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View Full Version : I'm getting a hair dryer....



Hypnotica
December 26th, 2016, 02:14 AM
....and are wondering if I should look for anything specific?

For some reason it takes forever to air dry my hair these days. In the summertime, it is no biggie but during this wet winter it has started to drive me nuts.

Nique1202
December 26th, 2016, 04:47 AM
The cheapest hair dryer you can find with separate switches for heat and air speed should be fine. Usually if it has a switch just for heat levels the low or the middle setting will be non-damaging but warm enough not to make you feel cold. Some folks like a diffuser attachment or an air-focusing nozzle attachment but those are pretty standard with hair dryers these days anyway.

lapushka
December 26th, 2016, 04:48 AM
The cheapest hair dryer you can find with separate switches for heat and air speed should be fine. Usually if it has a switch just for heat levels the low or the middle setting will be non-damaging but warm enough not to make you feel cold. Some folks like a diffuser attachment or an air-focusing nozzle attachment but those are pretty standard with hair dryers these days anyway.

^^ This. It's what I always recommend. :) Also a cool shot button, and do get that diffuser head (because it will be handy at some point, even though you do not have wavy/curly texture).

I don't know about electric appliances in the US, but I not long ago got a blow dryer from Lidl and it short-circuited on us (the switches would "light up" and not in a normal "meant to be that way" way). We got that back to the store and I got my money back. Yes it was only €10 but NOT worth it. I got the same one from Aldi, and it is *fine*, also for €10. It is my ultimate back-up, as I have a Braun now, and a Babyliss diffuser one that is my main back-up.

I would at least go with a brand name, for safety reasons.

Johannah
December 26th, 2016, 04:51 AM
As said above, look for one with a heat setting so you can blow dry with cool air. :)

young&reckless
December 26th, 2016, 05:42 AM
I have been useing one like those discrives above and it's okay. However my friend has one that has ceramic and ionic technology that has lots of settings for different hair types that turns my hair into silk when I use it. I believe she has the Chi Touch 2. I did the no trim for a year challenge with the intent of buying one of these fancy driers as a reward, I can't wait for next week.

lapushka
December 26th, 2016, 06:04 AM
Mine has an ion setting too. I never notice a difference when flipping that switch to on/off. But I keep it on "on"... you never know. :lol:

Hypnotica
December 26th, 2016, 08:56 AM
Thanks for the advice. Money is no issue but I would prefer to stay below very expensive (I'm in Europe too).

Separate buttons for heat and speed, got it.

Vanilla
December 26th, 2016, 03:33 PM
I have a chi hair dryer with a narrow nozzle attachment. I mostly only blow dry my roots in the winter, and the nozzle attachment allows the air to be concentrated along the roots. I use my dryer rarely, and it's lasted me over 7 years. When I used to blow dry my hair regularly, I would break the super cheap ones within a year.

Anje
December 26th, 2016, 09:41 PM
Not that I used it much, but I looked for one that came with a diffuser attachment. My universal diffuser tended to slide off due to the shape of the nozzle on an old dryer I had, so getting one intended to fit was an improvement. My new dryer also has separate speed and temperature settings, including that it could be set to cool without holding down a button.

ETA: Not that you could use the model with US power settings, but this is the model I got myself, and I've generally been happy with it for occasional use. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000065DJY) My only complaint is that oily hands wiped all the labels off by the buttons!

Arctic
December 27th, 2016, 08:13 AM
Also look for a longer cord lengths, much easier to handle! I have had my new one for 1,5 years now and have been very happy. The name escapes me now but I have written a review about it here, if you look through the threads I started (there haven't been many so it should be easy to find).

Cattiva
December 27th, 2016, 07:46 PM
Well, from my experiences, not all hairdryers live up to their hype, nor are more expensive dryers better. However, hair type does matter when it comes to choosing the right dryer! I bought a not so cheap "nano titanium ionic" hair dryer thinking that it would make my hair like "silk" as per what so many reviews stated. It certainly did not make my hair soft, silky or smooth. My hair felt rough and flat, regardless of drying with my hair flipped over and using a round brush for that extra oomph. I had blamed my shampoo and conditioner, thinking it was just too heavy to allow any sort of volume and shine. After swapping around shampoo and conditioners and my routine as if it all were candy to no avail, I decided to try out my mom's old as Methuselah Revlon ceramic dryer. My gosh, my hair was so soft and had some miraculous volume!

Backing up a little, I have baby fine hair, prone to frizz in the humidity and lacks volume unless styled properly. I don't use any styling products aside from a bit of heat protectant...and any type of oil is evil according to my hair. With that said, after a bit of research, I found that "ionic" can and will do quite the opposite of what claims say for fine hair. Apparently ionic and/or titanium can dry out fine and/or oily hair too much which removes it's "texture and volume". Who knew?

Anyway, this is just a heads-up to actually research a little about hair dryers while keeping in mind your hair type. All those different and high tech settings or features may actually mean something to you! Or maybe a $20 hair dryer is what your hair wants too. I still ended up buying an Elchim Dress Code on sale (no regrets, have had it for over a year).

Kae612
December 27th, 2016, 07:57 PM
Following this! I've never owned a hair dryer, but my hair is now sometimes taking upwards of 2 days to dry and I'd like to have the option sometimes to just speed it up a little.

lapushka
December 28th, 2016, 07:41 AM
They had one in Lidl. Separate speed settings. Separate heat settings. Cool shot. Ion. Diffuser. Under 10 euro. I didn't go for it, told my mom to pass on it, as we had such a bad experience with a previous one... sucks though.