5 things to look for before choosing the best hair dryer

Several had a blown hair dryer or that burning smell from the hot air. Sometimes it goes unnoticed, while your hair, on the verge of dehydration, screams for help through its texture. You then smell smoke but it is too late: instead of drying it, your hair has been burned.

There are those who, in the absence of underblankets, use it to warm the sheets before going to bed, or the same with clothes on cold winter mornings, although in theory this shouldn’t be done. Anyway, the hair dryer is an essential tool in these cold months, because exposing wet hair to the freezing air outside – or even inside the house – can automatically result in a complicated cold. .

The origin of the first hair dryer machine, as specified Very interesting , performed in France in 1890, in the beauty salon of the hairdresser Alexandre Godefoy. Vacuum cleaners already existed, large gasoline-powered machines whose air pumps created a vacuum that sucked up dust. Godefoy observed that the movement of the vacuum cleaner’s motor heated the gases inside, so he experimented by removing the tube from the inlet and placing it in the hot air outlet. It is with this observation that the electric hair dryer was born.

But it was a heavy and complex machine. During the 1930s, hood dryers invaded beauty salons; the bad thing is that its gases damaged the hair of the ladies. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s, thanks to bakelite cases that burst into the aesthetic world, that hand-held hair dryers appeared. Today, almost every house, especially those in cities with cold winters, has one.

Yamila Rosas is a stylist and partner in the hair salon divine treasure , whose Las Condes branch turns nine in December. As he explains, in the living room they were equipped with professional hair dryers, mostly imported from abroad. “In Chile there is a great supply of dryers, but the truth is that there are very few professionals,” he says.

At the hairdresser My website , stylist Denis Corales explains that they have prioritized their dryers not being such heavy tools, “because we’re going to spend a lot of time with it in hand”, and also its price. “It may be the ideal dryer, but if it’s very expensive, it won’t be very viable either.” The other important thing for them was that it had a long cable, essential to be able to carry out their work.

Both have helped us to understand which are the most relevant properties of a hair dryer and which aspects and features should be considered before buying a new one.

Currently, many models on the market claim to be ionic. But little is known about the effect of this technology on drying. Does it dry more or better? How do ions affect my hair?

The air expelled by these hair dryers contains negative ions which come into contact with the positive ions of the water contained in the hair. “In this way, the hair dries faster, is less wet and avoids the appearance of frizz”, explains Rosas. It may also appear brighter and softer, depending on the ion capacity of the model.

Bought a new hair dryer and found yourself with more than one part that you don’t know what it’s for or what it means? It happened to us. Normally, the dryer comes with two or three heads, which are these interchangeable plastic parts that fit on the tip of the appliance. In fact, there are many other types, but they are intended for more specific and professional uses. In general, the devices provide two:

This is the classic head. It usually has a flat opening, “so you can direct the air to a specific area and the brushing can be done much more easily,” explains Denis Corales, stylist at Monsite. What happens if I don’t use a mouthpiece? “It will dry your hair normally,” he says, “but in a messier way.”

It is the circular element with points or legs, depending on its size, and which is put on the hair dryer to be used on curly hair. “We use it when we need to dry the curl but not take it apart because if you do it with a nozzle or nothing, when the curl dries it falls apart and looks ugly.”

“When you put the diffuser on, the air expands: it comes out through all these different areas and so it does it in a much smoother way, without as much power. That way the hair doesn’t stretch and the curl dries but does not warp,” adds Rosas.

All dryers list their power level, which is measured in watts. According to Denis Corales, a good model, able to dry hair well and last a long time, “should have 2,200 watts or more”. This guarantees a good engine that with continuous use (every day, sometimes more than once a day) “does not overheat and die”.

“Drying your hair every day, applying heat or any other hot tool to your hair, regardless of the temperature of the blow dryer, straightener or curling iron, is going to damage your hair,” says Corales. For this reason, he recommends whether or not to use a thermal protection product after showering and before drying. “They come in different formats: there are more liquid, spray, cream, serum. There are several brands and different prices. The idea is that you try the one you like the most and get it. ‘Always use hot tools first,’ he says.

For Yamila, an important maintenance habit, and one that must be done periodically to keep it in good condition, is to clean it from the back. “A lot of lint always accumulates and it is very important to clean it from time to time. If this is not done, the dryer will not vent properly, its internal components will overheat and some of them will eventually burn out. It’s very common for that to happen,” he said.

He also mentions that “almost all dryers have a rack at the back, which unscrews and can even be washed.” Regarding the storage of the device, it must be closed, not exposed to the humidity of the bathroom, “and that the cable is not stretched when screwing it” so that it is not damaged .

Another function that almost all current dryers also provide is cold air. If the idea is to dry your hair, what is the device that blows ice cream for? Many people use it in the summer when they want to maintain a hairstyle but aren’t ready to sweat or melt trying.

But the cold air has its reasons for being. So that the hair is not left out frizz, a trick they do at Divino Tesoro is to finish drying with a touch of cold air. “It’s widely used to finish blow-drying, to seal the cuticle of the hair strand and give the hair more shine, less frizz and more control,” she shares.

*Prices for products in this item are updated as of May 18, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.