In the market for a new blow-dryer? Deanna is reviewing four popular ones based off the factors she considers as a hair salon owner when deciding which blow-dryers to use in the salon to ensure your money is well spent:
-Weight and design: A lightweight dryer that is comfortable to hold is going to create a better experience (for you and your wrists!).
-Noise level: We love a soft, quiet noise, especially in a salon setting, where multiple are sometimes going at once.
-Power and time to dry: We are looking for a powerful dryer that will dry hair quickly.
-Diffuser efficacy: If a diffuser blows the hair around, it’s going to swell the hair and you’ll lose the cast in your curls, so my goal is to not move the hair very much during the diffuse.
The blow-dryers:
CHI® LAVA PRO Turbo Hair Dryer
Parlux 385 PowerLight®
Gamma+ Xcell
Dyson Supersonic r™ Professional
Let’s get started!
CHI® LAVA PRO Turbo Hair Dryer
-Weight and design: This is a cute dryer. When I hold it in my hands, I’m not sad about it. It’s very lightweight and sits well in my hand. It does have a very long cord, which is a bonus for the salon, but might not be ideal for at-home use—it’s a LOT of cord to fit into a bathroom drawer.
-Noise level: This one is very light in sound.
-Power and time to dry: While it has a strong airflow (and it gets hot!), this is a pretty slow-working dryer.
-Diffuser efficacy: The diffuser is a magnetic attachment. It blows the hair around pretty dramatically with the diffuser on, however, so if you’re looking for a blow-dryer to diffuse hair, I do not recommend it.
Overall thoughts: What this dryer does well is collapse the hair. What this means is if you struggle with your hair swelling during your blowouts, or if you like a smooth look without a lot of 90s-blowout bounce, and don’t mind it taking a little longer to dry your hair in the morning—maybe you like the relaxation of it—this would be a great dryer to use.
-Weight and design: This is a heavy dryer. I keep this one only as a backup in the salon for that reason—it’s just such a heavy dryer.
-Noise level: This dryer is quite loud. I actually had to purchase the quieting attachment separately because the noise level was too much, and it helps, but it is still pretty loud.
-Power and time to dry: Very powerful airflow, and it dries very quickly.
-Diffuser efficacy: Again, lots of movement with the diffuser in place, so this one is not going to work for naturally curly hair textures.
Overall thoughts: It does blow-dry very well, especially when used with the concentrator attachment, so a plus for drying the hair quickly. It also seems like a workhorse, and it’s not digital, so if you drop it, it’s not going to immediately break. It’s just very loud. It adds more bounce and movement, so it would work well for anyone who prefers a big, bouncy blowout, wants to do it quickly, and doesn’t care about the sound.
-Weight and design: It almost feels like a toy dryer; it’s so light. This one doesn’t weigh anything in my hands. It also holds really well, and it comes with a hook, which could make storage easier.
-Noise level: Very soft sound.
-Power and time to dry: It’s not strong, there’s very little heat, and it takes just a bit too long to dry the hair.
-Diffuser efficacy: Not tested.
Overall thoughts: I would not recommend this blow-dryer. The power of the air and the time it takes to dry do not make it worth the money for me.
Dyson Supersonic r™ Professional
-Weight and design: It weighs nothing. It’s very light. A few things I don’t love: If you have nails or wear rings, it’s going to leave marks on your blow-dryer (though they will rub off). It’s also slippery. We had to purchase grips to put around them to keep them from slipping out of our hands. Finally, they are a bit fragile in that they tend to break easily when dropped.
-Noise level: The Dyson is very quiet; I can talk normally when it’s on.
-Power and time to dry: This is a VERY powerful dryer. Easily the most powerful of all the driers that I tried. It dries quickly, it dries smoothly, and it keeps a bounce to it, all while being pretty easy to use.
-Diffuser efficacy: Full power of air coming out with absolutely NO hair movement. That is how well this diffuser works; it will dry the hair quickly without moving it or causing it to expand. It’s an excellent dryer for anyone who diffuses.
Overall thoughts: While there are a few design factors I don’t love, this is the best dryer I tested—the sound, weight, and power all check out, it works the best, and it has the best diffuser, so genuinely good for all hair types.
My order of recommendation is:
- Dyson Supersonic r™ Professional
- Parlux 385 PowerLight®
- CHI® LAVA PRO Turbo Hair Dryer
*Not featured but used at home by many stylists: Any hair dryer from the BaBylissPRO line.
Hope this helps!