Now Revlon has three One Step brushes in total – Original One Step, One Step Plus, and the One Step Root Booster. With a smaller barrel, the Revlon Root Booster is the latest One Step hair brush dryer that is designed to give your roots more bounciness without using a hot curling wand. If you are planning on buying a Revlon One Step dryer brush, should you go for the latest one or the most popular one? No, here are the comparison & differences that you probably wanna see.
Revlon One-Step Root Booster vs. Original One Step vs. One-Step PLUS
Their designs look alike, but their barrels are not
One obvious thing about the comparison among these Revlon One Step dryers is that their barrels are completely different, especially the sizes of the brushes. The oldest original One Step brush comes with the biggest barrel, which is 4.25″. And the One Step PLUS has a 2.4″ barrel while the One Step Root Booster has the thinnest 1.5” barrel. Besides that, the nylon bristles of the regular One Step dryer brush and One Step Plus have rubber tips while the Root Booster does not have that since its bristles are pretty short.
However, these specs do not mean anything without knowing which type of hair you have and what results you want to achieve. A bigger brush and longer bristles are helpful to smoothen hair strands and soften hair texture, especially for people with long and thick hair. Smaller brushes are more suitable for boosting hair volume or creating natural curls gently and conveniently.
One thing that also needs to be mentioned is that the materials of their barrels are not exactly the same: The Root Booster and original One Step are ceramic coated and the One Step Plus utilizes a barrel with Ceramic + Titanium + Tourmaline technologies to enhance its hair protection ability and heat up time. (Sadly, I did not feel much differences in my previous tests)
Technologies – One Step PLUS Is More Advanced
One thing the original One Step volumizer and Root Booster did not do very well is that they only have three temperature/speed settings. And the biggest problem with the Root Booster is that it gets extremely hot when it gets close to your scalp and hair roots, which seems not very healthy.
Fortunately, the One Step PLUS comes with a four-level control, which solves the problem and it offers medium heat with which I can style my hair efficiently without causing too much heat damage. Besides an upgraded barrel and better heat settings, you can see that the One Step PLUS is more advanced as its brush is detachable. That is to say, you may have more brushes options in the future and it is more portable for travelers. (BTW, Revlon also claims that the One Step PLUS has a more durable motor for 40% longer life compared to the Root Booster and old classic One Step brush.)
Styling Results Comparison
Although the One Step PLUS seems like the best Revlon brush when you put their specs and technologies together, what surprised me is that the most expensive model did not deliver significantly better results than the Root Booster and the old One Step brush.
Just like I mentioned above, the regular One Step’s large brush is great when dealing with tangled hair. And you can feel your hair is being smoothened gently when gliding down with the big brush. Although its big brush is a little bit hard to operate compared to the Root Booster, I like it when warm air was delivered through the big air vents. I used to use the old Revlon all the time, it made my hair pretty soft and I had no problem with it. Can’t ask much more since it’s the cheapest one.
The One Step PLUS is my favorite Revlon brush so far as its handle is slim and its barrel is just the perfect size for most hair types. The charcoal-infused bristles on the oval barrel will make your hair sleek and shiny, and I feel like the One Step PLUS did give my hair more hydration compared to other hot tools. And its detachable attachment feature even allows you to remove the brush to use the handle as a blow dryer. As for styling performance, it does not make you go “WOW!!!” and it does not give you a salon-grade look immediately, but it’s might be the most versatile and balanced brush in the market.
I’ve tried the One Step Root Booster a couple of times, it did a very good job when creating volume for hair roots and my hair looked very bouncy. But I found the dryness was something that I needed to deal with. The brush got pretty hot when I rolled it upwards. Overall, I’m satisfied with the look, my hair looked voluminous and soft, but I should have used a nourishing heat protectant in advance. For people who have short hair or want to gain more volume, this is the one you should buy.
Price
I personally think that all these Revlon One Step brushes are affordable compared to those luxury brand products, so price should not be a factor for your consideration. The most expensive One Step PLUS is only $69.99 and you may get a few dollar discounts online. And you can take the Root Booster home at the price of $59.99 now. Although the official price of the OG Revlon One-Step is $59.99, the oldest model retails at about $35 on Amazon, which is a great bargain.