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Unlike on other dryers, the cool-shot button is wide, so holding it down for several seconds isn’t uncomfortable. Shannon Palus reviewed hair dryers for Wirecutter from 2015 to 2017. Sarah Han after using the Dyson hair dryer with smooth, frizz-free hair. Aim the concentrator nozzle at the roots while lifting the hair and you'll see the boost. Found a damp spot but don't want to blow out the surrounding area? Use the concentrator nozzle to focus your drying to that one area.
Corded
At 1.3 pounds, however, it may feel heavy after you spend a couple of minutes holding it above your head. The 6-foot cord, though shorter than those on our other picks, is longer than those on most other inexpensive hair dryers. The buttons are easy to use, but the cool-shot button is a little small and harder to hold down than the cool-shot button on our top pick. The InfinitiPro comes with both a diffuser and a concentrator.
The 4 Best Hair Dryers of 2024 Reviews by Wirecutter - The New York Times
The 4 Best Hair Dryers of 2024 Reviews by Wirecutter.
Posted: Wed, 22 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Travel Hair Styling Tools
Although this dryer is just as fast as pricier models, it’s the heaviest of our traditional hair dryer picks, and its attachments can be hard to remove. Most hair dryers are effective at blowing hot air toward your head—sometimes quite fast—in order to speed along your hairstyling. It’s the small differences between models that can make a big difference overall, particularly with daily use. We always enlist a range of testers for any review, but hair-care products and tools are another story.
Get the Best Hair Dryer for Thick Hair and Natural Styles
Take advantage of the cool shot feature of your hair dryer by separating your tresses into chunks and giving each a shot from top to bottom while you style. If you've already completely dried and styled your hair, you can still get that top layer looking smooth by giving it a cooling once-over before you run out the door. The Bio Ionic 10X Ultralight Speed Dryer is a tad lighter (0.92 pounds) than our top pick and has a slightly longer cord. However, the dryer doesn’t have separate wind-speed and temperature-control settings (if you want hot air, it must also be fast). 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.

With your thicker strands, bad-hair days can be difficult to solve on the fly. Frizz, curls, kinks and bedhead disasters might take some work to resolve, especially if you don't want to start over with a shampoo and all-over restyle. Let's check out some hair dryer options that can save you time, won't harm your hair, and maybe get you back to the swimming pool. There are options galore for those with normal or thick hair.
What about the Revlon One-Step and other hair dryer brushes?
Keep tabs on the SpeedStyle, especially around big shopping moments, and you may be able to snag it at a budget-friendly price. She tested countless health and wellness products from 2016 to 2018. The Hot Tools Pro Artist White Gold Digital Salon Dryer, the Panasonic Nanoe EH-NA65, and the Panasonic Nanoe EH-NA67 were all slower, heavier, and more expensive than the Rusk W8less. The InfinitiPro typically comes with a concentrator and a diffuser. (Some colors, such as black, come with only the concentrator). Although these pieces snap onto the nozzle, they look as if they might screw on, which can be confusing at first.
13 Best Travel Hair Dryers of 2024, Tested by Experts - Good Housekeeping
13 Best Travel Hair Dryers of 2024, Tested by Experts.
Posted: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
How we picked and tested
Abergel noted that, for example, using a concentrator nozzle that precisely hits hard-to-reach areas is key to achieving salon-level results. "It concentrates the air and aids in directing the airflow exactly where you want it to go," Abergel previously explained. This concentrated airflow also helps the cuticle of the hair lay flat so that it will be shinier and less frizzy, according to Los Angeles-based hairstylist Kiki Heitkotter.
Upgrade pick: RevAir
It’s heavy, but you don’t have to hold it high like a conventional dryer. It has a 5.5-foot hose that attaches to a 9-inch heat-producing wand. At 2 pounds, the wand alone is heavier than any of our dryer picks.

One tester found that the heavier cord tired out her arms when she was drying the top of her head, though resting the power bar (which most dryers do not have) on the counter helped. The sound the Supersonic emits is a high-pitched whine, with none of the low rattle that other dryers put out. Whether this sound is more pleasant, as the company claims, is a matter of personal opinion, though. As with any dryer, the sound of whooshing air is physically impossible to eliminate.
Despite what magazine lists and advertisements would have you believe, most hair dryers are one-size-fits-all. No dryer will make your hair exceptionally more voluminous and glossy than another. What your hair looks like comes down to technique, products, and, in large part, its natural characteristics. After putting in over 20 hours of research and spending over 70 hours testing 42 hair dryers, we’ve found that some are far more pleasant to hold and use than others. Because it provides an excellent experience for the price, we think the Rusk W8less Professional 2000 Watt Dryer is the best choice. Unless you have all day, a head of thick hair needs a medium heat setting with an occasional short blast of high heat.
Compared with the Rusk W8less, the Amika Accomplice Compact Dryer (currently unavailable) is heavier, limited to a lower max temperature (215 °F), and double the price. However, its 9.5-foot cord ties with that of the GHD Helios for the second-longest cord among the dryers we’ve tried. If you have curly hair and prefer using a diffuser to dry it, you have to buy one separately (though it’s best to buy a hair dryer that comes with one). Customize the Settings6 total heat and speed combinations give you more freedom to create different styles for every hair type. Angela Trakoshis after using the Shark hair dryer and attachments with smooth, blown-out hair.