In my years of reviewing beauty tech, it was upgrading my hair dryer that made the biggest difference to my routine. I used to dread hair-wash days: the chore of shampooing, conditioning and rinsing my hair, plus the time – and aching arms – spent getting it dry again. My clunky, bargain-bucket hair dryer of seven years was weighty, deafeningly loud, and took a painstaking 20 minutes to dry my hair.
So happier days really did arrive when I switched to a new model. My current hair dryer uses a lightweight digital motor that’s not only far quieter, but is also powerful enough to dry my hair in just five minutes. It seems modern hair dryers have stepped up their game.
Here, you’ll find the best hair dryers I’ve tested, from gentle options with diffusers for curly hair to ultra-fast models that shave significant time off your morning routine. You’ll also find expert hair-drying guidance from celebrity hairstylist Melissa Timperley. I’ve been reviewing beauty products for four years and have amassed a near-encyclopaedic knowledge of hair care.
I’ve attended countless styling masterclasses, interviewed hair stylists, and completed a cosmetic science course where I learned exactly how hair growth, styling and care work at a cellular level. I’ve tested and reviewed about 70 hair-styling tools – including hair dryers, curlers, hot brushes, wavers and straighteners – from big-name brands and newcomers alike. And perhaps most impressively, I’ve walked away with my hair healthy and intact.
Having researched the most popular brands and models, I put 22 hair dryers through their paces for this test. I also spoke to a hair stylist to find out what she looks for in a hair dryer, before cherrypicking the best 12 from my tests to include here. I used an anemometer to test each model’s maximum wind speed, which ranged from a measly 16 metres a second (m/s) to a mind-boggling 43.8m/s, and also a sound meter to measure noise levels from 15cm away.
Claims of “enhanced shine or smoothness” aren’t quantifiable, but I did use every hair dryer to complete the same task, noting how long it took to rough-dry hair and then to finish. I also tried my hand at using a round brush to achieve a smooth, bouncy blowout. While I’m no professional at this, it allowed me to make a judgment about how easy a hair dryer’s controls are to use, how precise and versatile its settings are, and comfort levels over the course of styling.
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