But the real issue with the Harry Josh dryer is that, in our testing, it didn’t deliver the superior hair experience it claims to. However, the measured air speed was only 45 mph, and the handle was thick and awkward for us to hold. 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. Ceramic material does heat up faster and radiate heat more evenly than iron or nickel. There are no clinical studies examining whether one type of hair dryer is better for your hair than another—at least, none that we, nor the dermatologists we interviewed, could find. 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,551. But even if your goal is to have shiny, straight hair, the only dryer qualities that will help you achieve that more effectively are good old “hot and fast.”, You’ll see plenty of features—ceramic coils, an ion generator, tourmaline—noted in marketing materials and pretty much every other dryer buying guide. Do I need to clean my hot air brush? If you don’t care about weight, consider the Infiniti Pro by Conair 1875-Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool. But according to Coughlin, it's not that scary. Regardless, you should move your dryer around as you do your hair, so the exact evenness of the heat coming from the dryer doesn’t matter too much. "When negative ions neutralize positive ions, they eliminate static electricity," she says. A longtime user favorite, this ceramic tool dries hair at lightning speed, helping it hold onto moisture and shine. Amazon customer reviews of the 1,900-watt Parlux 3200 Compact Hair Dryer were pretty good at the time of our research, and the compact design is nice. The Dyson Airwrap is a multipurpose styling tool with a number of attachments that can curl, straighten (with a brush), or blow-dry hair (with an add-on that looks like a thinner, oval version of the Supersonic head). Little things, such as how close we held the dryer or how the hair moved around, were what really made hair dry faster or slower. We haven’t taken a wind meter to it, but the company says the dryer-attachment-equipped Airwrap is not as powerful as the Supersonic and is meant to get hair a bit dry before you use the other attachments, which, unlike most other curlers and straighteners, can work on damp hair. The packaging for hair dryers is adorned with a ton of buzzwords and specs. Even a piddly little wall-mounted hair dryer in a hotel one tester stayed at while writing this guide claimed to have it. This brushless motor dries hair shockingly fast and leaves it ultra-shiny. They don’t get burning hot, as they’re made of two layers of plastic with a gap of air between them, so you can rotate or remove them mid-session, unlike on other dryers, where you must handle attachments carefully or angle the dryer awkwardly to switch them. Was $19.96 $ 19. Remington Ceramic Ionic Tourmaline Hair Dryers, Purple with Concentrator and Diffuser. If you decide that the Dyson dryer might be worth $400 to you, we recommend purchasing it from Sephora, which has a generous return policy. It has consistently been our favorite to use since we first tested it in 2016. For all the words and phrases associated with hair dryers (“tourmaline,” “ionic,” “ceramic,” “conditioning nano beads”), hairstylist Allen Ruiz told us he looks for two qualities in the appliance: “hot and fast.” (And that said, in our testing, differences in heat and speed from dryer to dryer often didn’t noticeably affect the dry time.). Shop. “I prefer a diffuser with ‘fingers’ in it for creating really defined curl,” hairstylist Allen Ruiz told us. (Others include its multiple speed and heat settings, ultra-long cord, and one-pound weight.). The Gold ’N Hot Ultra-Lightweight Dryer with Tourmaline was the lightest dryer we tested, at 0.6 pound. It’s a (typically) less-expensive version of our previous top pick, the Rusk CTC Lite (which is now our runner-up). The concentrator and diffuser attachments connect to the nozzle magnetically, a nifty feature we haven’t seen on any other dryer. Another spendy dryer, the RevAir is unlike any other hair-drying, heat-styling tool we’ve tested. But those are features of nearly all dryers. $49.85 INFINITIPRO BY CONAIR 1875 Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool/Hair Dryer, Aqua (Amazon … The pricey, bulky “reverse air” dryer—essentially, a vacuum for your hair—blows all other tools for straightening curly hair out of the water. The air speed is also slower, at just over 30 mph measured at a distance of 2 inches. A. It relies on “reverse air” suction to simultaneously dry, stretch, straighten, and smooth hair. $121.59 Next page. STAFF. (Much of Dyson’s $71 million research and design tab for the dryer went into the motor, which is a smaller version of the motor found in Dyson’s handheld vacuum cleaners.). The Rusk W8less comes with a two-year warranty. And though ceramic material does heat evenly, we couldn’t feel a difference in the heat coming from the dryers we tested with ceramic coils versus those made with other material. The buttons are easy to use, but the cool-shot button is a little small and harder to hold down than on our top pick. The Rusk W8less comes with a concentrator, which is helpful for straightening hair. After 10 hours of research, we tested 11 hair straighteners on four different heads of hair to decide that the most maneuverable straightener is the GVP Digital. We did attempt to test the styling tools against one another, but we found that comparison, well, hairy. In our testing, the BaBylissPro Nano Titanium Hair Dryer produced a whining sound that was worse than any noise from the competition. Its ceramic-coated elements create shiny, frizz-free results built to last all day long. "Most dryer motors use carbon brushes that wear out over time, causing the motor to stop working," says Heller. We also spoke to Allen Ruiz, Aveda’s global director of hair styling; Perry Romanowski, a cosmetic chemist; and Jim Shapiro, an electrical engineer. Does the $400 RevAir Hair Dryer Suck? … The dermatologists we interviewed recommended ceramic-coated coils. "Dryers that utilize this motor type are more expensive; however, the lifetime of the dryer is often five to 10 years versus the standard one to two years.". Infiniti Pro by Conair 1875-Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool, Best for thick, dense, or curly/coily/kinky hair, Budget pick: Infiniti Pro by Conair 1875-Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool, Upgrade pick: Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer. In addition to weight, that overall feel depends on the following: We did not consider folding or other “travel” hair dryers. The Drybar Buttercup Blow Dryer is heavier than our picks, at 1.3 pounds. Heat and speed are the only features that matter for drying your hair efficiently, and with a 50 mph, 150 °F airflow, the Rusk W8less is one of the hottest and fastest dryers we tested. It has a 7-foot hose that attaches to a 9-inch heat-producing wand. No dryer will make your hair more marvelously voluminous and glossy than another. In our tests, the cool-shot button was easy to push, and all the buttons were placed nicely on the back of the dryer—no poking, no accidental pushing. BestReviews. The RevAir comes with a one-year warranty, half the coverage period of Dyson’s dryer and most of our other picks. But Heller breaks it down like this: Ions are invisible particles that are present all around us, but positively charged ions create noticeable problems for our hair, like static electricity, frizz, and flyaways. If you have trouble gripping a typical dryer, the weight distribution of this one might make gripping it easier, a reader told us. Personally, whenever I see the word "wattage" listed on a hair dryer, it reminds me of high school science, which makes me immediately want to disengage. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. “That is just marketing hype,” Romanowski said. AEVO Hot Air Brush, Combination Hair Dryer Brush & Volumizer, 4-in-1 Hair Dryer, Styler, Curler, Straightener [Salon Styling] [Ionic Dryer] [Ceramic] [Electric] [Portable], Black . The benefit of ceramic is that it heats up quickly and evenly across its surface and generates infrared heat. 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,261. We’re not sure how he got that number, because our weather meter said 40 mph. Three testers with different hair types and textures had polarized opinions on the $550 Airwrap, especially when comparing their brush-attachment blowout results with those they achieved with the $60 Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer, a revered hot-air brush that’s a best seller on Amazon. 13 of the Best Flat Irons for Natural Hair, Stylist Says: These Are the 12 Best Blow Dryers for Natural Hair, It's Official: These Are the 13 Best Hair Dryers for Curly Hair, 12 Amazing Blow Dryers That Won't Fry Thin Hair, The 14 Best Hair Dryers for At-Home Blowouts That Look Professional, 12 Travel Hair Dryers That Deserve a Spot in Your Suitcase, Kaley Cuoco's Golden Globes Waves Are Thanks to This $10 Cult Classic Shampoo, 12 Hot Air Brushes for a Salon-Worthy Blowout in Mere Minutes, 5 Affordable Hair Dryers for a Salon-Quality Blowout on a Budget, Everything You Need to Know About Curling Irons, 12 Flat Irons That Leave Your Strands Silky (Not Fried), These 12 Hair Straightening Brushes Are a Brush and Flat Iron in One, Thanks to This Hair Dryer, I’m Never Getting a Salon Blowout Again, 9 Powerful Hair Dryers for People With Thick Hair, It’s Official: These Are the Best Curling Wands of 2021, The 8 Best Ionic Hair Dryers (So You Can Style Without the Damage).