Guides
How to Get a Blowout That Lasts More Than a Day
Almost every home blowout fails for the same two reasons, and neither of them is the dryer.
Updated September 2026 · Sawyer V.
Home blowouts drop for two reasons: the hair was not completely dry, or it was released while still warm. Hair holds the shape it cools into, so a cool shot at the end of every section does more for longevity than any product or tool upgrade.
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Quick picks
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. Prices come from the live price layer; where none is available the button says so rather than showing a number we cannot stand behind.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revlon One-Step Volumizer Plus hair dryer and hot air brush Four heat settings including a dedicated cool — the setting that makes a blowout last. | Anyone who cannot manage a dryer and round brush together | |
| 2 | Dyson Supersonic hair dryer Four heat settings with a dedicated cold shot and three speeds — the control a proper blowout needs. | A traditional blowout with a round brush | |
| 3 | Shark FlexStyle air styling and drying system 1,600 W with an oval brush and paddle brush among the attachments — and the handle converts to a dryer. | Volume and smoothing without a second purchase | |
| — | Revlon Salon One-Step hair dryer and volumizer No published heat-setting count, so no way to confirm it has the cool step that makes a blowout last. We’d skip this | Not this, while the Plus exists |
1. Easiest lasting blowout
Revlon One-Step Volumizer Plus hair dryer and hot air brush
Best for: Anyone who cannot manage a dryer and round brush together
Four heat settings including a dedicated cool — the setting that makes a blowout last.
The hardest part of a blowout is holding tension with a round brush in one hand while directing a dryer with the other. A hot air brush removes the coordination problem entirely.
What makes this one the pick for longevity specifically is the dedicated cool setting. Finishing each section cool is the step that decides whether the shape lasts until evening or until you leave the house, and plenty of brushes do not offer it.
Four-year limited warranty and a detachable head for cleaning.
What’s wrong with it
Revlon publishes no wattage, weight, cord length or speed count for it. It also gives less root lift than a skilled two-handed blowout does.
Published specifications — Revlon One-Step Volumizer Plus hair dryer and hot air brush
| Wattage | Not published |
|---|---|
| Heat settings | 4 heat settings — low, medium, high, cool |
| Speed settings | Not published |
| Weight | Not published |
| Cord length | Not published |
| Noise (dB) | Not published |
| Attachments | Detachable brush head |
| Plate / barrel | Ceramic titanium barrel; tourmaline ionic |
| Dual voltage | Not published |
| Warranty | 4-year limited warranty |
Every figure above is taken from Revlon Hair Tools — One-Step Volumizer Plus product page. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on that page — it is not an estimate withheld, it is a number the manufacturer does not state. How we compile these.
What it costs to run for a year
Revlon does not publish a wattage for this tool, so there is nothing honest to compute. The formula is watts ÷ 1,000 × hours a year × your rate per kWh; if you find a rating plate on the handle, 65 hours a year and 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour will get you the rest of the way.
2. Best cool shot
Dyson Supersonic hair dryer
Best for: A traditional blowout with a round brush
Four heat settings with a dedicated cold shot and three speeds — the control a proper blowout needs.
If you are doing this the traditional way, the specification that matters most is a genuine cold shot, because that is the step that sets the shape.
Dyson publishes four heat settings including a cold shot and three speeds. The three attachments include a styling concentrator, which is what directs air along the section rather than at it.
1,600 W, 1.8 lb, an 8.6 ft cable and about $19.07 a year to run.
What’s wrong with it
The heaviest dryer in our registry at 1.8 lb, which is felt during a full blowout, and the most expensive conventional dryer here.
Published specifications — Dyson Supersonic hair dryer
| Wattage | 1,600 W |
|---|---|
| Heat settings | 4 heat settings, including a cold shot |
| Speed settings | 3 speed settings |
| Weight | 1.8 lb |
| Cord length | 8.6 ft |
| Noise (dB) | Not published |
| Attachments | 3 — styling concentrator, diffuser, wide-tooth comb |
| Plate / barrel | Air-multiplier body; no heated styling surface |
| Dual voltage | No — 120 V |
| Warranty | 2-year limited warranty |
Every figure above is taken from Dyson — Supersonic hair dryer product page. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on that page — it is not an estimate withheld, it is a number the manufacturer does not state. How we compile these.
What it costs to run for a year
$19.07 a year
1,600 W × 65 hours a year = 104.0 kWh, at 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour. The hours assume 15 minutes a session, 5 days a week — that is an assumption, not a measurement, so swap in your own if it is wrong.
3. Blowout and dryer in one
Shark FlexStyle air styling and drying system
Best for: Volume and smoothing without a second purchase
1,600 W with an oval brush and paddle brush among the attachments — and the handle converts to a dryer.
An air styler with brush attachments does the blowout job well, and because the shape sets as damp hair dries around the brush, it is a mechanically sound way to get hold.
The conversion is what makes it a sensible single purchase: the barrel section detaches so the handle works as a conventional dryer, which is the tool you need on the days you are not styling.
1,600 W, 1.5 lb, an 8 ft cord and a two-year limited warranty.
What’s wrong with it
No published heat- or speed-setting count, so you cannot check whether a genuine cool setting is included — the specification this page is about.
Published specifications — Shark FlexStyle air styling and drying system
| Wattage | 1,600 W (peak 1,600 W) |
|---|---|
| Heat settings | Not published |
| Speed settings | Not published |
| Weight | 1.5 lb |
| Cord length | 8 ft |
| Noise (dB) | Not published |
| Attachments | Configurable — auto-wrap curlers, oval brush, paddle brush, concentrator, diffuser |
| Plate / barrel | Coanda airflow barrels; no clamped heat plate |
| Dual voltage | No — 120 V |
| Warranty | 2-year limited warranty |
Every figure above is taken from SharkNinja — Shark FlexStyle (HD400SN) product page. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on that page — it is not an estimate withheld, it is a number the manufacturer does not state. How we compile these.
What it costs to run for a year
$19.07 a year
1,600 W (peak 1,600 W) × 65 hours a year = 104.0 kWh, at 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour. The hours assume 15 minutes a session, 5 days a week — that is an assumption, not a measurement, so swap in your own if it is wrong.
The one we'd skip
Revlon Salon One-Step hair dryer and volumizer
Best for: Not this, while the Plus exists
No published heat-setting count, so no way to confirm it has the cool step that makes a blowout last.
This page is about one thing: whether the blowout survives the day. That depends on a cool finish, and Revlon publishes no heat-setting count for this model at all.
Its newer sibling, the Volumizer Plus, states four settings including cool, carries the identical four-year warranty, and adds a detachable brush head for cleaning. Same coverage, more published information, more function.
There is no version of this comparison where the older model wins.
What’s wrong with it
No published heat-setting count on a page where the cool setting is the whole point, plus a brush head that does not come off for cleaning.
Published specifications — Revlon Salon One-Step hair dryer and volumizer
| Wattage | Not published |
|---|---|
| Heat settings | Not published |
| Speed settings | Not published |
| Weight | Not published |
| Cord length | Not published |
| Noise (dB) | Not published |
| Attachments | Non-detachable brush head |
| Plate / barrel | Ceramic coating |
| Dual voltage | Not published |
| Warranty | 4-year limited warranty |
Every figure above is taken from Revlon Hair Tools — Salon One-Step hair dryer and volumizer. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on that page — it is not an estimate withheld, it is a number the manufacturer does not state. How we compile these.
What it costs to run for a year
Revlon does not publish a wattage for this tool, so there is nothing honest to compute. The formula is watts ÷ 1,000 × hours a year × your rate per kWh; if you find a rating plate on the handle, 65 hours a year and 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour will get you the rest of the way.
The two reasons it drops
1. It was not completely dry
Hair that is even slightly damp when you finish will revert as it finishes drying, and it will do it fastest in humidity. The section that feels dry on the outside is frequently still holding water in the middle, which is why big sections fail.
Test it by feel at the root of a thick section rather than at the ends. The ends dry first and tell you nothing.
2. It was released while still warm
This is the big one, and it is free to fix. Hair sets in the shape it cools into. Pull a section straight with a brush, blast it hot, and let go while it is still warm — it relaxes as it cools, straight out of the shape you just made.
Hold the brush in place, hit it with the cool shot for a few seconds, and then release. That single change is worth more than any dryer upgrade, and it is the reason the cool button exists.
The technique, in order
- Squeeze with a towel, do not rub. Water you remove mechanically is water you do not have to evaporate.
- Rough-dry to about eighty percent on medium heat, with no brush. Precision work on soaking hair is wasted heat.
- Section, and section smaller than feels reasonable. If the brush cannot get through it in one pass, it is too big.
- Point the nozzle down the shaft, following the brush. Air along the cuticle smooths it; air against it lifts it.
- Cool shot, held, before you release. The step everybody skips, and the one that decides the result.
- Leave it completely alone until it is cold. Running your fingers through a warm blowout undoes it.
Making it last a second day
- Do not wash it. The blowout is on the hair; washing removes the blowout.
- Sleep on it loosely tied, high on the head, or in a silk scarf. Friction against a pillow is what flattens it.
- Dry shampoo at the roots before it looks like it needs it. Applied on day two it works; applied on day three it is covering a problem.
- Touch up with the tool rather than redoing it. The front sections and the roots are what fail, not the whole head — and that is a much smaller heat exposure.
What does not help
Turning the heat up. A hotter blowout does not last longer; it damages hair, and damaged hair holds a shape worse, which is a loop. If your blowout is not holding, the fix is in the cooling step and the section size, not the temperature dial — and here is what the published research says about that dial.
Price per use, at 5 uses a week over 5 years
| What you pay | Cost per use | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| $30 | $0.02 | $6.00 |
| $60 | $0.05 | $12.00 |
| $100 | $0.08 | $20.00 |
| $150 | $0.12 | $30.00 |
| $200 | $0.15 | $40.00 |
| $300 | $0.23 | $60.00 |
| $400 | $0.31 | $80.00 |
| $500 | $0.38 | $100.00 |
5 uses a week for 5 years is 1300 uses. Both figures are stated assumptions, not measurements — halve the life and every cost per use doubles. We publish the ladder rather than a worked example for one specific product because a price we typed into a sentence would be wrong within a week.
Questions people actually ask
Why does my blowout only last one day?
Usually because the hair was still slightly damp when you finished, or because it was released while still warm. Hair sets in the shape it cools into, so a held cool shot at the end of each section does more than any product.
What is the cool shot button actually for?
Setting the shape. Hair holds the form it cools into, so cooling a section while it is still held under tension is what makes the shape last. Releasing it warm lets it relax straight back out.
Do I need a round brush or will a hot air brush do?
A hot air brush is easier and produces a good result with far less practice. A round brush and dryer in skilled hands gives more root lift and more control, but it is a genuinely difficult two-handed technique.
Does a more powerful dryer give a better blowout?
Not on its own. What decides a blowout is section size, airflow direction and whether you cool each section before releasing it. Power shortens the session; it does not improve the result.