Table Of Content
- Budget pick: InfinitiPro by Conair 1875-Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool
- Best for damaged hair: Conair Pro Style Bonnet Hair Dryer
- How we tested these hair dryers
- Best hair dryer for fine hair: Sutra Beauty BD Infrared Blow Dryer
- How we selected the best hair dryers
- How to shop for a hair dryer
- Does a good hair dryer make a difference?

With our top pick, for example, registering gets you a full extra year of coverage. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal. Sarah Han after using the Dyson hair dryer with smooth, frizz-free hair. According to the Transportation Security Administration, you can pack a hair dryer in both carry-on luggage and checked bags.
Budget pick: InfinitiPro by Conair 1875-Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool
For this piece, ELLE beauty assistant Tasha Nicole Smith consulted a hair professional and pored over dozens of customer reviews to find the six best blow dryers safe enough for fine hair. Metal elements ensure the hair dryer is more affordable but will cause more heat damage, while ceramic elements ensure the heat is more evenly distributed to diminish the damage. Finally, tourmaline elements release negative ions in the air flow, which speeds up evaporation of the water molecules reducing drying time but also make hair appear smoother. This blow dryer is pricey, but it’s also one of the fastest (if not the fastest) models we’ve reviewed. It’s also lighter, quieter, and with a longer power cable than the original, legendary GHD Air. While its speedy performance is the star of the show, not to mention the fact that it dries quickly without causing a frizzy mess, that speed can sometimes result in a little less volume and bounce.
Best for damaged hair: Conair Pro Style Bonnet Hair Dryer

For those who want to “take textured hair straight, you’ll need a concentrator attachment to smooth out strands and create shine,” says Giovanni Vaccaro, hairstylist and co-founder of the on-demand beauty service, GlamSquad. “I prefer a thin attachment that helps concentrate air on a smaller section.” The Pattern Blow Dryer comes with brush, wide tooth comb, diffuser, and concentrator nozzle and is great for curly hair. Compact yet effective, this blow dryer dried half of our fine hair in just a few minutes, without ever making us feel like we were frying our hair.
How we tested these hair dryers
Susie Geda, master stylist and co-Founder of Bibo Salon in Oakland, CA agrees. "It significantly reduces styling time, and its versatility is unmatched," Geda says. "I wholeheartedly recommend it, especially for my clients seeking an easier way to style their hair at home." This little hair dryer is small but mighty, featuring dual voltage and a foldable design perfect for traveling.
(That force is likely due to the fast-moving digital motor, which revs at 90,000 times per minute!). We found the position of the speed and heat buttons on the back of the dryer’s head less than ideal, and the cool-shot button is in an awkward spot at the very top of the handle. If you don’t change speeds and temperature a lot, though, the button locations might be a bonus, as they are hard to hit accidentally. Meanwhile, the cord has a small power bar near the plug, which itself is bulky. We found that on the top setting, most dryers blew air at about 40 mph as measured a couple of inches away from the nozzle.
How we selected the best hair dryers
This brush uses infrared heat and negative ion technology to reduce frizz and seal the hair cuticle for a sleek finish. It also has a blend of two kinds of bristles that are meant to provide extra volume to your roots. Don't be fooled by the simple look of this oval dryer brush by Conair. It comes with two attachments, but you can purchase up to six others separately. Since it's not too pricey or difficult to use, it's a great option for beginners. Keep the dryer moving to distribute the heat evenly and prevent overheating.
As part of this testing, we also found the best hot air brushes, and best hair dryers for fine hair. The pro-grade dryer comes with an ionizer switch at the top that lets you customize your blowout to your needs. All you have to do is simply press 'volume' or 'smoothing' and let the ionic blow dryer do its thing. I personally went for the smoothing option as my wavy hair was looking particularly unruly on the testing day. I'm happy to report that the smoothing option does exactly what it says it will — I was left with a sleek blowout, even on a humid summer day in New York City. One editor with wavy, thick and dry hair, who was accustomed to using the highest heat settings, found that this dryer didn’t cut down on her drying time as much as she would have liked.
With two streams of high speed airflow and three heat speed settings, this wet to dry styler delivers high shine results. A great alternative to popular multi-stylers on the market, Shark's iteration comes equipped with three attachments to offer a bevy of wet-to-dry styles and a frizz-free finish. In our research, we discovered hair dryers that use infrared light technology to dry hair are the least damaging. Cosmillo recommends one that’s light enough for you to maneuver to get through your whole blowout. “You can’t go wrong with ceramic — it’s the most ideal and high quality,” she says.
Does a good hair dryer make a difference?
This hair dryer is definitely a splurge — but we swear it's worth it. Our hair looked great when we finished plopping with the hand attachment. We had a few flyaways, but it was nothing compared to how it usually looks. All that said, the quality of the blowout rendered by the INFINITIPRO makes it the top choice on our list for those looking to bust frizz, whether in a straight blowout or a curly ‘do. It comes with a concentrator and a diffuser, too, making the process even easier. Sleekly designed with just two easy-to-use buttons, including an on/off button that slides up and down, and a second button for toggling between settings, the Instagrammably pretty tool has enough grip to hold it comfortably.
"It's the right size and doesn't look like a travel dryer until you fold the handle — I like that it could do double duty for home and away." To remove hair stuck in the bristles, Uribe recommends running a tail comb or brush over the dryer brush and separating the hair out of the tool. To deep clean the brush, Raziuddin suggests using a cloth or cotton pad with rubbing alcohol.
These Hair Dryers and Stylers Work Like Beyoncé's Dyson, Shoppers Say - PEOPLE
These Hair Dryers and Stylers Work Like Beyoncé's Dyson, Shoppers Say.
Posted: Sun, 28 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT [source]
I also weighed dryers and noted if they made my hand feel tired during use; I had just had a baby and was experiencing serious carpal tunnel symptoms, so I was extra sensitive to this factor. For a durability test, I also dropped each hair dryer on my porcelain sink to check how it held up to potential wear and tear. There were a few brands that I considered testing, but ultimately they weren’t a good fit. The Harry Josh Pro Dryer 2000 didn’t have enough distinguishing factors, aside from its gorgeous color, to recommend it. We decided that the Parlux Alyon, while recommended by all of our experts, is better suited to salon use rather than at home. It is, however, the only hair dryer we heard of that has a silencer attachment for completely noiseless styling.
To give your hair the TLC it deserves, you'll want one of the best hair dryers, but you might just be surprised by how many options there are. From ionic dryers to multi-stylers and brush dryers, there's a lot to choose from these days. However, I have to say that I reach for my Dyson Airwrap (which was not a sample by the way; I liked it enough to buy it) much more readily than I do this hair dryer. It has a dryer attachment that works just as well as the standalone hair dryer in addition to its curling attachments.
The Panasonic Nanoe gave us a voluminous and sleek blowout, thanks to its oscillating nozzle, which gently moves back and forth to distribute heat efficiently, dry hair fast, and prevent hot spots along the way. In our test, the oscillating nozzle did exactly what it claimed to do, dispersing heat evenly across our frizzy, wavy hair so that no single section of hair felt burnt no matter how long the heat was directed its way. We love a good multitasking product, and the Shark HyperAir Hair Dryer is certainly no exception to the rule; it’s an ideal choice for those seeking the best dryer-brush combo. Our fine, dense and wavy hair benefited from a 30-minute blowout, which left it smooth, without any noticeable flyaways.
However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Josephine Watson (@JosieWatson) is TechRadar's Managing Editor - Lifestyle. Josephine has previously written on a variety of topics, from pop culture to gaming and even the energy industry, joining TechRadar to support general site management.