Testing Devices: Which Hair Dryer Is the Best

As our readers asked, we’ve tested 4 samples of hair dryers by popular brands. Perhaps, it’ll help you to make your choice and, at last, find the perfect device for doing your hair.

Sometimes, when seeing a girl in the street with a beautiful hairdo we cannot help but wonder whether she has done it herself or if she has just come from her hairdresser. And if she did it herself, what kind of hair dryer does she use. Looking for an ideal image, we keep on trying to find an ideal hair dryer – to make, as if by magic, our hair look silky, healthy and beautiful.

Perhaps, this article will help you to make a decision about this purchase and, finally, to find the perfect device for hair styling.

Tested Sample — A Professional Hairdryer BaByliss 6615E PRO Intense (Price — USD $74.00.)

Specifications:

• Power — 2400 Watts;
• Ionisation;
• Number of speeds — 2;
• Number of temperature modes: 3;
• Cool air — yes;
• Number of concentrators — 2;
• Cord length — 2.7 m.

Opening the box. It’s enough to find out the information about the power of the hairdryer to understand that this one is a really professional device for hair drying and styling. The more the hair dryer’s power the sooner you’ll manage to tame rebellious or curly hair. The speed of the air stream of the BaByliss PRO Intense hairdryer goes up to 130 kph. There are 2 concentrators included. The smaller one is for straightening and the bigger one is for final styling.

Convenience. The BaByliss hairdryer is very compact and lightweight. The speed switch is on the handle, so it’s easy to change speeds without looking at it. Thanks to the compact size you won’t have trouble holding the hairdryer right at the round hairbrush. The cord length allows you to dry your hair even in the middle of the room. Due to its being compact, it is very convenient to take it with you while travelling.

Drawbacks. For straightening and styling you’ll have to buy a round hairbrush. After several times of using it I noticed that the hairbrush leaves scratches on the concentrator – plastic can be easily scratched, but, of course, this doesn’t effect the process of styling.

The results of styling. The result of styling is really impressive. My rebellious curly hair turned ideally straight, moreover, it took me only a few minutes. If you have such a hairdryer, you won’t need a hair iron. The effect of shining straight hair is guaranteed. For me this effect was quite impressive.

Time spent on styling: 7 minutes.

Tested Sample – Rotating Brush Rowenta Brush Active Compact CF9421 (Price -USD $42.00)

Specifications:

• Power – 1000 Watts;
• Number of speeds – 1;
• Number of temperature modes – 3;
• Cool air – yes;
• Number of concentrators – 2 ( d=30mm and d=50mm);
• Right / left rotation of the attachment;
• Cord length – 2,1 m.

Opening the box. The power of the Rowenta hairdryer is less than half of the previous sample, although it is enough to create a good style. The producer claims a higher productivity of the hairdryer with less power – and it is true. If being more particular about it, Rowenta has a special technology of air distribution that provides fast and careful drying. Two concentrators of different diameters are included – 30 mm and 50 mm. The smaller one is used to create volume at the hair-base and styling the fringe, and the bigger one is for the basic process of styling. I’ve tried both of them, but in the end, I stopped at the big one, it was convenient for me to use it in any case, so the small one remained in the box.

Convenience. When describing this rotating brush, I want to use the word “convenient” thousands of times. It is convenient because the attachments are made in the form of rotating round hairbrushes. It is convenient because the brushes rotate in both directions, so you can hold the dryer as you like, with any hand. It is convenient because there are cases for both of the brushes included: bristles won’t get damaged while storing. Blow-dryer is easy to hold: a firm grip and lightweight.

Drawbacks. You’ll need to get used to this hairdryer step by step, always thinking about what button you should press to enable the rotation. Otherwise, you risk losing all your hair. Sometimes it can get tangled in the brush meanwhile your finger is on the button. As a result, some hair pulled out and there were screams of pain.

The results of styling. I straightened each lock with the rotating brush, the rest of the hair I clipped. Depending on the direction of the rotation, you can create a lot of different stylings. The process of drying is easy. Wind your lock onto the brush and then enable the rotation function, wait.

Time spent on styling: 15 minutes.

The Tested Sample – Blow-dryer Philips HP 8280 (Price – USD $59.00)

Specifications:

• Power – 2300 Watts;
• Ionization – yes;
• Number of speeds – 3;
• Number of temperature modes – 3;
• Cool air – yes;
• PIR sensor MoistureProtect for defining the drying temperature;
• ThermoProtect technology to prevent hair from overheating;
• Cord length – 2,5 m.

Opening the box. ‘So beautiful’ with these words I began to examine the dryer and the packaging. It has a high power, so the styling must be fast and easy. I expected the air flow to be strong and hot, but it turned out to be not as strong and hot as I thought. The reason for this is the MoistureProtect technology used for defining the appropriate drying temperature. The temperature mode is chosen according to the hair type. This way the dryer takes care of your hair and keeps it from overheating. My hair must be too dry as the dryer, in my opinion, didn’t work with maximum performance.

Besides, the Philips has an unusual function, ThermoProtect, which provides additional protection for hair from overheating. The same excellent results can be achieved at the same level of power but in a more careful way. The manufacturer claims that the innovative sensor helps to save up to 85% of moisture (tests were performed after 5 minutes of drying). All this information I found in the manual, but it is very hard for me to evaluate the results. I can’t measure the moisture level on my hair, so I can’t prove this information about MoistureProtect anyhow. I kept on switching on and off the innovative functions of the hairdryer, but I failed to notice any changes in the styling process? Perhaps, self-suggestion could be of help.

Convenience. The fact that you have two attachments always at your hand is great. One is for straightening; the other is for creating a romantic ‘rumpled’ styling as if you have just been sleeping, but very beautifully. The diffusor-head can be attached to the dryer with the ability to rotate round its axis thus it makes the hair drying much easier.

Drawbacks. It is bulky. It can’t be called compact, it wouldn’t be convenient to take it with you. There are a lot of new functions that can’t be proved useful while using it at home.

The results of styling.  While using the diffusor-attachment I got a creative mess on my head. As my hair is wavy by nature, the mess-effect is even stronger. Besides, I used hairdressing. Neither it nor drying my hair with cool air could save my hair-do. An hour later, my magical curls fade away. There was no volume left, diffusor turned out to be no use.  Nevertheless, with the help of the concentrator and round hairbrush the straightened hair effect lasted much longer.

Time spent on styling: with the diffusor is 10 minutes, with the concentrator – 14 minutes.

Tested sample – Hairdryer Braun HD 785 Satin-Hair 7 SensoDryer (Price —  USD $58.00.)

Specifications:

• Power – 2000 Watts;
• Ionization – yes;
• Number of speeds – 2;
• Number of temperature modes – 4;
• Cool air – yes;
• IR heating system;
• Heating indicators;
• Removable protective filter;
• Cord length – 1,8 m.

Opening the box. The power of the hairdryer is high, so the expectations from the drying process are also high. There are two attachments included: a diffusor and a concentrator. The unusual shape of the dryer immediately attracts your attention. The handle is attached to the main body at the angle of more than 90 degrees where the nozzle is fitted. If a cool air mode is chosen, then the indicator on the body blinks with blue light, and if the air flow is hot, it blinks with red. The blowdryer is equipped with an integrated heat sensor, which provides temperature control. Moreover, there is an ionization function. In the manual, there is a very beautiful description of this process, it says that ions unveil each hair and rid it from static electricity, make locks glow.

Convenience. At first, I couldn’t understand how to hold the dryer. The handle seemed to be very uncomfortable. I thought that the process of drying would be complete torture. But then I got used to it. You can hold a hairdryer of such a shape in two ways: by the handle and the body. In both cases it is easy to press buttons with your thumb, not with your index finger. Neither the handle nor the body become heated while working that make drying very easy and comfortable. At the beginning of the styling the air was too hot ( I’ve nearly burnt my ears), so I pressed the button with ‘–’ sign on it a couple of times. The air got milder. Although, it isn’t clear, what temperature mode I chose, as there was no information shown about it anywhere. The choice of the temperature is based on your personal feelings. One more feature of the Braun dryer is a removable protective filter (this is the grill at the side of the dryer where the air is taken in). Everyone knows this filter gets easily blocked with dust. In case with the Braun hairdryer you can remove it and clean. Therefore, you can easily take care of your hairdryer too!

Drawbacks. I haven’t noticed any serious drawbacks. Although the width of the concentrator, in my opinion, is too small. A concentrator of a larger width would be more comfortable to use with a round hairbrush, grabbing a bigger lock. Additionally, it would be good to know what temperature mode is chosen. At the moment you can’t do it, you can just make the temperature lower or higher.

The result of styling. Using a diffusor I didn’t get such volume that I’d expected. But I did manage to create those romantic curls. The style held its shape, surprisingly, for a very long time, up to the next time I washed my hair. As for the concentrator, it managed to create impressive volume. With the help of the round hairbrush I straightened my hair, but the volume remained, my hair wasn’t fluffy at the base. All the styles were made in record short time in comparison to the previous tested samples.

Time spent on styling: with the diffusor is 9 minutes, with the concentrator – 9 minutes.

By the way. Diffusors of the Philips and Braun samples differ greatly. The Philips model has the so-called ‘fingers’ situated outside the attachement. Moreover, the air goes right through them, so they are empty inside. As for the Braun model, it has its ‘fingers’ inside the bowl, not outside of it, and the air flow goes not through them but through the holes around them. I guess, the manufactures of each model used their own experience and technologies in the developing of the diffusors. Although in practice, the Philips model seems to be better, in my opinion: the styling had more volume and was more ‘curly’.

Summing up. All the tested hairdryers turned out to be so different that I’ve made up my mind to have at least two of them for different purposes at home. BaByliss PRO Intense is very powerful, a real professional in the sphere of hair straightening. Rowenta Brush Activ isn’t very powerful, a compact model for unusual stylings on the road. Philips is a great hairdryer for domestic usage both for creating beautiful curls and for straitening hair. Braun Satin-Hair is a comfortable, functional, well thought out decision.

If you like smooth straight hair, you’d better choose a BaByliss. In no time with the attachment-concentrator you’ll get ideally straight hair. This hair dryer is a serious competitor to hair irons.

I had a strong desire to use a Rowenta all the time, every day. Firstly, you don’t have to work with your hands a lot. Just hold the dryer and your hair gets straightened in the desired direction. Disadvantages of using it are bent bristle of the brush and fluffy hair at the base.

I would recommend a Philips to those people who like new technologies. I’ve given this dryer the nickname ‘mysterious’. There are a lot of different interesting functions in it, according to the description, useful, but they can be hardly seen. This hairdryer is more versatile; with its help, you can either simply dry your hair or create romantic curls, or straighten your hair (if you have a round hairbrush).

Braun Satin-Hair  has all the chances to become your favorite one. It produces the impression of a reliable device. The possibility to clean the filter makes this dryer more durable. With its help, it’s very easy to create volume stylings in record short time. Fast switching from hot to cool air makes the process of styling fixation much easier.

Note. While testing all the dryers I washed my hair before styling them. Before drying it, I used a towel to drain my hair a little and applied styling foam. Using dryers with concentrators I styled my hair with a round hairbrush.

What do you usually pay attention to while choosing a hairdryer? Liked the article – share it with your friends via social networks!