The Best Hair Dryer and My Top Drying Tips
When choosing the best hair dryer, I am pretty selective. As all women know, the wrong hair products and devices can seriously damage your hair. Hair dryers can do some serious damage to your hair, even on low, since they use heat. A recent article from Medical News Today specifically lists blow-dryers as damaging to the hair shaft and explains that “using heat on the hair can damage the hair shafts and remove the moisture from the hair, which can cause brittle hair and hair breakage.”
Because I want to avoid damage to my hair, I limit my hair dryer usage and only dry my hair 3–4 times per week. I do this not only because I want to avoid stripping my hair of moisture by using a hot dryer, but also because shampooing too frequently can also damage your hair. Experts agree that shampooing daily just doesn’t make sense for most women (Birch, J.). In other words, on the days I’m not blow drying my hair, I’m not washing it either. A spray of dry shampoo is enough to keep my hair from looking oily on the days I don’t wash it in the shower.
All of this being said, I do use a hair dryer on the days I wash my hair. (I’ll share some blow drying tips later in this article.) I find walking around with wet hair to be uncomfortable — especially when temperatures drop during the winter! Plus, by using the best hair dryer, I am able to keep my long locks looking their best. Believe me, I’ve tried air drying, and it does not work for my hair type. If I don’t use a hair dryer, half of my hair is curly, and the other half is straight. I wouldn’t call that my favorite look!
Since the beginning of 2019, I’ve tried out a few different dryers, and I’ve even borrowed blow dryers from friends to test them out. I’ve also done my research to find the best dryer for my needs. Here are my thoughts on the most impressive dryers and the cheapest dryer that does its job very well.
Hair Dryers I Highly Recommend
The Dyson Supersonic
Wow. The Supersonic comes from Dyson, so you know that this is a high-quality appliance. The dryer has an impressive design and looks like the high-tech device it is. This hair dryer even measures the temperatures to ensure minimal heat damage, and it releases negative ions to help make hair appear sleeker. It is honestly just a dream dryer and was my favorite to use. Unfortunately, it is the most expensive dryer I tried — you get what you pay for. I borrowed my friend’s Supersonic and I definitely envy her now!
The BaByliss PRO Ceramix Xtreme
This is definitely one of the best products of its kind on the market, and it rivals the Dyson Supersonic in terms of its performance and design. It’s powerful enough to dry my long hair quickly, and it also features different heat and speed settings, meaning that I have better control over what happens to my hair. My hair was silky and smooth after using the BaByliss PRO Ceramix Xtreme, and I felt less concerned about potential heat damage because I used a lower setting.
The Infiniti Pro by Conair
If you want performance, hair protection, and value, this is the dryer for you. The Infiniti Pro uses tourmaline ceramic technology and infrared heat, meaning that it dries hair gently. Tourmaline has become a popular component of many blow dryers and straightening irons. It’s actually a semi-precious gemstone that is ground into a powder and then used to coat the device. When used in hair care devices, its negative ions help seal in moisture, which is incredibly important for hair health. Because of its features and affordability, I decided that this was the best dryer for me at this time.
No matter which dryer you choose, how you use it is very important. Even with the best dryer on the market, there are some mistakes you should avoid. If you have long hair like I do, it took you years to grow it. Yep, human hair grows at a rate of about 5 inches per year, and its growth is closely related to genetics (Castro, J.) Therefore, it’s crucial to pay attention to factors that you actually can control when you dry or style your hair.
My Drying “Secrets”
- Using a towel, gently squeeze as much water as you can from your hair before drying. Do NOT rub the towel against your head. This will cause hair breakage.
- Apply a heat protectant before you dry. If you have dry hair like me, you definitely want to choose one that is moisturizing as well. I use L’Oreal Total Repair 5 Protein Recharge Treatment, picture above.
- Clip your hair into 2–3 sections after parting it the “wrong” way (from side to side). If you have very short hair, you can forgo this step.
- Focus on one section of hair at a time and ensure that each is mostly dry before moving to another section. Your hair dryer should be set to a low temperature. In order to protect your hair, use a VERY wide tooth comb to manage your hair while it is wet.
- Turn your blow dryer’s cool setting on and use a brush on your hair as you finish drying your entire head. The cool temperature will help to seal your hair follicles and reduce frizz.
Sometimes, I dab a couple drops of essential oil, such as lavender or ylang ylang, onto the palm of my hand after I dry my hair. Then, I rub my palms together and smooth my hands over my tresses. The scent lasts a long time, and I always use essential oils instead of perfumes. Since perfumes contain drying alcohols, they are best left for skin or clothing!
If you are like me and you want to smooth your hair, the nozzle of the dryer should be pointed down while you dry. However, if you would like to add volume to your hair, flip your hair forward, facing the floor, as you dry.
As you dry, do not hold your blow dryer in one spot. Instead, move it around whichever section you are drying. Holding a dryer in one area for an extended amount of time can cause heat damage. To further protect your hair from heat, make sure that the nozzle of your dryer is a few inches from your hair; you should not put the nozzle directly against it.
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you are looking for the best hair dryer, it should come in handy about what to consider. Please feel free to share any hair care tips of your own in the comments section!
Sources
Birch, J. (n.d.). How often do I need to shampoo? Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/how-often-wash-hair#1.
Castro, J. (n.d.). How fast does hair grow? Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://www.livescience.com/42868-how-fast-does-hair-grow.html.
The Ez Buy (n.d.). Best Hair Dryer Reviews. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://theezbuy.com/best-hair-dryer-reviews-2019/
