Anyone who wants to dry, smooth, and curl hair in one step instead of blow-drying first and curling separately — use high heat for medium to thick hair and low heat for fine hair.

Blow-drying with a round brush and then curling with a separate iron takes two tools and two passes through the hair. This one does both at once, and the curl-release switch specifically solves the tangling problem that makes a plain hot-air brush frustrating to use for curls.

1. Set the switch to high heat for medium to thick hair, or low heat for fine hair.
2. Brush from underneath the section to smooth hair.
3. Brush over the top of the section to eliminate frizz.
4. Wrap the strand around the brush to create curls.
5. To release a curl without tangling, hold the curl-release switch down and slide the barrel out.

Pros:

• Combines drying, smoothing, and curling into a single tool and pass
• Curl-release switch lets you unwind a section without snagging, which a plain round brush can't do

Cons:

• A single 1 1/2" barrel size means it isn't the right pick if you want a noticeably tighter or looser curl than that diameter gives
• 250 watts is modest compared to a dedicated full-size hair dryer, so overall drying time may run longer on very thick hair