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This $40 hair tool gave me an at-home blowout with so much volume

It's one of the most-wished-for styling tools on Amazon.
Lyn Mettler
/ Source: TODAY

As an entrepreneurial mom of two school-age kiddos, I don't spend a lot of time styling my hair and haven't for a long time. I opt for a shoulder-length cut that allows me to use a hair dryer and round metal brush to quickly blow dry and give it some basic style.

As hard as I try, I never seem to come out looking quite like I do when I leave the hair salon after getting a cut and blowout. Somehow, they magically seem to make my hair have infinitely more volume and with fewer fly-away strands.

I've also always had fine hair, yet with age, as those gray hairs increase in number, I struggle more with taming those fly-aways despite adding Moroccan oil and conditioner to my hair each time.

When I came across the John Freida hot air brush, which has more than 6,000 reviews on Amazon, I thought it just might be the solution I needed to add more volume while controlling loose strands. Plus, it's currently on sale for 25% off the original price. Sign me up!

John Freida Hot Air Brush

It comes with two heat settings — low and high — as well as a cool setting to help set the curl in place. The barrel of the brush is made from titanium to help hold the heat as you style your hair so it works a bit like a cross between a curling iron and a blow dryer.

The idea is to use this brush while hair is still slightly damp (blow it mostly dry with a regular blow dryer with the head upside down for more volume). The brush also uses "advanced ionic technology" to increase shine and improve frizz control, so I was excited to see what it could do.

John Freida hot air brush new
Lyn Mettler

I opted for the bigger 1.5-inch version, because I like less curl and more of a gentle flip-up or turn under, but it's also available in a smaller 1-inch version if you're looking for tighter curls.

It's really easy to use

I've been using this hot air brush for a few weeks and found it simple to use and easily portable for a summer trip to Florida. I discovered that I was better able to mimic the repeated brushing and styling of one section of hair like my hair stylist does to help it hold more volume.

I really liked that I only needed one hand to style my hair, instead of two — one holding the brush and one holding the hair dryer — which made it less awkward and allowed me to better control the area of hair that I'm styling.

John Freida hot air brush
Lyn Mettler

It seems like I'm not alone in liking this popular styling tool. Reviewers with a variety of hair styles, from long hair with waves to a short bob cut, agreed that the brush worked well and was simple to use.

"I am no professional hair stylist, nor do I have time to do my hair everyday (mommy of 2) but I must say this blow dryer curling brush makes getting ready so much easier," one reviewer wrote.

Most recommended separating your hair into small sections and then blow drying each section for maximum volume.

But "setting" a curl requires a little more thought

The only downside is that I think it's simpler to "set" the curl with a blow dryer and brush, as all you need to do is turn the hair dryer off of your hair to cool it versus with the hot air brush, you have to either turn it off or switch it to cool to stop the heat. The cool setting is right next to the hot setting, so it's a bit difficult to know which one you're on without looking at it.

But all in all, it's a pretty easy and quick way to get salon-worthy hair in a snap!

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