A bob photographs like the easiest haircut in the world and then quietly flicks out on one side every single morning. The Brushworx Mystique Radial Brush Small is 18mm of barrel with an opinion about which way those ends should go.
TL;DR: An 18mm tourmaline-coated barrel wrapped in boar bristles. Tight enough to put a proper curve into short layers and bobs, wide enough to smooth as it goes — the size that turns a flat dry into an actual style.
Product Details and Benefits
- 18mm barrel, 46mm bristle to bristle. The second-smallest in the Mystique radial line-up, and the natural fit for chin-length bobs, short layers, grown-out pixies and men's styling.
- A tighter barrel makes shape, not just smoothness. At 18mm you get a real curve — ends that tuck under or flick out on command, and lift at the root on hair that's too short for a big barrel to grab.
- Tourmaline-coated barrel. The tourmaline coating is designed to neutralise static and reduce frizz while spreading heat evenly along the barrel, so short sections come off sleek instead of electrified.
- Boar bristles. Natural boar bristle grips short hair properly, which is the hard part, and carries the scalp's own oils down the shaft for a finish that looks polished rather than merely dried.
- Rubberised handle grips. Non-slip and comfortable for the fiddly, close-to-the-head work that short hair demands.
- Hidden pick in the handle. A sectioning pick tucked into the handle, so clean parts don't require a second tool.
- Great for all hair types, and especially useful on fine hair that needs volume, short layers that need direction, and bobs that need telling what to do.
- Built for smoothing, straightening, volumising and adding movement.
- Two-toned black and grey finish, from Brushworx, a 100% Australian-owned brush brand.
How to Use
- Rough-dry to about 80 per cent before the brush comes near the hair. Short hair dries fast, so this takes less time than you think.
- Section with the hidden pick, keeping sections narrow — roughly the width of the brush head, no wider.
- Start underneath at the nape and work up. The bottom layers set the shape everything above them sits on.
- Roll the brush under the section at the root, lift, and follow with the dryer pointed down the hair shaft.
- Carry the roll right through to the ends and hold there for a few seconds with the dryer on the barrel, then finish with cool air. The ends are where a short style lives or dies.
Pro tip: Alternate the direction you roll on alternate sections — one under, the next one out, and so on through the head. A brush this size produces genuine curl, and rolling every section the same way gives you a uniform, slightly helmet-like set. Mixed directions let the sections interlock, which reads as thicker, looser, more expensive movement rather than a blow-dry that clearly came off one barrel.
Why You'll Love It
Short hair isn't low-maintenance, it's just differently demanding. At 18mm, this is the barrel that finally gives your bob, your layers and your ends somewhere sensible to sit. Add it to your cart and settle the morning argument.
