Cool air on hair dryer not really that cool

[Arctic]

I agree, seperate speed and heat settings, and at least 3 of both. Proper cool button or setting, nice concentration nozzle and diffuser head, enough power, light weighted and small enough to take with me (my current one is rather big)... these are on my list of things I want from my new drier. Very often everything else seems fine but the diffuser is either lacking or is super small with long fingers (I want big bowl which would fit my head shape and has small fingers). And now this thread brought up this issue with cool button/setting not working as it should: one more thing to look out for. Would be good idea to read lot of reviews before buying, I think.

ETA: Yes I too have been perplexed about how difficult it is to find a new drier that would fit into my requirements, I don't think I'm asking too much.

ETA2: The funny thing is, that my current one is really cheap, "no known brand", and it's been super good drier! Other than it being slightly big and the diffuser attachment broke so, that it doesn't stay attached. It's also over 10 years old, and I read the heat element might not work properly on old driers. Also I'd like to have a bit more powerful dryer to speed up the drying time.

[Anje]

This is the dryer I've got, though I got mine at Walmart as one of the cheaper ones they had. It has low and high fan settings, though those are the same temperature. It also has a proper cool setting, which is accessed by a sliding switch, so you don't have to hold down a dumb button. "Cool" might be slightly above room temperature, but is certainly not hot enough to present any danger of harming hair.

[CastaDiva]

Mine is a Braun model. An old one. As long as you watch out for this you'll be all right when buying a dryer: separate heat & separate speed settings (with 2 to 3 settings each) and a cool shot button. And for me a diffuser attachment is key, but that might not be the case for everyone. I have my Braun one, a Babyliss one as back-up and one I got from Aldi (that actually had a diffuser) as a back-up to that. I think I've got enough blow dryers.

The BaByliss one that I purchased last week has 3 heat settings and 3 speed settings and a cool shot button. It has a thin concentrater nozzle and a diffuser and the ionic function. I also have an older Remington which is a great hair dryer, except for the cool shot button which doesn't produce cool air. But since the Babyliss doesn't seem to produce cool air either, it is a fair chance it will be returned.

[CastaDiva]

I agree, seperate speed and heat settings, and at least 3 of both. Proper cool button or setting, nice concentration nozzle and diffuser head, enough power, light weighted and small enough to take with me (my current one is rather big)... these are on my list of things I want from my new drier. Very often everything else seems fine but the diffuser is either lacking or is super small with long fingers (I want big bowl which would fit my head shape and has small fingers). And now this thread brought up this issue with cool button/setting not working as it should: one more thing to look out for. Would be good idea to read lot of reviews before buying, I think.

ETA: Yes I too have been perplexed about how difficult it is to find a new drier that would fit into my requirements, I don't think I'm asking too much.

ETA2: The funny thing is, that my current one is really cheap, "no known brand", and it's been super good drier! Other than it being slightly big and the diffuser attachment broke so, that it doesn't stay attached. It's also over 10 years old, and I read the heat element might not work properly on old driers. Also I'd like to have a bit more powerful dryer to speed up the drying time.

I don't think it is to much to ask that a dryer has the "right" functions. Also agree that a cheap dryer can be just as good as an expensive one.

This is the dryer I've got, though I got mine at Walmart as one of the cheaper ones they had. It has low and high fan settings, though those are the same temperature. It also has a proper cool setting, which is accessed by a sliding switch, so you don't have to hold down a dumb button. "Cool" might be slightly above room temperature, but is certainly not hot enough to present any danger of harming hair.

I want a dryer with a cool setting sliding switch. It's really annoying to have to keep holding the button down, and on top of that it doesn't even produce cool air! Slightly above room temperature would be fine. I only ask that the cool setting produces somewhat cooler air than the lowest heat/warm setting. I don't think that is asking to much!

[meteor]

CastaDiva, have you considered looking into a portable fan (with heater option)? This way you can set any temperature you want and put it at a good distance from hair, and it's easy on the arms, too.

ThE rule of thumb is, if you can hold your hand in the airstream comfortably for an extended amount of time, the air is just perfect for the hair.

Sorry for OT: I see this mentioned frequently on the LHC, and I've always wondered where it came from... Does anybody have any links to any studies on this that they could share please?
I guess what I don't understand is this: what do nerve endings under the surface of the skin have to do with determining what is or isn't damaging to hair keratin fiber?
What's the cutoff for non-damaging temperature for blow-drying at relatively close range?

[Arctic]

^ Well one thing about the not burning skin is this: scalp likely would benefit from cooler air. Many new members here see a lot of new growth after stopping blowdrying. I have always assumed it has to do with the temperatures on the scalp, but probably there are other factors, like not so gentle brushing too.

I think the hotness test Lapushka mentioned seems like a good memory jogger, something a jane doe can remember and aim at. A rule of thumb, like Lapushka said.

[meteor]

^ Of course, you don't want to burn the scalp, but even if you don't burn it, it doesn't mean that you aren't damaging your hair.
Obviously, the higher the heat, the closer the distance and the less the blow-dryer is moved around (to diffuse the heat stream), the more the cuticle damage. But the science geek in me wants to know the exact cut-off temperatures, or at least the range that would still fall in the "no-damage" zone.


So after a quick search online, here are a couple studies that mention degrees of heat damaging to hair:
In this study (Hair Shaft Damage from Heat and Drying Time of Hair Dryer by Lee et. al. Published in Ann Dermatol. 2011 Nov; 23(4): 455–462 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3229938/#B9) cuticle damage was shown on all blow-dried tresses, including drying with a hair dryer for 60 seconds at a distance of 15 cm at 47℃. See here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...938/figure/F2/ But of course, "the hair surfaces showed an overall tendency to become more damaged as the temperature increased, with the most severe surface damage produced after drying with the highest temperature (95℃)."

And here is more from an older study on blow drying (Gamez-Garcia M. The cracking of human hair cuticles by cyclical thermal stresses. J Cosmet Sci. 1998;49:141)
“In this figure it can be seen that temperatures lower than 50℃ do not increase the average number of cracks already present in unexposed hair, while temperatures higher than 95℃ lead rather to hair surface and bulk distortion. It is quite plausible, thus, that temperatures lower than 65℃ do not produce the critical rate of water evaporation needed for the top part of the cuticles to contract and become rigid, while temperatures higher than 85℃ might soften the cuticle proteins, releasing, thereby, the mechanical stresses by viscous flow.” - from p. 148 Journal of Cosmetic Science, http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1...141-p00153.pdf

[CastaDiva]

meteor, I have an oscillating stand fan, like this one http://www.amazon.com/Lasko-2521-Osc.../dp/B0014IDZOU that I use to cool me down during summer. It doesn't have an heater option, though, but I could probably put it near the fireplace. It blows quite profusely so it would probably blow my hair all over the place. But I could perhaps try it on the lowest setting and sit at a good distance?

[Arctic]

The problem with fans is the impossibility to travel with them. Also here, where it's cold for the most part of the year, fan would be very uncomfortable (unless it's blows heated air).


Those temps seem to support the rule of thumb, that if it doesn't burn your skin, it's relatively safe to use on hair.

[meteor]

meteor, I have an oscillating stand fan, like this one http://www.amazon.com/Lasko-2521-Osc.../dp/B0014IDZOU that I use to cool me down during summer. It doesn't have an heater option, though, but I could probably put it near the fireplace. It blows quite profusely so it would probably blow my hair all over the place. But I could perhaps try it on the lowest setting and sit at a good distance?

Looks great! I think it would help you speed up the blow-drying process. You could use it at a distance in summertime alone or in addition to a heater and/or blow-dryer when it's cold. Best hair-drying is ideally both fast and heat-free, so it's a bit of a trade-off in cold winter months, of course.