I was intrigued to see if the hair tool could transform my naturally flat and straight hair
Having a ‘salon-worthy’ bouncy blow dry from the comfort of my home sounded too good to be true, so when I was offered the chance to try a hair styling tool that claims to do just that, I had to put it to the test. The best-selling BondiBoost Infrared Bounce Brush has earned viral status and has previously sold out in the UK, US and Australia.
Beauty professionals are also bigging up the £90 hair styling tool, with Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan recently using the Bounce Brush on her Instagram story where she called it ‘the best tool in the market’. But is it worth the hype? That’s what I aimed to uncover.
For me, styling my hair usually means scraping it into a ponytail or a messy bun on top of my head, as my naturally straight and flat hair doesn’t really do much. When I use a curling wand or straighteners to wave or curl my hair, it usually only holds for a couple of hours and then it’s pin straight again, despite me using what feels like a whole can of hairspray.
READ MORE: I tried on several Roman dresses and bought two that were super flattering on my tummy
READ MORE: My Nintendo Switch Lite saves me from hours of boredom, Amazon now has the best price
The Infrared Bounce Brush is designed to be used on dry hair and is marketed as giving ’90s supermodel hair’ that’s ‘sleek and bouncy’ – I was excited (and a little apprehensive) to see how boofy my hair would go. The tool has a temperature range of 120 to 220 degrees Celsius, a 42mm barrel and a cool tip ideal for holding when twisting the brush along your hair.
The Bounce Brush uses infrared technology which harnesses the power of negative ions to lock in moisture as you style, giving you ‘the glossiest finish’. Infrared gently heats the hair from within which causes less damage than traditional forms of heat.
BondiBoost says the styling tool is ‘super gentle’ and can be used daily on freshly washed and dried hair or for a second day touch up. The bristles are also infused with aloe, providing extra shine and reduced frizz.
Before using the Bounce Brush for the first time, I washed and dried my hair with a hairdryer a few hours earlier. My aim was to achieve a flicky look with some volume, so nothing too dramatic or curly.
I separated my hair into sections, plugged in the styling tool and waited for it to reach optimum temperature – after a few seconds, I was ready to go. I took hold of my first section of hair and started off by focusing the brush at the bottom to create a flick, brushing the end a few times before twisting the brush upwards, wrapping the strand of hair around the brush until it reached the roots.
I held it at the roots for 10 seconds before unwrapping the hair and letting it fall. I was delighted to see that the strand of hair was no longer straight – it had a subtle flick that sat nicely against my collarbone.
I sprayed the section with hairspray, then repeated my method with each section of hair until my whole hair felt wonderfully swishy. In total, it took me around 30 minutes to style my hair, and looked more shiny, although it wasn’t as voluminous as I was expecting.
Some strands flicked better than others, and a few thicker sections did get slightly stuck on the bristles requiring a little more care to unravel them from the brush, but overall I was impressed. My hair looked thicker and had slightly more volume, and I liked how each strand wasn’t completely identical, as some flicked in different directions.
My hair didn’t feel dry or damaged after using the tool, and there was no horrible burning smell I sometimes get when using other heated gadgets. The only downside is that the style didn’t last all day, as after around three hours, the flicks had dropped.
I thought this may be because my hair was too soft due to washing it that morning, although I’ve used it a few times since on unwashed hair and the outcome has been the same. However, as I mentioned earlier, looks I’ve created in the past using other styling tools haven’t lasted either, so I think my hair type is to blame.
The BondiBoost Infrared Bounce Brush has impressed me overall, as although the style only lasts a few hours, I really like how it transforms my hair. I also love how you can create different styles by focusing the brush on different parts of your hair and holding it at different angles.
If your hair is great at holding styles, I think the BondiBoost Infrared Bounce Brush will be a game-changer, as you will no longer need to go to the hairdresser for a blow dry. Fancy giving the Infrared Bounce Brush a try? You can buy it directly from BondiBoost here for £90, with LookFantastic also selling it for £90.
If you’d like to browse similar hair styling tools, Shark has a SmoothStyle Hot Brush & Smoothing Comb that’s currently on sale for £69.99, while Boots is selling the Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumiser costing £49.99. Both of these alternatives, however, do not use infrared like the BondiBoost brush does.
