Hair dryers have been every girl’s saving grace when it comes to completing your look before you step foot out of the bathroom door!
But, where do you start when you’re ready to hit the market for one?
We’ll tell you how much to spend, what features to look for, and which hair dryer is best for your type of hair.
Don’t settle for a few strays, for a tame frizz, or even a half-pie do. With all the time and effort spent from your first step out of the shower to curling those gorgeous locks, you deserve the fastest, quietest, and smoothest hairstyle ever!
Don’t forget you need to know how to effectively use heat and speed settings, how you can’t go without ions, and how to properly use attachments when blowing out!
Our Buying Guide will get you up to speed and as hot as you can stand to get the blow dryer buy for the best blow job you’ll ever have – no dirty puns intended!
The Top Hair Dryers of 2021
Getting the best blow out, up-do, or classic, straight hair style depends on how good of a blow dryer you’re wielding. Are you curly and prone to frizz? Are you fine and covet volume? Or are you just trying to survive the humidity when you brave the weather in Hawaii?
We’ve narrowed down the options to recommend the best blow dryers for you by targeting what you need most from one. So, don’t settle for anything less than the best, your hair depends on it!
And, thanks to the ceramic-infused crushed pearls delivering micro-conditioning benefits, those with fine hair will never need to feel like they’re fighting a losing battle again. Style away! Technically, it’s identical to the RUSK W8less hair dryer, but it’s faster! And, because you’re cutting down on those few extra minutes, it has our two thumbs up! Fold it and pack it and you’ll have Ion Technology, Dual Voltage, and amazing hair you can capture for proof when you shoot that selfie! And, the Andis Quiet Hangup Dryer gets our top pick as the quietest hair dryer in our line-up. Plus, the extra perks such as the hang-up design, night light, and energy efficient features make it that much better than the others! But, overall, it’s the best hair blow dryer for all types of hair, for all styling needs, and for all those other small, but very important factors like its de-frizzing ability and comfort of use. It’s totally worth the buy! One heat setting isn’t good or safe enough to be used on all types and textures of hair. Too much heat on a fine head and you’ll find yourself with a case of the frizzies. Not enough air flow on a thick head and you could be standing there for hours. So, here’s the down-low on how to use heat and speed settings appropriately. This combination should be used for finishing touches and for the tail-end of drying hair. Too much heat at this point can damage and destroy the cuticle, especially on long hair – long hair is old hair so it needs more attention to care. You only need this setting too if you’re styling bangs. Delicate/fragile, fine, and weak hair types are easily prone to damage and frizziness if you’re too trigger happy. Also, if your hair is damp, you only need low heat to get an effective dry. Thick and coarse hair types need the high heat to penetrate deeply enough to remove excess moisture. But, it’s important to not concentrate on one section of the hair too long. You need to keep the dryer moving. Also, despite hair type, if your hair is very wet – like, straight out of the shower wet – you can start with high heat and then adjust as necessary. Every user wants to feel like their blow dryer is working, but you should refrain from this setting combination – it’s really not needed, unless… If you have long, coarse, and thick hair, you’ll need maximum power for even heat distribution without spending an hour to get it done. The mysterious Cool Blast feature may be new to you, and if you’re an expert already, feel free to skip this section. But, for many who are looking to maximize every element of your new buy, you won’t want to skimp when it comes to the cold blast! The cool shot is typically a button that needs to be depressed the entire time you intend to use it. This feature completely disengages from the heating element, so the air is about as “cold” as room temperature, but may feel colder since you’re no longer using heat to finish drying your hair. The cold blast of air helps to seal the hair cuticle so that your freshly-done hair style stays in for as long as possible. Here are a couple tips to remember when using the Cool Shot: Ionic Technology is one of those fancy but necessary features on a dryer. When styling your hair, it naturally produces positive ions that are notorious for creating frizz, dull, and prone to dryness hair. So, what does Ionic Technology do? It emits millions of negative ions to efficiently break down water molecules to dry your hair faster than standard dryers. How? You’re using negative ions to help dry hair faster making it less prone to damage versus the time it would take to dry your hair with heat and speed alone. So, the main benefit of buying an ionic hair dryer is to cut drying time. Plus, negative ions cancel out the wretched effects of positively charged ions in your hair. Fast drying time, no frizz, and more shine… it’s a win-win situation all around! These components are excellent conductors of heat, and when combined with Ionic Technology, they emit negative ions while using non-damaging far-infrared heat to dry your hair gently and without consequence. Here’s a bit of info on these popular buzz-words in the hair industry. Tourmaline – the most colorful gemstone known to mankind, and it’s also one of the most fascinating innovations in hair styling science. The gemstones are crushed into a fine dust and uniquely integrated by being coated or infused into the construction of the dryer. The best benefit of Tourmaline is its ability to de-frizz, smoothen, and dry hair at low heat without over-heating hair and causing damage. If there’s an element that can challenge Tourmaline, it’s Titanium. It’s extremely durable and corrosion-resistant, and it’s the best conductor of Ionic Technology to date. It’s also super lightweight. A hair blow dryer made with Titanium is going to reduce wrist and hand strain and ensure a comfortable blow dry. So, if you’ve got hard to tame, difficult to blow dry, and super-frizzy hair, you’ll want to look for Titanium-made hair dryers. It’s often combined with Tourmaline for super-drying Ionic benefits. Ceramic hair dryers are excellent for even heat distribution. They’re also known to not only remove excess moisture efficiently, but they also seal in moisture to provide cuticles with hydration, shine, and healthy-looking hair. Ceramic also emits infrared heat and is often combined with Tourmaline to allow hair to endure high temperatures of heat without causing damage. While you might do better solo as a lone wolf, you might find yourself a team player when you figure out how to use a hair drying attachment correctly! And, if you’re kicking at the pricks, you could end up with a frizzy, poofy, and wild hair do that looks worse than a cave mans! This is an attachment with a narrow slit for concentrated air flow. It allows you to focus the air flow for ultimate smoothness when styling your hair. It’s a popular accessory if you like to straighten to your hair without the hassle of using a hair straightening brush. This attachment has prongs or fingers on the end of a round disc. It evenly distributes the air flow to provide volume, lift, body, and bounce to hair. Those who want to style or enhance curls and waves will benefit the most from a diffuser. It’s best used on low heat and low speed to gently release a warm air flow so as not destroy, frizz, and tangle your tresses. Knowing everything there is to know about a hair dryer will help you turn it from a dreaded and evil experience to a wonderful and beneficial styling tool you can never go without! Banish ‘unruly’, ‘frizzy’, and ‘hot mess’ from your vocabulary and embrace the future days of no more hair woes! Get the right hair blow dryer with the right features and use it right for the perfect hair style! Not even your travel plans or budget can get in the way of that!
While affordability is always the main concern, the Remington Studio Salon Collection Pearl Ceramic is more than worth the extra bucks! When you have fine hair, you need all the protection and volume you can get!
When it comes to having thick hair, one of the most frustrating elements of drying and styling is the time it takes! That’s why the RUSK Engineering Speed Freak Professional takes the gold in this review for being the best blow dryer for thick hair!
This was a tough decision to make, and while the BaBybliss is especially excellent for natural and curly hair, the Vokai Labs Ceramic Hair Blow Dryer is our top recommendation because of its price, extra comb pik accessory, and durable build.
Sometimes, it’s just not convenient to lug your salon-grade dryer around while traveling – that could be an extra pair of shoes instead! But, with the BaBylissPRO Tourmaline Titanium Travel Dryer, you won’t have to leave those extra heels behind!
No one likes to feel like they’ve just survived a tornado when it comes to using a blow dryer. And, how quiet your dryer can be is a very important factor when shopping for the best one!
If there has to be only one blow dryer out of the lot that you’d consider, it should be the BaBylissPRO Tourmaline Titanium 3000 Dryer! Yes, it’s a little expensive, and yes, switch placement could’ve been thought out a little better.Heat Levels and Hair Types
Cool Shot vs No Cool Shot
Ionic Technology vs No Ions
Tourmaline, Titanium, and Ceramic Hair Dryers
Use Attachments!
No More Hair Woes!
