Buying guide
Which hair dryer suits your hair type?
For most hair, the one with the most power you can afford, because fast drying means less time under heat. Our hair dryers list ranks the BaByliss Power Smooth best overall for that reason: 2400W, ionic frizz control and a cool shot, for under £30.
Curly hair is the exception. The Power Smooth listing names no diffuser, so curls are better served by the BaByliss Turbo Smooth, which has one in the box and costs about the same. The Dyson Supersonic Origin comes with a concentrator and no diffuser, and the Shark SpeedStyle Pro version we rank is designed for straight and wavy hair.
If you blow-dry every day and want tightly controlled heat, the Dyson Supersonic Origin is the step up, at around £200. For a weekend bag, the folding Remington D1500 runs on worldwide voltage, though it is a backup rather than an everyday dryer.
Straightener, curler or hot air brush?
Choose the finish you want most often, then the heat your hair can take. Heat damage is what wears hair out, so a tool with a sensible, steady temperature matters more than the brand.
Straighteners. Most hair needs about 185C, held evenly. The ghd Original holds that heat across both plates and tops our hair straighteners list, but it has no temperature control at all, so fine or fragile hair has no lower setting. That hair is better with the BaByliss Smooth Pro, which starts at 140C. Thick or long hair moves faster through the Cloud Nine Wide Iron, whose wide plates cover more hair per pass and never go above 200C.
Curlers. Barrel size decides the curl: 25mm for defined curls, 32mm and above for loose waves. Our curling wands list starts beginners on the BaByliss Rose-Quartz 25mm tong, because the clamp holds the hair for you. The TYMO CurlPro rotates the barrel at one button, though its listing gives no temperature range. A conical wand gives more natural beach waves but takes practice, since you wrap the hair by hand.
Hot air brushes. The simplest route to a smooth, full blow-dry is the Revlon One-Step Volumiser, best overall in our hot air brushes list. It is one fixed oval brush, so it smooths and lifts but will not curl. For curls and waves from air alone, the Dyson Airwrap i.d. is the premium pick and the Shark FlexStyle the closest alternative for much less.
| Hair type | Dryer | Styler | Budget band for both |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine or fragile | BaByliss Power Smooth | BaByliss Smooth Pro straightener, from 140C | under £60 |
| Thick or long | BaByliss Power Smooth (2400W) | Cloud Nine Wide Iron | £175 to £200 |
| Curly or wavy | BaByliss Turbo Smooth, diffuser included | BaByliss Rose-Quartz 25mm tong, for defining waves | around £50 |
| Straight, styled daily | Dyson Supersonic Origin | ghd Original | around £350 |
| Wants one tool for everything | none needed | Shark FlexStyle 5-in-1 | £250 to £275 |
What should you look for by hair type?
Match the tool to the texture before the brand. This is general guidance; the picks above say what each listing confirms.
| Hair type | Tool type to look for | Heat setting to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | Straightener or wand with adjustable heat and a low starting point | Starts at 150C or below, and rarely needs the top setting |
| Thick | A powerful dryer and wide straightener plates, to cut the number of passes | A steady mid heat around 185C, not the maximum |
| Curly | A dryer with a diffuser, so curls dry without being blown apart | Low or medium heat on the diffuser, then the cool shot to set |
| Coily | A diffuser for drying, and any air styler checked as made for coily hair | The lowest setting that does the job, with short heat passes |
Is at-home IPL safe for your skin tone?
IPL suits darker hair against lighter skin. It does little for blonde, grey or red hair, so check your hair colour first, then your skin. The darker your skin, the more the manufacturer’s skin-tone chart matters, and some tones sit outside what home devices are designed for.
That is why a skin-tone sensor is the feature to pay for. In our IPL hair removal list, the Braun Silk-expert Pro 5 ranks first because its sensor adapts every flash to your skin, and the Philips Lumea 9900 reads your skin tone and suggests the setting, with an app to guide each session. The Ulike Air 3, Haarlosy and Beauris listings do not mention a skin-tone sensor, so with those you judge the safe setting yourself from the manual’s chart.
Whatever you buy, patch test a small area first as the instructions direct, and wait to see how the skin settles before a full session. Then plan for a routine. The Philips listing says to treat every two weeks for the first six weeks, and the Ulike Air 10’s quoted results come from use every two days.
Epilator or electric shaver?
An epilator if you want results that last weeks and can put up with the first few sessions. A shaver if you want quick, painless touch-ups and accept a less close finish.
Our epilators list starts with the Braun Silk-épil 5, a wet and dry model you can use in a warm bath. It comes with a 2-pin charger plug, so you need a bathroom shaver socket or an adaptor. For faces there is the Braun FaceSpa, and for brows a pen-shaped Panasonic.
In women’s electric shavers, the Remington WDF4840 covers legs, underarms and bikini line in one tool, wet or dry. Like any foil shaver it will not shave as close as a fresh blade, but it is gentler on sensitive skin. The Philips OneBlade Intimate is the pick for bikini grooming with extra protection against irritation.
Do LED face masks actually work?
Set your expectations by time, not by the box. Red light masks need regular use over weeks before you can judge them, and we do not claim any result for them.
Look for a stated red wavelength around 630nm and a flexible silicone shell, which is more comfortable than a rigid one and so more likely to be worn. The CurrentBody LED Face Mask Series 2 tops our LED face masks list on both counts, at around £400. The Hangsun mask states its red, blue and near-infrared wavelengths plainly for under £35, though its listing does not say the shell is silicone. The best-selling Revolution Pro mask gives no wavelengths at all, so you cannot check it. If you have a light-sensitive skin condition, speak to a doctor before you start.
What about your smile?
A mid-range brush with a two-minute timer and a pressure sensor does almost everything a flagship does. That is why the Oral-B iO2 ranks first in our electric toothbrushes list at around £35, while the iO9 is only for someone who will open the app every night. Replacement heads cost more over the years than the handle, so budget for them.
If you prefer the buzz of a sonic brush to a spinning round head, the Philips Sonicare 5300 is the pick, with a pressure alert and a timer that paces each quadrant. The cheapest Oral-B on the list, the Vitality Pro, is a fine first step up from a manual brush, but it has no pressure sensor, so it will not warn you when you scrub too hard.
For between the teeth, our water flossers list puts the cordless Hangsun HOC760 first and the Waterpik Cordless Advanced as the pick for braces, implants and bridges.
Which wearable sits well on a slimmer wrist?
The smaller case size, every time. A 40mm or smaller watch sits flat, reads heart rate more reliably and stays on at night. The 35mm Garmin Lily 2 is the smallest in our fitness watches for women and Garmin watches for women lists, and the 41mm Venu 4 leads smartwatches for women. If you would rather wear nothing on your wrist, a smart ring tracks sleep and recovery instead; check for a monthly subscription before you buy.
Is beauty tech a good gift?
It is when you know the person’s hair and routine well. Otherwise a voucher is the kinder choice.
A voucher is the safer route for IPL, LED masks and hair removal, because suitability depends on skin and hair that only the user can judge. The Airwrap version on our list, for example, is designed for straight to wavy hair.
Before you wrap anything, check the plug and the charger. A listing that names a 2-pin plug, as the Braun Silk-épil 5 and 9 Flex listings do, means a shaver socket or an adaptor. Tools that charge over USB sidestep the problem.
Think about the box as well. Some products are sold as gift sets, such as the ghd Gold Gift Set, which adds a paddle brush and a heat-resistant bag over the Original. Others arrive in plain retail packaging, so check the listing photos.
How we pick
We rank beauty tech from product listings, best-seller data and review research. We do not test devices on our own skin or hair, so where a listing leaves out something that matters, such as a skin-tone sensor or a temperature range, the pick says so. Prices change daily, so the bands here are a guide. The full process is on our methodology page. Buying for someone else? Our gifts for her guide covers beauty tech as a present, and men’s grooming covers shavers and trimmers.