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Louryn Strampe Nena Farrell
Gear
Get those curls and waves looking extra luscious with our favorite diffusers and diffuser attachments.
If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
No shade to any other section, but I think it's safe to say that we have a lot of great hair on the WIRED Gear desk. Our Zoom meetings are full of poppin' curls and mind-boggling volume. But all that gorgeous hair takes work, and we're no strangers to putting in the extra effort toward styling our hair. Diffuser routines have a learning curve and require a bit of elbow grease, but they can help curls and waves look their very best.
A typical hair dryer shoots a jet of hot air straight out, which is great for adding volume or styling straight blowouts. But a jet of concentrated air can cause waves and curls to poof out and lose their shape. Diffusers—you guessed it—diffuse the air and distribute it evenly, helping to disperse that concentration while still offering volume and faster drying. People frequently use the typical nubby-ended, bell-shaped design to help lift and scrunch their textured hair while simultaneously drying it. This results in a voluminous, styled curl or wave with less frizz. And the diffusion makes the air a bit more gentle on your hair, leaving behind less damage. Some diffusers have longer prongs, a different shape, or more air distribution holes, and some styling products can tweak the final look, but the result is still the same basic concept: enhanced natural texture and volume from root to tip. So long as you're prepared to sweat for it.
Be sure to check out our other hair-related buying guides, including the Best Hair Dryers, the Best Hair Straighteners, and the Best Curling Irons.
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More About Our Hair
WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe has thick, long, curly, mixed-race hair ranging from curl type 2A to 3A. It's low-porosity and usually dry or damaged thanks to her penchant for bleaching it and dying it neon pink. She has hard water in her home and tries to avoid heat styling.
Nena Farrell has wavy, fine hair in her natural color with a curl type that ranges from 2B to 3A. Her hair is high porosity and leans toward being frizzy on its own. During this testing window, her hair was only about chin-length.
We've also included some notes from former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano, who had thick, coarse, long, curly hair that varied in pattern from layer to layer. And some recommendations from editor Kat Merck, who is a fan of straightening her hair and no stranger to heat styling.
How We Tested
We tested each dryer and diffuser in this guide on a minimum of three wash days. We tried every setting and attachment, and we compared notes on the diffusers’ different characteristics, weights, and features. We aimed to include a mix of diffusers that will work for multiple hair types and hair routines. See photos below of our hair dried with each diffuser or attachment.
Helpful Information About Diffusing
A proper diffusing routine starts in the shower: Wash, condition, and detangle your hair before diffusing for the best results. Apply styling products while your hair is still damp or wet. Avoid touching your hair or drying it roughly during the diffusing process to minimize frizz.
Temperature matters: The higher the temperature, the faster your hair will dry, and the drier and more frizzy it will be. Conversely, low temperatures can help cut back on frizz, damage, and flyaways, but this can add a lot of time to your drying routine.
Get to know your hair type: Do you have waves, curls, or coils? Is your hair high-porosity or low-porosity? Do you use water-soluble products or are they silicone-based? Do you sleep with your hair protected? All of these will have an impact on the best styling methods. You can find great resources on the curly hair subreddit, the Pattern, and our sister site Allure. YouTube and TikTok also are full of great information, and of course you can ask your hairstylist to teach you more about your hair type. Have fun in the rabbit hole!
Louryn Strampe is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED covering a little bit of everything. She especially loves discounts, video games … and discounted video games. She previously wrote for Future PLC and Rakuten. She currently resides in northern Illinois with two fluffy cats.
Nena Farrell is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED, based in San Diego, California. She specializes in smart home gear, parenting, and textiles, and dabbles in a variety of other home and tech beats. Before joining WIRED, she covered smart home gear at The New York Times’ Wirecutter and... Read more
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