Despite being a beauty editor, I’m really not very good when it comes to styling my own hair. I can do the basics, but I’m always looking for the latest in beauty to help me achieve the hair of my dreams, from the products for sleek hair to affordable hair straighteners. More recently, I’ve been heavily reliant on hair multi-stylers to up my at-home game.
If you’re not familiar, think of multi-stylers as the Swiss army knives of the hair world. These heated hair tools have multiple attachments that help create more than one look, making them a cost-effective way to do your hair at home. The most famous multi-styler is, of course, the Dyson Airwrap (more on that below), but there are many other options, including more affordable versions from brands like BaByliss.
Each promises a multitude of looks, from a bouncy blow-dry and beautiful glossy waves to sleek hair and long-lasting curls, and has essentially eliminated my need for an arsenal of different tools clogging up my dressing table. These are the best hair multi-stylers that money can buy, as tested by editors.
The Best Hair Multi-Stylers, At a Glance:
- Best affordable hair multi-styler: Babyliss Air Styler 1000W | £32.95 (was £75)
- Best all-round hair multi-styler: Dyson Airwrap i.d. | £479.99
- Most versatile hair multi-styler: Bellissima 8in-1 Air Wonder Hot Air Styler | £119.99
- Best hair multi-styler for fast results: Shark Beauty FlexStyle 5-in-1 Air Styler | £200.99 (was £299.99)
- Best hair multi-styler for everyday blow-dries: Beauty Works Aeris Multi-Styler | £220
Babyliss Air Styler 1000W
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Babyliss has a fantastic budget multi-styler that features 4 attachments: a drying nozzle, smooth blow dry paddle brush, volumising thermal brush and conical curling attachment. The drying nozzle isn’t crazy powerful but it’s as good as you’d expect from an attachment like this and works well with both the paddle and thermal brush. Both those attachments were also easy to use – the paddle gave smooth results and the volumising attachment worked well for a bouncy blow out. The multi-styler also comes with a glove, which is always handy to prevent accidental burns.
I really didn’t understand the conical curling attachment though, it just didn’t work—at all. The hair flies away from it due to the air flow and it gets incredibly hot and sadly didn’t give my hair a curl, which is a shame.
Despite that, I think the other attachments are great and it’s a good budget option for a multi-styler. It was also one of the easiest to change the attachments, I struggled with a lot of the others.
Dyson Airwrap i.d.
(Image credit: Dyson)
The Dyson Airwrap i.d. is the brand’s first-ever connected hair tool, meaning you can sync it with the app on your phone to save your styling preferences and automate the process by logging your hair type, length and goals. The device also comes with more attachment options than the original, including a set of attachments for curly/coily hair with a wave and curl diffuser and a wide-tooth comb. For my hair type, however, I tend to use the fast-dryer, conical Airwrap barrel, smoothing brush, and volumising brush.
It really is the best of the best, with each attachment working seamlessly and being really elegant and feeling luxe. None of the parts snag on the hair and are incredibly easy to clean (which mine are due for!) I use this multi-styler pretty much every time I wash my hair, no matter the style I’m going for.
If you’ve never used an Airwrap before, it does take a little getting used to because it’s so different from regular curlers. (Here’s the Marie Claire guide on how to use an Airwrap.) Once you get the hang of it though, you really can achieve a post-salon finish at home.
Bellissima Italia 8 in 1 Air Wonder Hot Air Styler
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The Bellissima Italia 8 in 1 Air Wonder Hot Air Styler is the perfect in-between styler. It’s no where near as expensive as the Dyson but is more expensive than the budget stylers. It is sturdy, pretty and the attachments work really well.
I’m not entirely sure why it’s an 8-in-1 when there are only 7 attachments, I assume it’s because of the beauty bag counts as an ‘attachment/accessory’, which is a bit cheeky. It contains: a diffuser, 19mm curling iron, 2 volumising round brush, curling round brush, detangling brush and drying nozzle.
The product that surprised me the most was the curling iron. I assumed this would be like others I’d tried and not work at all, but it created such a great curl. The only clunky thing with this attachment is that the hair doesn’t really stay put in the clamp because of the powerful airflow, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.
My criticism would be that it does smell a bit on first use and gets very hot, which can be off-putting. It’s also a little tricky to make sure the attachments stay put, it was a real faff to put them on and off but once they’re on properly, they work great.
Shark Beauty FlexStyle 5-in-1 Air StylerÂ
(Image credit: Shark)
The Shark FlexStyle 5-in-1 Air Styler is a quietly-clever, multi-tasking device that more than earns its place on your dressing table. With a simple twist of its head, it shifts from a lightweight, powerful hairdryer to a full styling system, complete with auto-wrap curlers, a smoothing paddle brush, an oval brush for volume and lift and a concentrator for sleek, polished finishes.
What makes it really impressive is how effortless it is. The airflow is strong enough to dry quickly, yet gentle enough to keep heat damage at bay, and the attachments glide through the hair with that rare combination of ease and control.
Beauty Works Aeris Multi-Styler
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When I first tried the Beauty Works Aeris Multi-Styler, I didn’t know what to expect, but I wouldn’t say I had particularly high hopes for it. I was quickly proven wrong. It comes with six attachments: Pre-Styling Hair Dryer, 30mm Airflow Curler, 40mm Airflow Curler, Smoothing Paddle Brush, Oval Volumising Brush and XL Round Blowout Brush. As you’d guess, the Airflow Curler is a really decent Dyson Airwrap alternative.
Honestly? I was surprised by how well the attachments worked. It’s not as user-friendly as the Dyson, so I took a little longer to get used to it, but I was pleased with the results. The other attachments work well too, giving both a smoothed-out finish or a super bouncy, blowout.
The buttons are a little clunky, but it’s far more elegant than many other hair tools. It’s definitely one of the more expensive ones on the list, but it really gives you that Airwrap finish without the full cost of the original.
How we tested multi-stylers
I put every single tool in this guide to the test on my very long hair to see how each one truly performed. I used each to blow dry and style my hair in various different ways, comparing every model against each other. Above are the ones that delivered on all fronts, and that I would recommend to anyone.
Why trust us?
We test beauty products for a living, so we know what makes a truly good investment. As well as sampling every tool in this article, we have extensive knowledge of the best brands on the market and what a good hair tool should do and how it should perform. Every tool has been thoroughly tested by our expert writers, and only the best made it into our final edit.
