Revlon One-Step Volumizer Review
This is the product that created a category. It is also the one most often used wrongly, which is why so many reviews call it underpowered.
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The One-Step is the reason the blow-dry brush category exists at scale. Before it, getting a blowout at home meant coordinating a dryer in one hand and a round brush in the other, behind your own head, where you cannot see. This put the dryer inside the brush.
It is also the tool that generates the most "it does not work" reviews in the category, and almost all of them describe the same usage error. So that goes near the top.
Quick picks
Ranked, with the reasoning underneath. Tap any row to jump to that write-up; tap the price to check it on Amazon. Prices come from the live layer, never from this page.
| # | Product | Best for | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No photoRevlon One-Step Volumizer PLUS 2.0A 2.4-inch oval barrel at 1,100W and 15 ounces: the tool that made at-home blowouts a normal thing, in its most refined version. | A first blow-dry brush that does not need technique | One-step dryer brush | Check price#ad |
| 2 | No photoRevlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer (RVDR5222)The original. Same 1,100W and three heat-and-speed settings, without the upgraded barrel coatings, at a considerably lower price. | The cheapest honest route to a home blowout | One-step dryer brush | Check price#ad |
| 3 | No photoamika Hair Blow Dryer Brush 2.0The only blow-dry brush here that publishes its three temperatures — 115F, 190F and 230F — and every one of them is below the damage thresholds in the research. | Knowing exactly how hot the brush is | One-step dryer brush | Check price#ad |
photo
#1 · A first blow-dry brush that does not need technique
Revlon One-Step Volumizer PLUS 2.0
A 2.4-inch oval barrel at 1,100W and 15 ounces: the tool that made at-home blowouts a normal thing, in its most refined version.
| Power | 1,100W motorsource |
|---|---|
| Barrel | 2.4-inch oval barrelsource |
| Settings | Four settings — low, medium, high and coolsource |
| Barrel materials | Ceramic, titanium and tourmaline, with ionic technologysource |
| Weight | 15 ozsource |
What those numbers mean
An oval barrel is doing something a round brush cannot: the flat faces smooth while the curved ends bend the end of the section. That is why one pass produces both smoothness and a bit of shape.
1,100W is modest next to a standalone dryer, and it should be. This tool is in contact with your hair rather than held six inches away, so the same wattage delivers far more heat to the strand.
Fifteen ounces is the specification that decides whether you finish. A brush you hold at head height for twenty minutes is an endurance event if it is heavy.
What it does well
- Combines the dryer and the round brush, which removes the two-handed coordination problem
- Oval barrel smooths and shapes in one pass
- A genuine cool setting for setting the style
- 15 oz, light enough for a long session
What it does not
- Revlon does not publish an actual temperature for any setting
- A one-step brush cannot match a separate dryer and round brush for control
- 2.4 inches is too large for short hair or a fringe
Skip this one if: Skip it if your hair is soaking wet and very thick. These brushes are designed for hair towel-dried to roughly 80 percent, and starting from wet is where people conclude they are underpowered.
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#2 · The cheapest honest route to a home blowout
Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer (RVDR5222)
The original. Same 1,100W and three heat-and-speed settings, without the upgraded barrel coatings, at a considerably lower price.
| Power | 1,100 wattssource |
|---|---|
| Settings | 3 heat and speed settingssource |
| Barrel | Oval brush designsource |
| Bristles | Nylon pin and tufted bristlessource |
| Ions | Built-in ion generatorsource |
| Coating | Ceramic coating for even heat distributionsource |
What those numbers mean
The original and the PLUS share the motor. What the PLUS adds is barrel coating material and a fourth cool setting, and whether that is worth the difference depends entirely on whether you use a cool shot.
Mixed nylon pin and tufted bristles is the detail worth knowing: the pins detangle and the tufts grip. On fine hair the grip is what creates root lift; on thick hair it is what makes the brush hard to pull through.
There is no published temperature here either, which is the standing complaint about this whole category.
What it does well
- Same 1,100W motor as the PLUS at a lower price
- Mixed bristle types genuinely help with root lift
- The most widely available blow-dry brush there is
What it does not
- No cool setting, so nothing sets the style at the end
- No published temperature figures
- Ceramic coating only, without the PLUS barrel materials
Skip this one if: Skip it if you rely on a cool shot to lock a blowout in. This model has three heat and speed settings and no cool option, and adding one after the fact is not possible.
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#3 · Knowing exactly how hot the brush is
amika Hair Blow Dryer Brush 2.0
The only blow-dry brush here that publishes its three temperatures — 115F, 190F and 230F — and every one of them is below the damage thresholds in the research.
| Heat and speed settings | 3 adjustable settings at 115F, 190F and 230Fsource |
|---|---|
| Power | 950Wsource |
| Barrel | Tourmaline-coated oval barrel generating negative ions and infrared heatsource |
| Bristles | Mixed long and short bristles to detangle, smooth and minimize breakagesource |
| Weight | 0.85 lb / 380 gsource |
| Cord | 9 ft with 360-degree swivelsource |
| Warranty | 2-year warrantysource |
What those numbers mean
Three published temperatures on a blow-dry brush is close to unique, and the numbers are the reassuring part. Even the top setting of 230F sits below the 302F line and far below anything the thermal research associates with cortex damage.
950W is the lowest wattage of any brush here and, for hair that is bleached or fine, that is a feature. Less power means a slower dry and a lower ceiling, and slower is the safe direction.
0.85 lb is the lightest tool in this entire registry. On a twenty-minute blowout, that is the specification you will notice most.
What it does well
- Publishes all three temperatures, and all three are conservative
- 0.85 lb, the lightest tool here
- 9-foot swivel cord and a 2-year warranty
- Mixed bristle lengths for detangling without dragging
What it does not
- 950W is genuinely slow on thick hair
- A 230F ceiling will not produce a sharp, glassy finish
- Priced above the Revlon brushes it competes with
Skip this one if: Skip it if your hair is thick and you want to be done quickly. 950W and a 230F ceiling are a deliberate choice for hair health, and on dense hair that choice reads as a long, slow blowout.
PLUS or original: what actually differs
| One-Step Volumizer PLUS | Salon One-Step (RVDR5222) | |
|---|---|---|
| Power | 1,100W | 1,100 watts |
| Barrel | 2.4-inch oval | Oval brush design |
| Settings | Four — low, medium, high and cool | Three heat and speed settings |
| Barrel materials | Ceramic, titanium and tourmaline, with ionic technology | Ceramic coating, built-in ion generator |
| Bristles | Not published separately | Nylon pin and tufted bristles |
| Weight | 15 oz | 2 lb |
The cool setting is the difference that matters. The PLUS has one and the original does not. Cool air is what sets a blowout — heat makes hair moldable and cooling locks the shape — so a tool without a cool option cannot finish a section properly, and the result drops sooner.
The PLUS is also lighter at 15 oz against 2 lb, which over a twenty-minute session is not a small difference. If the price gap is modest, the PLUS is the better buy; if it is large, the original still does the core job.
Why the oval barrel works
An oval barrel does two things a round brush cannot do simultaneously. The flat faces press against the hair and smooth the cuticle, while the curved ends put a bend into the end of the section. One pass, both effects — which is why a single stroke produces smoothness and shape rather than one or the other.
At 2.4 inches on the PLUS it is well matched to shoulder-length and longer hair. On short hair or a fringe it is too big; the Hot Tools detachable system offers a 2.4-inch small head for that.
What Revlon does not publish
- Any temperature figure, for either model. This is the standing complaint about the whole category, and it matters more here than on a dryer because a brush is in contact with the hair.
- Bristle composition on the PLUS. The original publishes nylon pin and tufted bristles; the PLUS listing does not break it down.
- Cord length.
- Durability or motor life.
If a published temperature is what you need — because your hair is fine, bleached or breaking — the amika brush publishes 115F, 190F and 230F, all below the reported cuticle-degradation threshold, and it is the pick for that case.
Who should skip it
Skip it if your hair is short. A 2.4-inch barrel cannot get near the root on short layers or a fringe without touching your scalp.
Skip it if your hair is bleached or fragile and you want a published temperature. Revlon publishes none for either model, and on damaged hair that is a real gap rather than a nitpick.
Skip it if you were expecting it to replace your dryer. See the 80 percent rule above. This is the second tool in the sequence.
The verdict
For a smooth blowout with body on healthy shoulder-length hair, at this price, it remains the sensible default and it is why it appears across the blow-dry brushes section. Buy the PLUS for the cool setting and the lower weight. Use it from 80 percent dry, and it does what it says.
Questions people actually ask
Is the Revlon One-Step Volumizer worth it?
For a smooth blowout with body on healthy shoulder-length or longer hair, it remains the sensible default at its price — 1,100W, a 2.4-inch oval barrel that smooths and bends in one pass, and on the PLUS a cool setting to lock the shape. Its main gap is that Revlon publishes no temperature figure, which matters if your hair is fine or bleached.
What is the difference between the Revlon One-Step PLUS and the original?
Both are 1,100W with an oval barrel. The PLUS adds a fourth cool setting, upgraded barrel materials (ceramic, titanium and tourmaline against the original's ceramic coating), and weighs 15 oz against the original's 2 lb. The cool setting is the meaningful one — cool air is what sets a blowout, so the original cannot finish a section properly.
Should hair be wet or dry when using the Revlon One-Step?
About 80 percent dry. Rough dry with a normal dryer first, then use the brush for the shaping stage. At 1,100W it cannot out-dry an 1,875W dryer and was not designed to — almost every review calling it underpowered is describing starting from soaking wet.
Does the Revlon One-Step damage hair?
Revlon does not publish a temperature for it, which is the honest limitation of any answer here. What can be said is that a brush applies contact heat, which is more intense per watt than air from a distance, and that at 1,100W it is a lower-powered tool than a full dryer. If you want a published figure, the amika brush states 115F, 190F and 230F.
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these. If a number here disagrees with the manufacturer, the manufacturer is right and we want to know — tell us.
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