Best suited to people with medium-to-long, wavy or gently curly hair who want a smoother, straighter finish as part of their regular blow-dry rather than a separate flat-ironing step. Because results depend on dryer heat and manual tension rather than a fixed heating element, it works well for stylists and confident at-home users, but it isn't a fast substitute for a flat iron on very curly or coily textures that need stronger, sustained heat to fully relax.

Its advantage over adding a flat iron pass is that it straightens and adds shine in the same step as blow-drying, using the dryer's own heat rather than a second, separate heat application -- which can mean less overall heat exposure for hair that only needs light-to-moderate smoothing. The boar bristle also does double duty, smoothing the cuticle for shine while the ceramic pad works on straightening, rather than treating shine and smoothness as separate steps.

Start with hair that's been towel-dried to remove excess water. Take a small, manageable section, position the brush near the roots, and direct the hair dryer's airflow onto the brush and hair while pulling the brush slowly down the length of the section with even tension. Repeat section by section until the hair is dry and smoothed. The boar bristle can also be used afterward on dry hair to add extra shine and smooth flyaways. This brush has no heating element of its own -- always use it together with a hair dryer; it will not straighten hair on its own or without an active heat source.

Combining a smoothing brush with the drying step can reduce total heat exposure compared with drying and then flat-ironing separately, and the boar bristle leaves a glossier finish than a plain vented brush. The limitation is that all of the heat comes from the hair dryer, so results depend heavily on dryer power and technique, and on thick, very curly, or coily hair it typically won't achieve the same straightening result as an electric flat iron.