If you blow-dry your hair every day, buying a hairdryer is not a decision to be taken lightly. Make the right choice, and a good hairdryer can shave precious minutes off your morning routine, extend the life of a haircut by months – and more importantly help get your day off to a great start. Choose badly, however, and you run the risk of untameable frizz, or even irreversible heat damage.
If you’ve had your hair dryer for years, then it’s probably time for an upgrade. Modern dryers have made huge leaps in performance thanks to all manner of high-tech new features. You needn’t spend a fortune, though. When great hair dryers can be picked up for under £25, there’s no excuse not to treat yourself.
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1. BaByliss 2100 Elegance: The best budget hair dryer
Price when reviewed: £30
BaByliss has been synonymous with hair-styling since the 1960s, but its Elegance 2100 is packed with modern technology. BaByliss claim that the motor provides twice the air pressure of conventional hairdryers, and despite its low price the BaByliss 2100 Elegance also has a ceramic heating element to keep temperatures under control. The results speak for themselves: hair is dry in minutes and free from frizz or heat damage. If drying speed is top of your list, the 2100 Elegance fits the bill. It’s pleasingly light, which makes for ache-free drying of even the thickest hair, and a swivel cord makes tangled cables a thing of the past. The only downsides? At two metres, the cable is a little on the short side so having a power outlet right beside your mirror would be handy, and there are only two speed settings.
Key specs - Ceramic/Ionic, 2100W, 2m cable, 3 temperature and two speed settings, cold shot button, concentrator nozzle
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2. Panasonic EH-NA65-K Smooth and Shiny: The best hair dryer under £100
Price when reviewed: £55
The EH-NA65-K Smoothy and Shiny makes some fairly big promises with its name alone, but fortunately it delivers. Built in Nanoe (pronounced nano-e) technology claims to go one better than the usual ionic tech by jetting tinier, nano-sized water particles directly into your hair while drying. Marketing buzzwords aside, the effects are noticeable, with the EH-NA65-K adding shine while keeping grease to a minimum. Panasonic bundle a diffuser nozzle for curly hair, concentrator nozzle for smooth styling, and a quick-dry nozzle for those short on time – this is as generous a selection as any of the other hair dryers here. The body is a little bulky so you’re not going to be packing it into your carry-on any time soon, but it’s surprisingly light, very quiet, and the decent selection of temperature and speed settings mean that it’s an ideal choice for any hair type.
Key Specs – Ceramic/Nanoe, 2000W, 2.75m cable, 3 temperature and 3 speed settings, cold shot button, concentrator nozzle, diffuser nozzle, quick dry nozzle, 584g
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3. GHD Aura: The best hair dryer under £200
Price when reviewed: £145
The GHD Aura is the product of three years of painstaking research and design. GHD’s Laminair technology creates such a gentle, quiet breeze of air that you’re tricked into thinking nothing’s happening, but before you know it your hair is completely dry and unbelievably smooth. The ceramic element never gets too hot, which means you don’t need to worry about heat damage, and the ioniser makes for reliably frizz-free results. Unlike some cheaper hair dryers, the Aura’s ingenious Cool Wall technology means that the hot air is surrounded by a ring of cool air, letting you style right to the root without burning your scalp. The supremely comfy design and four metre cable round off a superb, high-end hair-drying package.
Key specs– Ceramic/Ionic, 1600W, 4m cable length, 3 temperature and 2 speed settings, cold shot button, concentrator nozzle, 570g
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4. Vidal Sassoon Salon Professional Detox: The best budget hair dryer for thick hair
Price when reviewed: £24
Despite its ridiculously low price, the Salon Professional Detox dryer comes with more attachments than some of its high-end counterparts – and it’s also equipped with the moisture-infusing ionic technology that you normally find on pricier models. Air is filtered through a titanium heating element to dry hair with as clean a blast as possible, while ions flow through to add shine and moisture. It is slightly noisier than some of the other products in this roundup, and it’s a touch weighty, too, so those with thick hair will get an arm workout into the bargain. The titanium heating element gets a little hotter than ceramic models, too, so those with thinner locks should look elsewhere. Still, if you’re happy to trade off a little in power and noise, and you just want something that gets the job done for a bargain price, and done well, then look no further.
Key Specs – Titanium/Ionic, 2000W, 1.8m cable, 3 temperature and 2 speed settings, cold shot button, concentrator nozzle, diffuser nozzle
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6. Dyson Supersonic: The best high-end hair dryer
Price when reviewed: £300
Dyson has made its name with exotically-engineered household gadgets such as vacuum cleaners, fans and desk lamps, but now it’s turning its attention to the hair dryer. The Supersonic is a radical re-imagining of the hair dryer – so much so, that it looks more like a space-age microphone than a hair-care gadget. Once you get used to the eerie bluntness of the head and the peculiar weight distribution (the powerful motor is hidden in the handle), you’ll be blown away (sorry!) by the magnetic concentrator and diffuser attachments, flexible speed and heat settings, and the smooth but textured finish of your rapidly dried hair. This is the ultimate combination of quietness, speed, and hair-drying finesse. The lengthy cable, non slip mat and beautifully crafted leather case help seal the deal.
Key Specs – Ionic, 1600W, 2.7m cable, 4 temperature and 3 speed settings, cold shot button, concentrator nozzle, diffuser nozzle, smoothing nozzle
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6. Parlux 3200 Compact: The hairdresser's choice since 1970
Price: £70
It’s easy to see why this Italian brand has been a firm favourite with professional stylists since its inception in the 1970s. The ceramic element and super-powerful motor deliver an astonishing amount of airflow, and this makes quick work of drying any type or style of hair. While the well-weighted body offers a high level of control, the only downside is that the controls can dig into your hands at times, and we found our arms aching a little at the end of longer sessions. That said, the sturdy build suggests that this is a hair-dryer that’ll outlast cheaper models – think of it as a long term, time saving investment in hair care. Word to the wise, though: those with fine, delicate hair should take care with using the highest of the four temperature settings, as it’s too much for anything but the thickest hair.
Key specs – Ceramic, 1900W, 4 temperature and 2 speed settings, cold shot button, 2 concentrator nozzles, 530g