BaByliss started the way good tools usually do, with a hairdresser who was tired of doing something the hard way. In the early 1960s, in a small salon in the Montmartre district of Paris, a stylist developed the first electric curling iron, and the company that grew out of it has been making styling tools ever since. In 2009 it bought Coif'In, a historic Italian dryer maker, and turned its factory into the professional line's research and production center. The following year it began working with Ferrari engineers on dryer motors.

That is why BaByliss Pro tools look the way they do. They are not pretty in a spa sense. They look like the dryer hanging at your stylist's station, because that is what they are built to be: sturdy, a bit loud and made to be used every day for years.

For most people at home, the tools that matter are the ones that make a proper blowout possible without a second pair of hands. So I have split this edit in two. The first grid is drying: the Italian-made dryers, a small travel dryer and two tools for anyone who finds juggling a dryer and a round brush impossible. The second is heat styling, from flat irons in different widths to a wand, a waver and a set of rollers.

Here is a test I like before buying any dryer: hold it at arm's length for thirty seconds. If your wrist complains, it will complain more halfway through a blowout.

The dryer is where BaByliss Pro is strongest, and where the differences between models are easiest to feel.

The Italian Falco is the workhorse: 2000 watts, a quiet motor, a cool-touch design and a memory function that remembers your settings. It comes with two concentrator nozzles, a comb and an extra-large diffuser, so it works for curls as well as a sleek finish. The Italian Rapido is its lighter sibling, also 2000 watts, and BaByliss rates its engine for up to 10,000 hours, which tells you how long it is meant to last. When the Rapido first came out in 2015, the brand called it the lightest high-performance professional dryer in the world. If you blow-dry long, thick hair, either one will speed things up.

The Professional High-Speed Dual Ionic is ultra-lightweight, with airflow engineered for faster drying. The AirSquare pairs fast drying with ergonomic control and works on all hair types. The Nano Titanium Nano Light is the one to pack, a T-shaped ionic dryer about the size of a smartphone, and dual voltage, so it works abroad.

Then the two tools that save your arms. The Style|Switch Straight and Wavy is a five-in-one air styler with interchangeable attachments that dries, smooths and curls. The Thermal Round Brush is a heated, ionic round brush with five settings up to 430°F, so you can shape and smooth with one hand once hair is mostly dry.

Here is my tip for a smoother blowout: rough-dry to about 80 percent with no brush at all, then pick up the round brush for the last stretch. It saves time and your shoulders.

What I would skip: the highest heat setting on fine or color-treated hair. Let airflow do the work.

Here is the rule for flat irons that nobody tells you: match the plate width to your hair length. One inch is for short hair, bangs and flipping ends. An inch and a quarter handles most shoulder-length hair. An inch and a half is for long, thick hair, where wider plates mean fewer passes.

BaByliss Pro makes all three in its Nano Titanium line. The 1 inch Digital has a memory function that stores your usual heat setting. The Prima 3000 at 1 1/4 inches and the Prima3300 at 1 1/2 inches straighten, wave and curl. The 1.5 inch Ultra Thin has longer plates and a slim body with quick heat recovery, so it is fast on long hair without feeling bulky.

For curls, the choice is wand or iron. The 1 1/4 inch Curling Wand gives medium to loose curls and beachy waves, and it takes a little practice because there is no clamp. The 1 1/2 inch Extended Barrel Curling Iron is made for longer hair, big voluminous curls or loose, relaxed waves. Both heat up to 430°F, which is more than most hair needs.

The Deep Waver makes glossy, even deep waves, or flip it over for something messier. The Jumbo Roller Set is the gentle option: twelve ceramic rollers that use far-infrared heat and avoid hot spots. Put them in while you do your makeup.

What I would skip: turning any of these all the way up on hair without a heat protectant. Start in the middle and go higher only if the style will not hold.

I think the dryer is the one tool worth taking seriously, and BaByliss Pro makes very good ones. A proper dryer changes your hair more than any iron will, because it sets the shape and the shine before heat styling even starts.

So get that right first. The Falco or the Rapido, a round brush or the Thermal Round Brush, and a few weeks of practice will give you a better blowout than a drawer full of irons. Add a wand or a flat iron later, once you know what your hair actually needs. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Why Lange Is Really a Family Story and The Best Hair Straightener Is the One That Respects Your Hair.