What you need to know about hair dryers
In this article, we tell you what to consider when choosing a hair dryer.
What do you want to do with the hair dryer?
Do you want to use the hair dryer only to dry your hair? Or do you want to use the hair dryer as a styling tool as well?
Do you want to use the hair dryer only to dry your hair?
A hair dryer with 2 heat settings and 1 blow dryer is enough to dry your hair. For fine, damaged, dry and/or chemically treated hair, you usually have a lower heat setting. Higher temperature heat setting than for normal and thick hair.
Do you also want to use the hair dryer for styling purposes?
Then you need multiple temperature settings, blower settings and/or attachments. Many professional hair dryers include such functions and accessories as standard.
Extra temperature settings and blower settings allow you to create a greater variety of hairstyles. For real delicate work, we recommend choosing a hair dryer with 3 heat settings and 2 blowing settings. This allows you to select 6 (2 x 3) positions.
Attachments allow you to blow dry certain hair types correctly. So you have (1) a blower head, (2) a diffuser and (3) a straightener (or straightener) as attachments. A blower nozzle is also called a condenser or nozzle. You have narrow caps for short hair and wide caps for long hair. A diffuser is a must if you want to dry curly hair nicely or for extra volume. The straightener lets you straighten even wavy or curly hair while blow drying!
The Cool Shot button lets you fix a hairstyle by suddenly stopping the blowing of hot air. How does this work? The spontaneous temperature change from warm to neutral (or cold) closes the cuticle of your hair, just like cold water, so the created shape is maintained. The fixation will stop after a while, so don’t forget to apply a foam booster to your hair beforehand.
Which hair types would you like to dry or style with a hair dryer?
When buying a hair dryer, it is recommended to pay attention to which hair types you want to blow dry. For example, is this one hair type or is there more? If you are planning to buy a hair dryer for your own use, you really only need to know your own hair type. If you plan to use the hair dryer for your business as a hairdresser or hairdresser, it is sufficient to be able to blow dry all hair types.
So how do you know which hair dryer is suitable for which hair type?
This depends on the following 3 factors:
Strength
Ion Technology
Ceramic Technology
The watt determines how hard and how hot the hair dryer can blow. The higher the wattage, the harder the hair dryer can blow and the higher the temperature the hair dryer can blow. However, thin hair dries faster than thick hair. Therefore, for fine hair, you can easily use a low-wattage hair dryer that does not blow hard and has a low temperature. For thick hair, it is best to use a high-voltage hair dryer that blows hard and also emits a higher temperature.
Ionic Technology is ideal for avoiding frizz and frizz. Negative ions are emitted during blow-drying. These turn the water droplets into microscopic water molecules that are then absorbed by your hair. This also seals your hair scales and leaves your hair wonderfully smooth. Also, closed hair cuticles help balance the moisture content in your hair. After all, moisture cannot escape, and bad moisture cannot enter from the outside.
Finally, we have Ceramic Technology. Ceramic has 2 benefits for your hair. On the one hand, ceramic has an anti-frizz effect when it comes into contact with your hair (like a hair straightener). On the other hand, it helps distribute heat evenly, so your hair gets the same amount of heat everywhere and you can style it responsibly.
Ceramic helps distribute heat evenly. This means that in hair dryers with ceramic technology, hot air comes out equally everywhere from the nozzle, diffuser or straightener. This is especially good for damaged or chemically treated (dyed or permanent) hair. These hair types don’t last long and even heat dissipation minimizes further damage.
What wattage hair dryer or what technology do you need according to your hair type?
You can use the following guidelines for this:
A blow dryer between 1200W and 1500W is sufficient to blow dry fine hair.
A blow dryer between 1300W and 1800W is sufficient for normal-thickness hair.
You need a hair dryer between 1600W and 2200W to blow dry thick hair.
It is best to choose Ionic Technology hair dryers to blow dry dry and frizzy hair.
It is best to use a Ceramic Technology hair dryer to blow dry damaged and chemically treated hair.
What are your hair dryer preferences?
The size of the hair dryer can be a factor to consider. Whether it’s because you want a small hair dryer for travel or because you want a large hair dryer with all the luxury functions possible.
Are you left handed or right handed?
The buttons of most hair dryers are located on the front of the handle. This can be uncomfortable for both left- and right-handed users; You can change the setting by pressing a button while blow-drying, or simply turn off the hair dryer. Therefore, there are also hair dryers, the controls of which are located near the handle. That means you’re less likely to press a button with your index or middle finger while blow drying.
Note: Are the buttons to the left of the handle? Then this is useful for right-handers, but not mandatory for left-handers. Is it to the right of the control handle? Then this is useful for left-handers, but not necessary for right-handers. So keep that in mind!
What is the ideal hair dryer weight?
Do you only use the hair dryer to dry your own hair? Then the weight might not really matter to you. But if you’re cutting and blow-drying your hair all day, weight can certainly be an important factor. After all, blow drying with a heavy hair dryer affects your wrist more than a light hair dryer. By the way, this is often the case: the more functions, the heavier.
Hair dryer sound
There are hair dryers that have a special motor, housing or insulation that makes the hair dryer quieter. They will never be completely silent, but the sound is much more muffled than hair dryers without this feature. Useful if you need to get up frequently at night and don’t want to wake others.
Hair dryer accessories
The purchase of your hair dryer may also include various accessories. Storage case for attachments (air nozzles, diffusers and straighteners), hair care products and even your hair dryer. So think about what accessories you need or want and make your choice accordingly.
There are special hair dryer holders that you can screw into the wall. Useful, for example, in the bathroom. But an easier way to hang your hair dryer is with a hanging loop. There is a kind of loop where the cable connects to the hair dryer. This ring allows you to hang your hair dryer on a hook. And these are already standard in many bathrooms and are often found in hairdressers’ work cars as well.
The non-slip edge ensures that your hair dryer does not slip after placing it on a shelf, table or trolley. You can tell this by the rubber caps on the side of the hair dryer.
What is a dual voltage hair dryer?
Do you often go abroad for a business trip, family visit or vacation? Note that voltages may be lower there. Most outlets deliver 220 to 240 volts. A hair dryer that requires at least 220 volts is therefore sufficient.
However, abroad there are usually sockets that give a maximum of 130 volts. Therefore, a hair dryer that requires at least 220 volts will not work here. Even if you plug it in, the fuses will blow.
So what if you are abroad often and want to dry your hair there? Then choose a dual voltage hair dryer. These hair dryers are for international use and work with both 110 volts and 220 volts, so you can use them abroad.
What is the advantage of a detachable filter?
How much you care for your hair dryer partly determines how long the hair dryer will last and gives you pleasure. The removable filter on the back of the hair dryer is essential for optimum care and ease of use.
The hair dryer draws air through the filter (and then blows it out the front). Here the sucked air is filtered from dust, for example, if the filter is turned off this will be at the expense of your use. So clean! It is therefore useful that the filter is removable. You can also remove any dust that may be inside the hair dryer from this side (but this will be minimal).
Do you need additional products for blow-drying?
You usually use the hair dryer in combination with other products. In particular, caps, hairbrushes and heat protectors are indispensable. Below you will find a brief overview of the additional products you may need to achieve the desired result:
Round brushes to give volume and curls to your hair while blow drying.
Winged brushes to straighten your hair while blow drying.
Heat protectants to protect your hair against the heat of the hair dryer.
