How To: Choose The Best Blow Dryer

When it comes to buying a blow dryer for your hair, does price tag automatically reflect quality? Most people assume that a more expensive blow dryer is better for your hair than cheap ones. This is one of the biggest myths when it comes to buying hair styling tools, but the reality is it is not always a guarantee. There are several factors that should come into your decision as to which blow dryer to buy to ensure that you can get salon quality hair.

There are basic guidelines for choosing the best blow dryer for your hair. Here are some of those guidelines to factor into your choice.

Heat Control and Speed Setting

Blow dryers should provide users with a wide range of heat control and speed setting. There are plenty of choices in the market so don’t settle for something that limits your styling options. This is also a critical factor to consider if you want to preserve your hair’s health and protect it from excessive damage from heat.

Blow drying your hair on a high heat and speed setting is not recommended because it can strip your hair of moisture. This might be good at the start to speed up the drying process but make sure to lower the heat and speed as you go on to help in shaping and adding volume. If you have super-sensitive hair, tweak your blow drying at a moderate pace.

Wattage

The wattage of a blow dryer is critical in determining the tool’s power as far as drying and heating is concerned. According to hair experts, the ideal wattage to look for in a blow dryer is 1750. But this varies depending on the natural texture of your hair. If you are not sure about the right wattage, seek the opinion of an expert hairstylist as to what is the right wattage for your hair styling needs.

Form of Heating

The source of heat on your blow dryer is something that you need to take into account when buying a blow dryer. Cheap hair dryers often use plastic or metal for heating. However, this might not be best for your hair since they tend to become very intense and produce uneven heating. As a result, it ends up boiling your hair and taking out all of the natural moisture. You do not want that for your hair.

Ceramic heating is considered as one of the best sources of heat so make sure to look for blow dryers that use them. Most high-end dryers use this type of heating element these days due to its high quality conduction of heat that allows the heat to penetrate into your hair shaft without damaging it. Hence, this is the same reasoning behind the popularity of ceramic flat irons and other styling tools that use this method of heating. Moreover, ceramic heating disperses heat evenly throughout your hair strands to speed up the drying process.

Type of Hair

Do you have a straight or curly hair? Is your hair damaged and dry? Or is it naturally shiny? Ask yourself these questions before buying a blow dryer because the answers can help determine the type of blow dryer to get.

Women with straight hair should go for blow dryers with more complex features designed to protect your hair strands from the heat and damage. Also, you might want to use a nozzle attachment to enhance the straightening process and make every stand seem more sleek. Meanwhile, curly haired women can go for blow dryers with a diffuser attachment. This will add moisture into every strand while maintaining its natural shine.

Weight

Blow dryers are used to styling the hair with one hand while the other hand combs every strand or using other tools at the same time. Hence, it is important to consider the weight of the blow dryer when buying, particularly for women who do their own blow drying at home. There are some blow dryers in the market that weigh less than a pound with some weighing only 13 ounces!

There is no such thing as the best hair dryer because it will vary from one person to another. No one knows your hair best than you. Take time to evaluate these factors, as well as your personal preferences, to invest in the right blow dryer for your hair.