Table Of Content
- Best for Damage Control: Remington Damage Protection Hair Dryer
- Cutest Design: Flower Ionic Pro Hair Dryers
- Best for Low Porosity: Conair 1875 Watt Mid-Size Styler
- What about the Revlon One-Step and other hair dryer brushes?
- Red by Kiss Ceramic 3200 Turbo Dryer
- Best for thick, dense, or curly/coily/kinky hair
It has both ionic technology to dry your hair quickly, as well as ceramic to distribute heat evenly, according to the brand. We also tried the Hot Tools One-Step Detachable Straight Dry Paddle Dryer and the Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Styler, both of which were clunkier, heavier, and slower to dry hair than the Conair. Their designs also made it difficult for us to directly reach hair roots compared with the other paddle-style hair dryer brushes we tested. Many hair dryers come with (or are compatible with) attachments that allow you to tailor your blow-out experience to your needs. Abergel noted that, for example, using a concentrator nozzle that precisely hits hard-to-reach areas is key to achieving salon-level results.
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Best for Damage Control: Remington Damage Protection Hair Dryer
When shopping for a hair dryer, our experts recommend looking at certain factors including your hair type, technology and settings to help you safely dry your hair with the help of these devices. Below, we break down how to determine which hair dryer is best for you. The Ghd Helios uses ionic technology, which means it can dry long, thick hair quickly without damaging it, according to our experts. It’s also lightweight at just 1.7 pounds, and has an ergonomic design, making it easier to style your hair, according to the brand. At 0.6 pounds, the Gold ’N Hot Ultra-Lightweight Dryer with Tourmaline is the lightest dryer we’ve tested.
Cutest Design: Flower Ionic Pro Hair Dryers
One tester found that the heavier cord tired out her arms when she was drying the top of her head, though resting the power bar (which most dryers do not have) on the counter helped. The sound the Supersonic emits is a high-pitched whine, with none of the low rattle that other dryers put out. Whether this sound is more pleasant, as the company claims, is a matter of personal opinion, though. As with any dryer, the sound of whooshing air is physically impossible to eliminate. All of the dryers took more or less the same amount of time to dry hair.
Best for Low Porosity: Conair 1875 Watt Mid-Size Styler
That blowing air was around 200 °F (more if we held the dryer in place for a few moments). Although some dryers achieved faster wind speeds than others, interestingly that didn’t end up translating to notably or consistently faster dry times once we used them on our hair. After putting in over 20 hours of research and spending over 70 hours testing 42 hair dryers, we’ve found that some are far more pleasant to hold and use than others. Because it provides an excellent experience for the price, we think the Rusk W8less Professional 2000 Watt Dryer is the best choice. Compared with the Rusk W8less, the Amika Accomplice Compact Dryer (currently unavailable) is heavier, limited to a lower max temperature (215 °F), and double the price. However, its 9.5-foot cord ties with that of the GHD Helios for the second-longest cord among the dryers we’ve tried.
What about the Revlon One-Step and other hair dryer brushes?
Barbara Booth is a former CNBC reporter whose work spans a wide range of business and social topics, including work/life issues, international business and personal finance. In addition to CNBC, her work has been seen in USA Today, Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, HerMoney, and for various television news programs including the Nightly Business Report. Catch up on Select’s in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to stay up to date.
The W8less comes with a concentrator, which is helpful for straightening hair, but it does not come with a diffuser. NBC Select newsletter editor McKenna Moore says this blow dryer and diffuser combo has been her most consistently used option after it was recommended to her by her hairstylist. After removing excess water from her hair and letting her curls air dry as long as possible, Moore, who has fine, 3a curly hair, uses the dryer to add shine and volume without adding frizz.
Although the Dyson dryer’s feel and attachments are improvements over those of our other picks, we also found features we didn’t like and a few that we were neutral on. At 1.3 pounds, it’s noticeably heavier to hold than the W8less, especially after several minutes of drying. Unlike on other dryers, the cool-shot button is wide, so holding it down for several seconds isn’t uncomfortable.
Best On-the-Go: Afar T3 Lightweight Travel-Size Hair Dryer
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At 1.2 pounds, however, the Elchim Classic 2001 is heavier than our picks, and we found the handle to be thick and awkward to hold. Foster says this lightweight professional-grade hair dryer packs a powerful punch. “As soon as you turn it on, [your hair] dries quickly,” says Foster, adding that it also stores very easily. It weighs less than a pound, so it’s lightweight enough to hold when you’re drying your hair at home, says Foster. If you want a slightly more affordable option, opt for the Pro Dryer 2000 from the brand.
Best for thick, dense, or curly/coily/kinky hair
It’s no more effective than our other picks, but if you want the most pleasant hair-drying experience possible, the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer provides that. This dryer has an unusual design that makes it extraordinarily nice to use. Our editors are constantly trying out new products and speaking to experts to determine the best of all things beauty, and hair dryers are among the most tested.
Cosmetic chemist Ginger King previously told Allure readers to look for heat-protecting products whose formulas feature ingredients like meadowfoam seed oil and VP/DMAPA acrylates copolymer. Familiar additives like aloe and argan oil help, too, sealing the hair cuticle for extra defense. Most hair dryers are effective at blowing hot air toward your head—sometimes quite fast—in order to speed along your hairstyling.
Volumizer hair dryers can be placed close to the scalp for that perfect hair lift without causing any heat damage to your hair strands. Looking for salon-like results at home with a professional hair dryer? The Infiniti Pro hair dryer comes with Ionic technology that gives you smooth and shiny hair that looks gorgeous. It comes with concentrator and diffuser attachments that gives you plenty of styling options.
It also has a stowaway folding handle and comes with a bag for your packing needs. Although it comes with a concentrator to focus on specific areas while blow drying, you can also use a diffuser, which is available separately. If you’re willing to splurge on a dryer, you might consider the Dyson Supersonic. It has consistently been our favorite to use since we first tested it in 2016. The motor sits in the handle, making the nozzle shorter and easier to maneuver. The handle doesn’t vibrate at all, which wasn’t true of other “luxury” models we tested.
However, after a few wash-and-go tests, our curly-haired testers found that they liked using the included DevaFuser attachment, a unique hand-shaped diffuser that helps dry curls and waves without losing definition. You can buy a universal-fit version of the DevaFuser for any attachment-compatible hair dryer. We always enlist a range of testers for any review, but hair-care products and tools are another story. While some can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and concerns, many are created with specific consumers and their needs in mind.
When reviewing tools, we also take into account testers’ experience levels. The Bio Ionic 10X Ultralight Speed Dryer is a tad lighter (0.92 pounds) than our top pick and has a slightly longer cord. However, the dryer doesn’t have separate wind-speed and temperature-control settings (if you want hot air, it must also be fast). It’s heavy, but you don’t have to hold it high like a conventional dryer. It has a 5.5-foot hose that attaches to a 9-inch heat-producing wand.
However, the measured air speed was only 45 mph, and we found the handle thick and awkward to hold. You get a styling concentrator, a flyaway attachment, and a wide-toothed comb, plus a “gentle” air attachment and a diffuser. If you have curly hair and prefer using a diffuser to dry it, you have to buy one separately (though it’s best to buy a hair dryer that comes with one). We found that on the top setting, most dryers blew air at about 40 mph as measured a couple of inches away from the nozzle.
