This morning’s post is a combination post–10th Commandment meets Splurge or Save. I have owned all of these hair dryers, so I left a few comments about each below their photos.
Elected Official
Harry Josh Pro Tool Dryer ($250)
I’m always reticent to praise a pricey product on the blog because I know that for most people a $250 hair dryer is not even a consideration. But if you have tough-to-style hair, this dryer is your salvation. It’s lightning quick and powerful without getting so hot that it fries your hair.
A good friend has thick, curly hair and would rather spend money on twice-weekly blowouts than try to straighten out herself. She bought this blowdryer last month and hasn’t been to the salon since.
Hill Staffer
In my opinion, the only thing to say about this dryer is ‘meh’. However, if you have dry hair and you need to protect it from heat damage, this might be a good dryer for you. I noticed a lot less heat damage while I was using this dryer, I just wasn’t very impressed with the power.
Paid Intern
Conair Infiniti Cord-Keeper Dryer ($31)
This is my favorite low-price blowdryer. It’s fast. It’s powerful. But it is a bit loud.
Thanks for this, Belle! I’m in the market for a new blowdryer, and I’d like to spend no more than $75 or so. Does anyone have any additional recommendations? I have medium curly hair and am fairly inept at straightening it.
I have the Conair Infiniti and love it. Mine was about the same on Amazon (I don’t have the one with the cord-keeper) and it’s just as loud as any other hair dryer – that actually seems like an odd complaint to me. Of course hair dryers are noisy.
It’s noisier than the T3 and the Josh. And the reason that’s a problem is that I live next door to a Mom with two little kids who will beat down my door if she can hear so much as a peep in her apt. So every morning when I dried my hair with the Conair, there she was. No complaints with the other two.
That is horrible – I think that I’d complain to management that she was harassing me. Not being able to blowdry your hair in your own apartment without someone beating on your door is ridiculous. No hairdryer is THAT loud.
I’d love some recs too! Definitely don’t want to spend more than $75, and even that’s high. My hair isn’t too unruly, but I’m worried about damage. It dries pretty quickly and I don’t even need to section it off to get it moderately straight, but I do get frizzies. I’ve been using a Conair QuietStyle that I got eons ago, and would prefer to not blow out my eardrums while blowing out my hair.
Check out folica.com! They offer a $40 rebate when you purchase one of their hair dryers, plus they’re always having a 20% discount on something.
I have this one, it is unbelieveable, I LOVE IT, and I paid $100 for it after a discount and the recylce rebate: https://www.folica.com/reviews/tools/hair-dryers/sedu-revolution-pro-tourmaline-ionic-tgr-4000i-hair-dryer
I have two super solanos. I bought the first one in 2003 and paid $150. I broke a piece of it and sent it back to the factory. They fixed it for free. When I started splitting my time between two locations, I bought a second one. I think I paid $99. Best dryer ever.
Jumping onto r’s comment… I’m in the market for a new hair dryer and I use a diffuser to blow dry my curly hair. Does anyone have a good suggestion for blow dryers/diffusers for curly hair?
Best diffuser I’ve every used is the Conair cuff. It’s $10 or so and fits most dryers. I’ve also heard good things about this DevaCurl dryer. Google it, it’s interesting.
I am absolutely obsessed with all of the Deva Curl Products. Wholeheartedly recommend their shampoo and conditioner for curly hair. The styling products can be hit or miss but once you try the one that fits your hair you’ll never go back (I tried about 3 or 4 of their stylers over the course of two year before finding the one that worked for my hair).
I haven’t tried the blow dryer yet because it is really expensive but it’s on my wish list. If it’s out of price range for you definitely try to start drying your hair with a T-shirt or microfiber towel instead of a towel or a dryer that gets too hot. The gentler fabric is way better for your curls and you can seriously see the difference (most notably less frizz)
I swear by my Chi Pro hair dryer. It’s quiet and effective. Found it at TJ Max for around $70. Works best in combination with Chi Silk Infusion hair product.
I love my Sedu 4000i, which came highly recommended by my friend who works at Vogue. (Apologies, that was officially the most pretentious sentence I’ve ever written.)
Almost always on sale at Folica for around $140.
This is the same one I have! I am a huge fan of it and your pretentious comment makes me feel even better about having it
I’ve been searching with no success for a nice non-ionic hair dryer because ions make my fine hair almost furry and frizzy. I recently bought a Conair with an ion switch because I couldn’t find one in the $50-120 price range that was non-ionic. It seems silly to pay $250 for one with an ion switch when the reason it’s expensive is the ion technology.
Anyone have any suggestions?
I have been seriously tempted by the Harry Josh dryer just to see if it could possibly be better than my current favorite, Hana Air (no, I don’t just love it because we share a name). It’s light weight, super powerful, and not too noisy. I have a lot of long-ish,super curly but fine hair and I can do a salon-style blowout in under 20 min. I’ve owned Sedu and t3 dryers and neither hold a candle. In fact, I found the t3 incredibly disappointing.
If you want a super fab hair dryer and are willing to spend a little more, I seriously recommend!
https://www.misikko.com/hana-air-professional-hair-dryer.html
I can’t recommend the Rusk Speed Freak enough. It’s around $80 at Ulta. Kate from The Small Things Blog recommended it.
After spending almost 200 on a neo hair dryer I dropped it and it began to smoke. Into the trash. Just got the rusk speed freak. Using an online coupon at ulta I got it for $80. Very happy so far, does seem a little faster than my 2875 watt one
I meant 1875
I second the solano, I looked at what my hairdresser was using one time, back in ’01 or ’02, bought it and it’s still going strong.