salon results from the comfort of your home. Its more recent attachments have diversified the range of hair types it can effectively work with, but there's still room for improvement if you've got Type 4 hair.

Using traditional curling tongs can be time-consuming and damaging to your hair, but the Dyson Airwrap makes curling your hair a breeze (literally), and over time has left my hair looking far healthier than when I've previously used ceramic stylers. It dries your hair quickly (rivaling the best hair dryers on the market), it's incredibly light, and the design looks and feels luxurious.

But (and it's a big but), the Airwrap styler is incredibly expensive, at around five times the price of many other hair curlers on the market. If you want the best of the best, you'll have to spend big, and it's a testament to how good it is that the Airwrap remains incredibly popular despite its exorbitant price tag. Since its release, many Airwrap dupes have popped up on the market, but none quite compete in terms of build quality, design and raw power. That's the short version; read on for my full Dyson Airwrap review.

Dyson Airwrap review: price & availability

• Dyson Airwrap Complete: $599.99 / £479.99 / AU$849.99
• Dyson Airwrap Origin: £399.99 / AU$749.99
• Launched: Original 2018; updated version 2022

There are two main configurations in which you can buy the Dyson Airwrap; the Complete (which comes with a broader array of attachments) or the Origin (which comes with fewer and isn't available in the US.)

The Dyson Airwrap Complete is available to buy for $599.99 / £479.99 / AU$849.99, and offers a selection of variants depending on your hair type. In the US, the variants are Straight+Wavy or Curly+Coily, in the UK it's Long Volumise and Short and Coarse, and Australia simply has the Long Complete and the Origin in circulation as of writing.

Such a lofty list price is going to put it out of the reach of many, and even the cheaper variants are an investment. For comparison, most other hair curlers on the market cost between $50 / £30 / AU$75 and $200 / £150 / AU$300.

You can also buy further attachments through Dyson, priced at $40 / £30 / AU$99 each, and these will all be backwards-compatible with the original Airwrap as well as existing models in circulation.

• Value for money score: 3 out of 5

Dyson Airwrap review: design

As you would expect from a device of this price, the design and presentation of the Airwrap is pretty much impeccable. It comes in a leather-effect storage case in a variety of colors, depending on which model you choose, and looks attractive enough to make you want to leave it out instead of tucking it away in your cupboard when not in use.

The Styler itself consists of a cylinder, around 10 inches long, with a band around the top where the different attachments slot in. At the bottom you have a removable filter and a power cable to connect it to the mains. Towards the top of the Styler you'll find the control buttons; an on/off button, heat controls, and buttons that control the speed of the airflow. On the rear is the lock switch, which you'll toggle to release attachments.

The Dyson Airwrap Complete package comes with a number of different attachments, which vary depending on which configuration you get. My review model has a soft smoothing brush, firm smoothing brush, round volumizing brush, Coanda smoothing dryer and both the 30mm and 40mm barrels.

Now onto the Airwrap barrels themselves. The first iteration of the Airwrap came with four of these, and you'd have to manually swap over barrels to create curls going in different directions. The 2022 Airwrap was engineered so that the same barrel can be used to create clockwise or counterclockwise curls – a significant upgrade that drastically improves the user experience and has storage benefits too. On each of the barrels, you'll find an arrow that indicates which direction the hair will wrap around it when the styler is on.

How it works

While the blow dryer and brush attachments are pretty self explanatory, the Airwrap barrels and smoothing dryer use an interesting natural phenomenon called the 'Coanda' effect to curl your hair. The Coanda effect causes high speed air to follow the contours of a surface in a similar manner to a liquid – a phenomenon also used to high effect in motor racing.

This effect "attracts, wraps, and curls the hair around the barrel", which means you need only hold your hair close to the styler for the air to whip it around the barrel and create a curl. Aside from making it easier to curl your hair without having to manually wrap your hair around the barrel, it means your hair doesn't come into contact with a very hot surface like it would with a traditional curling iron.

Heat styling can often leave your hair feeling frizzy and dry, and can even lead to breakage if you use heat regularly, particularly if you have fine hair or tightly coiled Type 4 hair.

Dyson says that the Airwrap Styler "measures airflow temperature over 40 times a second and regulates heat, to ensure it always stays below 150C / 302F.” For comparison, it's not unusual for traditional curlers to reach 200C / 392F.

A quick note if you have a particularly jet-setting lifestyle: the Airwrap is not the best for travel overseas, because you can only use it in countries with the same electrical voltage as the country you purchased your device in. A particularly rude awakening for me when I lugged mine to the US from the UK and it refused to turn on.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Dyson Airwrap review: performance

It's important to note that the Airwrap will have different effects on different types of hair. My hair is thick, porous and just below shoulder length, but I've also tried it on more wiry hair as well as type 2A wavy hair. I don't generally use any styling products or hairspray, but I do shield my hair with a heat-protecting spray to help lessen any damage.

One of the first things I noticed about the Airwrap was how light it is; if you regularly use hair dryers you'll probably be well acquainted with the arm ache that occurs even after using them for short periods of time. Dyson advises that you use the Airwrap on damp rather than soaking wet locks (that's actually the 'official' advice for any hair dryer), but as I've got pretty porous hair that can take an absolute age to dry, I tend to rough-dry my hair using a combination of the round brush and the soft smoothing brush to help it along.

It takes a little practice to get the hang of using the Airwrap, but overall, I'm very impressed by how quickly it dries my hair, and I'm frequently pleased with how much volume I'm able to achieve. The process is quite simple, but the styler can feel a little unwieldy at first as it's so different from using a normal hairdryer. While working on one section of hair, the hot air can sometimes blow the rest of your hair into a frizzy mess, so it's worth taking the time to get the rest of your hair out of the way, and section properly.

When it comes to the Airwrap barrels, it's impressively easy to achieve bouncy curls thanks to the Coanda effect. As mentioned earlier, it does take a little practice to get the technique right, and Dyson has some helpful demo videos on its YouTube channel if you need some guidance.

In short, though, you simply lift up a section of your damp hair about one inch wide (and here it really must be damp, not wet, otherwise it won't work properly), and hold the Airwrap curling barrel a few inches up from the end of the strand. Then, watch in amazement as the hair begins to coil itself up and around the barrel, moving it towards your head to encourage the whole strand to curl.

From there, it's just a case of holding the curl until the hair is dry, and then pushing the temperature switch up to deliver a 'cold shot' to the hair – this helps to set the style and can make the curl look shinier.

The most difficult thing to get your head (or hair, as the case may be) around is the direction you need to curl your hair in. This arrow should be pointing away from your face when you look into your mirror, for face-framing curls.

One of the calling cards of the Airwrap is that is uses a relatively low heat to style your hair, and I definitely noticed the difference between using the styler (which Dyson says won't go over 150C / 302F) and traditional curling tongs that typically reach 200C / 392F or more. (Since the launch of the Airwrap, Dyson has tried to create lower-heat straightener options in the form of the Airstrait and Coralle.)

My hair looks shiny and healthy, and after a year of using it I've genuinely noticed an overall improvement in my hair health – and I've never encountered the burning smells that often come with using heated styler tools on the hair. Using a lower heat to style your hair also has the added benefit of preserving your hair's color if it's dyed, meaning you won't need to dye it as often to maintain a rich, vibrant hue.

Even though I've been impressed with the results, I definitely feel the Airwrap is better suited to longer hairstyles, particularly when it comes to the curling barrels – but that's why most regions now stock a version with shorter barrels, to help those with hair shorter than shoulder-length encourage their hair to wrap around effectively.

Reviews from those with tightly coiled Type 4 hair have been mixed as well, but with the release of new attachments this has improved somewhat. While some users were impressed with how quickly the Airwrap dried their hair, others noted that they would still need to use straighteners or curling tongs afterwards to achieve their desired style.

• Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should I buy a Dyson Airwrap?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

• Updated to reflect new version: September 2024
• Original review: November 2019

Revlon Pro 2-in-1 styler: two-minute review

The Revlon Pro Collection One Step Dryer and Volumiser is a brush dryer that disappoints in terms of looks but delivers when it comes to performance. If you want something purely to create a voluminous blow-dry look, this could well be the best hair styler for you.

This brush dries your hair, smooths and shapes it all in one go, meaning you don't need a separate hair dryer, and can style one-handed if you want to eat your toast or (for the ambitious) do your makeup at the same time. The oval shape makes it easy to create extra lift at the root, while the large size means you can tackle bigger sections of hair one go.

It's rather heavy and not especially well balanced, but it's so efficient that you hopefully won't need to use it for long enough to get arm-ache. For drying, you have a choice of two settings: lower powered and less hot, or higher powered and hotter. The latter is irritatingly noisy, but since the former dried my hair plenty fast enough, I just stuck with that setting.

While there are a few compromises in terms of design, I had absolutely complaints about the results. This styler consistently left my hair bouncy, smooth and voluminous. If you want more versatility, there are plenty of multi-stylers that enable you to create different looks. Be aware, though, adding more options will also bump up the price; this dedicated brush dryer is extremely budget-friendly. Read on for my full Revlon Pro Collection One Step Dryer and Volumiser review.

Revlon Pro One Step review: price & availability

• List price: $48.88 / £49.99 (regularly discounted)

The Revlon Pro One Step is available at a range of third-party retailers, including the likes of Amazon, Boots in the UK and Walmart in the US. List price seems to vary depending on where you look, but it's typically in the region of $48.88 / £49.99. This brush styler has been out for a while now, and it's rare to see it sold at full price these days.

That's great value for what you're getting here. While this tool lacks the versatility of a multi-styler, those can end up being a false economy if you end up just using one or two of the functions. If you just want to create bouncy blow-dry styles, it's a great buy.

Revlon has now brought out a slightly more premium version called the One-Step Volumizer Plus. This has a different-sized, detachable brush, and 'charcoal-infused nylon pins', but Revlon is not entirely clear on what these are meant to do.

• Value for money score: 5 out of 5

Revlon Pro Collection One Step review: design

• Traditional looking brush dryer with oval-shaped
• Rotating switch controls temperature and windspeed
• Rather heavy and not particularly well balanced

The Revlon Pro resembles an oversized barrel brush with a chunky handle. At the bottom of this handle – where it meets the 2.5-meter cord – is a single switch that you rotate to select a temperature and speed setting. One rotation enables the cold shot function. A second rotation switches to the lower of the two speed settings, while a final rotation switches to the faster of the two. The heat increases between the speed settings, too.

Instead of having a perfectly rounded barrel, the cylinder is oval, with two slightly flatter, longer sides. This shape helps help lift the hair from the roots and give it more volume.

In a market filled with ever-more stylish hair tools, the Pro Collection One Step isn't much to look at. Revlon’s bright pink color scheme feels like an unwelcome throwback to the original models. It’s also heavy at 850g, with the long brush design preventing the weight from feeling evenly distributed.

This design choice, however, does make it more compact than a traditional barreled dryer, while saving the hassle of having to take a separate brush when traveling. Plus, its performance soon helps you forget the Revlon Pro’s weight and style shortcomings.

• Design score: 3.5 out of 5

Revlon Pro Collection One Step review: performance

• Dries and styles hair impressively quickly, even on low-power mode
• High-power mode is annoyingly loud
• Left my hair smooth, voluminous and shiny

Even on the lowest of the two speed/temperature settings, the Revlon Pro dried my medium-length fine hair in an impressive three minutes and four seconds. That goes some way to negating its heavy, bulky design – you won’t need to be using it for long. The large size also means you can dry and style big sections of hair in one go. What’s more, because it styles as it dries, my arms didn’t ache from holding a brush and separate dryer at awkward angles – as is the case with some of its rivals – and I didn’t have to do anything to finish my style once it was dry, saving even more time.

This latter point is in part due to the Revlon Pro’s ionic technology, and partly because the temperature remains constant throughout. Unlike with traditional dryers, the Revlon Pro is always at the same distance from the head because the hair is wrapped around it; you can’t accidentally place it too close on one section and too far away on another. This means it dries the hair evenly and gently.

The ionic technology then smoothes the hair and the rounded design shapes it. Throughout my testing, I was consistently impressed with just how voluminous, shiny and smooth my hair looked after using the Revlon Pro.

I didn’t see a noticeable difference in drying times on the hotter, faster setting, and would often dry on the slower mode to help prevent causing unnecessary heat damage. The faster setting is also incredibly, annoyingly loud, annoyingly. In terms of decibels, it’s not drastically different to rivals but the tone of the sound is sharp and grating.

Finally, what I feel is the most significant benefit of the Revlon Pro is the fact you can use it one-handed. When time is tight in the morning, or you just fancy an extra few minutes in bed, you can apply make-up at the same time as drying your hair. Believe me, I do this regularly. If that’s a little too ambitious, you can enjoy a cup of tea or eat toast at the same time. This, for me, is a game-changer.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

• First reviewed: October 2019