Looking For A New Hair Dryer?
Don't Buy Before Reading This
John Doe
John has been a professional hairdresser for 20 years, and has tested heaps of products with her clients. When John isn’t in his salon he is always researching for the latest trends and innovations in the hair industry
- John@quality-reviewer.com
Writer’s note : If you’re looking for a cheap option, that will take you +45 minutes to fry your hair, and have you battling with frizz every day, then this article is not for you.
If you think the health of your hair is worth more than a drugstore hair dryer, then you might wanna read this.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after 20 years of making women’s hair look gorgeous, it’s that the hair tools we use can either make or break our hair.
And using the right hair dryer is no exception.
If you buy low quality hair dryers (which are always the cheap options), then you should expect damaged hair, daily fights with frizz and spending 30+ minutes on drying.
Most people get surprised by the fact, that investing into a high quality hair dryer, actually means that they can create amazing salon-quality blowouts, every day, in just less than 15 minutes, without causing any heat damage at all!
When I suggest someone to invest into a high quality hair dryer, I often get asked:
“But, is it really worth it though?”
If I wanted to make more money for myself, I wouldn’t bring it up in the first place.
Every time someone keeps coming to me for a keratin treatment because of frizz or damaged hair, it’s more money in my pocket.
Ask Yourself These 3 Questions:
How Much Time Do You Spend, Drying Your Hair?
How Much Money Have You Spent On Hair Treatments This Year?
How Often Have You Burned Your Hair When Drying?
Almost everyone I ask these questions, ends up realizing that 90% of their hair problems come from using a low quality hair dryer.
But don’t get me wrong, a high price doesn’t always equate to high quality.
Even if you invest a good amount into a premium model, you can easily end up paying a lot for quality that doesn’t match the price tag.
This is why I’ve spent the last 6 months, testing over 87 hair dryers with For Consumers, in order to find the hair dryer that gives you the best bang for your buck in 2021!
We’ve Rated The Hair Dryers On 8 Criterias:
Drying Time
Results (How The Hair Looked After)
Amount Of Heat/Speed Settings
Weight
Noise Level
Size And Compactness
Durability
Value For Money
Going into this, I already had a hunch that there would be a specific type of hair dryer that would outperform the rest by far.
And I was right.
During the last 4 years, there has been a lot of innovation happening within the field of hair dryers (and hair tools in general) which has changed the game completely.
Not only has it become easy to create beautiful blowouts, on your own, in less than 15 minutes, but t thanks to the new technology yur hair is not at risk of getting heat damaged anymore.
The type of hair dryer I’m talking about is the “hollow inlet hair dryer”.
Dyson were the first to come up with this type of hair dryer in 2016, but since then a lot has changed and now we have new alternatives that offer even more benefits at a lower pricepoint.
7 Reasons To Get A Hollow Inlet Hair Dryer
Thanks to the hollow design, it’s now possible to install a micro-computer that monitors the temperature of the outgoing airflow. If the air gets too hot the micro-computer automatically adjusts the temperature back, to avoid damaging your hair.
Because of the airflow multiplcation technology, the hollow air hair dryers have up to 15X more wind speed than the traditional hair dryers, which results in a drying time of down to 9 minutes for a full head of hair!
With the combination of strong airflow and advanced anion technology, you’ll experience the benefits of negative ions like never before. No more frizz, and a guaranteed smooth and luscious shine every time you dry your hair.
Because the air inlet is in the bottom the whole hair dryer is lighter and easier to handle, resulting in no more sore arms, and making it easy to bring with you on the go.
Generally, hollow inlet hair dryers have a lower sound level than regular hair dryers. This is because the motor inside a hollow air hair dryer always needs to be brushless, thus you have less “loose parts” that can make noise.
Because the hollow air hair dryers have so much airflow power, there’s a bigger variety of speed settings, and thanks to the micro-computer it’s also easier for the companies to give you a more granular variety of heat settings. This is key to getting a blowout that matches your hair type, and will make your hair look stunning.
If you had to count together how much you spent on keratin treatments & blowouts over the years, it would probably be way more than the premium price of a hollow air dryer. If you can muster the investment you’re guaranteed to not only save money but also your hair! (Not to mention that the time wasted on drying for hours is valuable too!)
Before doing this test, we were using the Dyson Supersonic in my salons.
But, during the last 6 months I discovered a new brand of hollow air hair dryers which is not only better in almost every aspect, but also significantly cheaper!
Now, whether or not you feel like your hair deserves a hollow air inlet hair dryer, there’s generally some things that you should look for and avoid when investing in a new hair dryer:
What To Look For
Normally, a hair dryer’s power is measured by how many watts it uses. This made sense in the past, but now there’s new motors that can actually create way more power than others with the same wattage. For that reason, the best metric to look at is how powerful the airflow is in meters per second (M/S).
We found that hair dryers with at least 50 M/S can reduce most consumers’ drying time with up to 50%!
If you want full protection against heat damaging your hair when drying, then you need to look for a model with temperature monitoring. Usually this is a benefit that only the hollow air hair dryers have, as it’s hard to implement into the design of a regular hair dryer.
You’ve most likely already heard about frizz-battling features such as tourmaline, ceramic and negative ions. From what we can see in our tests, negative ions are by far the best for taming frizzy hair and giving you smooth shiny locks. And, when it’s combined with a high airflow (M/S) you can almost be certain that frizzy hair will be a thing of the past.
A lot of hair dryer motors are designed in a way that makes them wear themselves out quickly, when used often. In detail, when a motor goes from very hot to cold over a short period of time, the motor will wear itself out way quicker.
Some of the newer models use a system that cools down the motor element over time when shut off in order to cause minimal wear to the inner components.
What To Avoid
Another misconception that consumers have about hair dryer wattage, is that there’s a specific wattage level for each hair type. If you have a hair dryer which is powerful enough, with enough settings then this isn’t the case.
When you have a big range of combinations of different settings, you will be able to find the speed and heat that will make your hair look stunning.
How often do you feel that you’ve gone through a full upper arm workout after drying your hair? Most conventional hair dryers can be fairly heavy and quite clunky, but fortunately a lot of the newer models spare you this inconvenience by using lighter components, but also by distributing the weight inside the grip of your hand instead of above your hand.
If you want a hair dryer that will let you do any style with precise perfection then you need to look for the extra attachments that are included. A diffuser and a straight “tuyere” should be the minimum for making sure that you can style your hair, just how you like it.
Have you ever had the feeling that you were standing in the middle of an airport while blow drying your hair? Well, it most likely isn’t that far off. Most hair dryers made before 2016 have a noise level between 90-110db, which at worst is equivalent to an airplane taking off.
Due to the advancement in motor technology, some newer models are almost half as loud, which means that you can acutally avoid waking up your whole house when drying your hair in the morning!
The 5 best hair dryers in 2023
During the last 6 months, we’ve tested 48 different hair dryers. These 5 models are the best based on our expert opinions along with consumer reviews:
1. Airtecho
RATING
A+
TOTAL GRADE
TOTAL GRADE
DRYING TIME
9.7/10
HEAT & SPEED SETTINGS
9.4/10
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
9.3/10
NOISE LEVEL
9.0/10
VALUE FOR MONEY
9.8/10
PROS
- Hollow Air Inlet
- Best Value For Your Money
- Strongest Airflow Of 60 M/S
- Fastest Drying Time
- Intelligent Temperature Control
- Lowest Noise-Level In Test (54db)
- Over 10M+ Negative Ions Emitted
- Lightest Model In Test (358g)
- 12 Different Heat And Speed Settings
- Compact Size
- 3 Magnetic Attachments
- Delayed Shutdown System
CONS
- Can Only Be Purchased Online
- Is Often Sold Out Due To Very High Demand
Review
If you’re looking to cut your drying time in half, protect yourself 100% against heat damage and always have the look of a salon-quality blowout, then Airtecho is without a doubt the best value for your money.
With a powerful 120,000RPM motor that creates an airflow of 60 M/S, most consumers report that their drying time has been cut in more than half.
And, when you’re blowing out a gorgeous hairdo, you won’t even have to worry for a slight second that your hair will get damaged. Airtecho uses the best temperature monitoring technology that checks the temperature of the airflow 58 times per second, to guarantee you no fried locks, ever.
You won’t need to worry about the frustration of frizz in the morning either. With over 10M+ negative ions emitted per second, and the powerful airflow, you can rest assured that your hair won’t puff up as soon as you go outside.
Furthermore, Airtecho can boast of being the lightest hair dryer in our test with a weight of only 358 grams, having 12 different heat and speed combinations, and also using a special delayed shutdown system to make it a hair dryer you’ll have for life.
2. Dyson Supersonic
RATING
A-
TOTAL GRADE
TOTAL GRADE
DRYING TIME
9.1/10
HEAT & SPEED SETTINGS
8.8/10
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
9.3/10
NOISE LEVEL
9.1/10
VALUE FOR MONEY
8.8/10
PROS
- Hollow Air Inlet
- Nice Selection Of Styling Attachments
- Temperature Control
- Decent Airflow Of 50 m/s
CONS
- The Most Expensive Model In The Test
- Quite Heavy (816g)
- Fairly Noisy (74db)
- Can Be Difficult To Bring On The Go
Review
The Dyson Supersonic is one of the models that I get asked the most about and it’s no wonder.
There has been a lot of buzz around this hair dryer since it came out with it’s cutting-edge technology in 2016.
As mentioned earlier in this article, we were using Dyson Supersonic in our salons before, but now we’ve switched to the Airtecho.
This is not to say that the Dyson is bad at all, this is probably one of the best hair dryers you can possibly get, but it still has some downsides if you compare it to other options.
It’s quite heavy, and will most likely be a bit tough on your arms and it’s noisy.
The airflow is great though, and it dries hair decently fast.
It also comes with a lot of cool attachments.
3.Gama IQ Perfetto
RATING
B
TOTAL GRADE
TOTAL GRADE
DRYING TIME
8.5/10
HEAT & SPEED SETTINGS
8.7/10
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
8.4/10
NOISE LEVEL
9.1/10
VALUE FOR MONEY
8.2/10
PROS
- Has Temperature Control
- Light Weight
- Has 3 Attachments
CONS
- No Negative Ions
- Noisy (78db)
- No Delayed Shutdown System
- Very Pricey
Review
Gama IQ Perfetto was another interesting candidate that made it to the 3rd place in our test.
With actually being the lightest hair dryer in the test, it was easy to dry and style the hair, and this is something we really liked about it.
Furthermore it has a nice temperature control, although we couldn’t get information about how many times per second the temperature monitored.
Unlike some of the other hair dryers it came with 3 nice attachments as well, including a diffuser.
On the other hand there were some things that we didn’t like so much about the Gama IQ Perfetto.
There’s no negative ion technology, so if you’re someone who generally struggles with frizzy hair, this is not the best bet.
Furhtermore it was quite noisy, and there were fewer heat and speed combinations when compared to other models.
Lastly the Gama IQ Perfetto is pretty expensive, and it doesn’t seem like it has a delayed shutdown system, thus I wouldn’t be sure about durability in the long run.
4. T3 Cura Luxe
RATING
C+
TOTAL GRADE
TOTAL GRADE
DRYING TIME
7.7/10
HEAT & SPEED SETTINGS
7.0/10
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
7.1/10
NOISE LEVEL
8.2/10
VALUE FOR MONEY
6.5/10
PROS
- Has Negative Ion Technology
- 10 Heat & Speed Settings
CONS
- Heavy (500g)
- No Temperature Control
- Noisy (74db)
- No Diffuser Attachment
- No Delayed Shutdown System
Review
In the 4th place we have the T3 Cura Luxe.
This is also a hair dryer that has gotten quite a lot of buzz through the latest times, so of course we had to put it to the test.
We had decent results with it, as there was a good amount of different heat and speed combinations, although a little less than others (10 combinations), and it has a great negative ion system as well, that was good at picking up the battle with frizz.
Although there was a good amount of settings and a nicely implemented negative ion system, the T3 Cura Luxe was lacking in the sense that it didn’t come with a diffuser, nor did it have temperature control to protect against damage from overheating.
Furthermore it was one of the more pricey options, and from what we could tell it didn’t have a delayed shutdown system either.
Lastly it was fairly noisy, and had a bit more weight to it than the others in the test.
5. Harry Josh Ultra Light
RATING
D
TOTAL GRADE
TOTAL GRADE
DRYING TIME
7.1/10
HEAT & SPEED SETTINGS
6.5/10
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
6.5/10
NOISE LEVEL
8.3/10
VALUE FOR MONEY
7.4/10
PROS
- 12 Different Heat & Speed Settings
- Decent airflow (42 m/s)
CONS
- No Diffuser Attachment
- Heavy (526g)
- No Delayed Shutdown System
Review
The Harry Josh Ultra Light also came out as a good hair dryer in our test.
With 12 different combinations and a decent airflow, we were able to create a lot of gorgeous looking hairstyles, not in the fastest time, but the results were nice.
What could’ve made the styling even better, was if there had been a diffuser included, unfortunately there wasn’t.
It was a bit more heavy to handle than the other (526g), and the price tag was definitely also something that pushed it a bit down on the list, from a “value for money” perspective.