The Best Hair Dryers for Every Hair Type, According to Professional Hair Stylists
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We asked stylists for blowouts using 12 of the most popular hair dryers — here’s how they performed.
One might think that all hair dryers are created the same, but as soon as you get your hands on a professional-level hair dryer, you’ll quickly learn that that’s not the case—especially if you then find yourself staying at a hotel, where the only blow dryer option is a small relic of the ‘90s (you know what we’re talking about).
The reason some hair dryers are simply better than others boils down to the technology that powers them. Nowadays, negative ion generators, tourmaline technology, cool shot capabilities, and a variety of heat and speed settings make for not only faster, more efficient dry times, but healthier, smoother-looking hair overall.
Of course, not every hair dryer on the market is equipped with such benefits. With this in mind, we had 48 testers analyze 12 of the most popular hair dryers. Each dryer was tested by at least four different users with different hair types, not to mention by professional hair experts. All in all, we spent 560 hours taking note of key features, ease of use, drying performance, dryer aesthetics, and value. In doing so, we were able to whittle down our initial batch of blow dryers to the nine best hair dryers on the market. Find out what they are, below.
Best Hair Dryer Overall : Shark HyperAir Hair Dryer with IQ 2-in-1 Concentrator & Styling Brush
Why We Like It: It’s lightweight, has optimal button placement, just enough heat and power settings, and makes hair look soft and shiny post-use.
It’s Worth Noting: The nozzle is a bit bulky, which can make targeting roots a tad tricky.
The Shark HyperAir Hair Dryer is a TikTok sensation—not to mention our favorite hair dryer of 2023. The aesthetically pleasing, compact dryer comes with two attachments—a concentrator nozzle and a styling brush—and features an 8.2” cord, which makes it easier to maneuver (though, we admit that it would be an even better dryer if the cord was just a tad longer). On the dryer itself, you’ll find the heat and speed buttons nicely spaced out along the longer handle, which we thought made it even more convenient to use, as it reduced the risk of accidentally fumbling through settings mid-use.
The only thing we didn’t like about this well-made, efficient dryer is the concentrator nozzle, which is a bit bulkier than your typical nozzle. According to one of our pro stylists, the thicker nozzle makes it difficult to target the roots, but not impossible.
Despite that one shortcoming, we found this dryer to work well on straight, wavy, curly, and coily hair. Our hair looked so healthy and shiny after using this hair dryer. It was full of body and bounce, which we typically find difficult to achieve, especially on fine-yet-thick hair.
One more thing: While this dryer features three heat and speed settings, our pro stylists suggest not going past the second on each. On the heat side of things, you don’t want to over-expose your hair to extreme heat. In terms of air flow, they found that the highest setting was so powerful that it blew the hair around aggressively, which makes the process take a bit longer since you’ll have to wrangle your strands.
Price at time of publish: $230
Motor: 1680 watts | Attachments: IQ 2-in-1 Concentrator and IQ Styling Brush | Cord length: 8.2” | Heat settings: 3| Speed settings: 3 | Features: Negative ion generator and cold shot
Best Hair Dryer Overall, Runner-up: TYMO HighSpeed
Why We Like It: It’s sleek and lightweight and is designed to prevent heat damage.
It’s Worth Noting: It’s not the strongest or hottest dryer on the market, so it doesn’t work as well on thicker, coarser textures.
The Tymo HighSpeed is another TikTok sensation, with over 650 million views on the topic. The slim, high-tech hair dryer is incredibly quiet and conveniently compact, which makes it not only easy to wield but to pack, too, should you be looking for a dryer that works well on the go.
What sets this dryer apart—beyond its built-in LCD display—is that it’s designed to only go up to 210 degrees, which makes for a gentler drying experience. While we were slightly concerned that the lower heat setting would make for a less stellar dry, in reality, we found that the ionic-powered dryer worked well to quickly dry and smooth strands for a frizz-free, high-shine end result.
That said, we found that this dryer works best on fine-to-medium hair, as coarser, denser strands require a bit more heat to manage. While the dryer worked well during cooler weather, coarser-haired users may be (rightfully) concerned about performance on extra-humid days.
Beyond its drying performance, we love that this dryer comes with sturdy, magnetic attachments. Simply hover them in place and they’ll adhere effortlessly.
In terms of it being the runner-up, the biggest difference between the Tymo HighSpeed and Shark HyperAir Hair Dryer is the power it puts off. Where the Tymo only features 1200 watts, the Shark offers 1680 watts, making it the better choice for ultra-strong airflow.
Price at time of publish: $170
Motor: 1200 watts| Attachments: Diffuser, smoothing nozzle, styling concentrator | Cord length: 7’6” | Heat settings: 4 | Speed settings: 3 | Features: Ionic generator, LCD display, auto-cleansing feature, and cool shot
Shape / Jhett Thompson
Best Hair Dryer Under $50: Revlon Airflow Control Dryer
Why We Like It: It has a unique wide, rotating nozzle for easy drying.
It’s Worth Noting: It has a short cord.
The Revlon Airflow Control Dryer is a small but mighty hair tool that stands out for its dual-position concentrator, which lets you rotate the nozzle for convenient drying in any position. Another aspect of the nozzle that we love is how wide it is—it makes drying hair a cinch. Beyond its unique nozzle, this dryer is designed with ceramic tourmaline technology to tame frizz and boost shine, along with three heat and two speed settings to customize the overall experience.
In comparison to other hair dryers on the market, the Revlon Airflower Control Dryer is notably compact, which makes it great for small bathrooms and travel alike. That said, along with its compact size comes a short 6’ cord, which our stylists don’t love since it requires moving around to accommodate wherever the cord is plugged in.
While we’d love to see a longer cord on this dryer, for the price point, we’re fans of how easy this dryer is to use, as well as how it performs overall. It fits comfortably in the hand and is easy to switch between settings.
One word to the wise: This dryer comes with a diffuser but if you don’t lock it in place, it will fall off mid-dry, so make sure to take the extra step before you begin.
Price at time of publish: $50
Motor: 1875 watts| Attachments: Diffuser | Cord length: 6’ | Heat settings: 3 | Speed settings: 2 | Features: Rotating airflow concentrator, tourmaline technology, cool shot
Shape / Jhett Thompson
Best Splurge: Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer
Why We Like It: It’s quiet, powerful, designed to prevent heat damage, and comes with a bunch of attachments.
It’s Worth Noting: It’s definitely an investment—and requires hairspray or styling spray to set the style.
The Dyson SuperSonic Hair Dryer is the crème de la crème of hair dryers. It’s found in virtually every pro stylist’s kit, and for good reason. The sleek dryer comes with five magnetic styling attachments and is designed with intelligent heat control that measures airflow temperatures throughout use to prevent heat damage. Thanks to its intuitive, high-tech nature, we found that it works well on all hair types, including type 4 coils.
What really sets this dryer apart—beyond its bounty of attachments—is its superior dry time. We found that it takes less than 10 minutes on types 1, 2, and 3 hair, and it only takes 15 to 20 minutes on type 4 hair, which one editor claimed is the fastest dry time she’s ever experienced. Another high point of this dryer? The low sound output. While it definitely generates noise, we found that it’s much quieter than every other dryer we tested.
The one downside of this dryer is that we found the styles don’t last super long without hairspray or another styling spray. So if you’re using this dryer specifically to perfectly straighten your hair or add curl to the ends, it will require some sort of styling additive to last all day long. (Though that’s often the case with dryers—some shoppers simply expect that such an expensive tool would be able to deliver long-lasting style all on its own.)
Price at time of publish: $330
Motor: 1600 watts | Attachments: Diffuser, styling concentrator, gentle air attachment, flyaway attachment, wide-tooth comb attachment | Cord length: 9’ | Heat settings: 4 | Speed settings: 3 | Features: Cool shot, negative ion generator, Dyson digital motor V9 combined with Air Multiplier technology
Best for Straight Hair: CHI LAVA PRO Hair Dryer
Why We Like It: It has an LCD display for easy temperature and speed control, as well as a reverse auto-cleaning function to keep it in working condition.
It’s Worth Noting: The heat and airflow isn’t super strong, which makes it less idea for curly hair types.
If you have straight hair, we found the CHI LAVA PRO Hair Dryer to be the best hair dryer. The low-noise, high-tech dryer puts off steady heat and airflow that makes drying a breeze.
One of its key highlights is its cool air setting. Where many dryers have a cool shot button to lock in a style, the CHI LAVE PRO Hair Dryer features a locked-in cool air setting so that you don’t have to keep your finger pressed on a button throughout use.
Another pro of this dryer is the assortment of magnetic attachments it comes with. Equipped with a concentrator nozzle, smoothing nozzle, and diffuser, this dryer is raring to go for a variety of hair types. Though, as we mentioned, we found that it works best on straight hair. We think that’s because the airflow and heat, while steady, isn’t the strongest, and coarser, curlier textures require higher output to really lock-in a style.
Price at time of publish: $338
Motor: 1200 watts | Attachments: Diffuser, precision concentrator, and smoothing nozzle | Cord length: 11’ | Heat settings: 4 | Speed settings: 3 | Features: LCD temperature display, cool shot, and cool air setting
Shape / Jhett Thompson
Best for Curly/Kinky Hair: GAMA Professional IQ2 Perfetto Hair Dryer
Why We Like It: It’s lightweight, easy to use, and efficient at drying.
It’s Worth Noting: The dryer is louder than we expected.
The IQ2 Perfetto Hair Dryer by Gama Professional is an ergonomic hair dryer touting a sleek design. The cylindrical dryer is sold in pink and black and comes with magnetic attachments to style hair with ease.
Of all the dryers we tested, it’s one of the more high-tech options. It comes with a Smart Pad, which is designed for quick pauses in styling. Say you’re drying your hair but need to reposition some of your curls before continuing; simply lay the dryer on the mat (without messing with your settings or the power button) and it will automatically go into standby mode. Then, when you pick it up, it will go right back to the settings you last used it at. This feature is meant to help users cut down on drying time overall, as it simplifies the process.
Another notable feature of this hair dryer is its auto-clean feature, which ensures debris is removed from the device. While it may seem superfluous, it’s a design feature that ensures your dryer will never smoke or smell like burning hair, the way many old-school dryers can when used with debris clogging their fans.
Features aside, this dryer delivers exceptional results. We found that it expedited drying time to the point that it took under 15 minutes to diffuse and set curls—a welcome surprise. Truly, our curls looked immaculate after using this hair dryer—it came out much better than what we could achieve with a run-of-the-mill drugstore buy. Specifically, it made our coils and curls look extremely well-defined with a lot of bounce and volume.
Thanks to the stellar performance of this dryer, we concluded that while the price is steep—and although the dryer is louder than we expected—it’s well worth it for stunning at-home diffusions and blow-outs on coils and curls.
Price at time of publish: $426
Motor: 1700 watts | Attachments: Star nozzle, professional nozzle, diffuser | Cord length: 9.9” | Heat settings: 3 | Speed settings: 3 | Features: Microperforated mesh filter, auto-clean feature, and cool shot
Best for Beginners: T3 Featherweight Stylemax
Why We Like It: It’s compact, comes with a variety of attachments, features a hair-smoothing ion generator, and is specifically designed to volumize strands.
It’s Worth Noting: It’s not the fastest dryer and the attachments take some muscling.
The T3 StyleMax is a particularly unique hair dryer since it’s designed to auto-customize heat and speed settings to your hair texture and styling goals. Because of this feature—paired with the variety of attachments it comes with and its smoothing ion generator—we found this chic white and rose gold dryer to be the best option for beginners, particularly those with type 1 hair.
While we love how easy this dryer is to use, we did find that the airflow isn’t the strongest, which made the drying process take a bit longer overall. Additionally, the attachments are a bit tricky to put on and remove—however, once in place, they do seem very secure.
All in all, considering the aesthetics of this dryer, what comes in the box, and the fool-proof styling features, it remains a fabulous choice for beginners.
Price at time of publish: $200
Motor: 1875 watts | Attachments: Drying concentrator, styling concentrator, diffuser, smoothing comb | Cord length: 9’ | Heat settings: 5 | Speed settings: 3 | Features: Ion generator, cool shot, volume boost switch, customizable heat and speed settings
Shape / Jhett Thompson
Best for Travel: T3 Afar Travel Dryer
Why We Like It: It’s a full-size dryer that folds down for easy packing—and it features abroad-friendly dual voltage.
It’s Worth Noting: It’s not the most powerful dryer, so it’s best reserved for straight and wavy hair types.
Whether you’re traveling across the country or headed abroad, the T3 AFAR Travel Hair Dryer is a must. While most dryers are the wrong voltage to use outside of the U.S., the T3 AFAR Travel Hair Dryer is designed with auto-dual voltage, so you can use it with ease wherever you are.
Another thing that sets the T3 AFAR Travel Hair Dryer apart is its size. The full-size dryer features a folding handle so that it’s easy to pack without cutting back on performance. What’s more, it even comes with a cute little pink pouch for safe storage.
Logistically, this dryer is built with an ion generator and limited heat and speed settings, giving it a no-fuss approach to on-the-go drying, while still ensuring that hair looks smooth and shiny far from home.
Just keep in mind that since this dryer only has three heat and two speed settings, it’s not the most tailorable, nor is it the strongest SKU on the market. Because of this, we found that it’s best reserved for those with straight or wavy hair, as thicker, curlier tresses may require more power to adequately style.
Price at time of publish: $180
Motor: 1500 watts | Attachments: Concentrator | Cord length: 9’ | Heat settings: 3 | Speed settings: 2 | Features: Ion generator, dual voltage for abroad, folding handle, cool shot
Shape / Jhett Thompson
Best Professional-Grade Tool: Olivia Garden High Performance Professional Hair Dryer
Why We Like It: It’s super powerful and works quickly to dry strands.
It’s Worth Noting: It only comes with two basic attachments.
While many professional stylists rely on the Dyson SuperSonic in their kit, we determined–with the help of our pro stylists—that the Olivia Garden High Performance Professional Hair Dryer is the best option when it comes to a pro-grade tool. The sleek-yet-powerful dryer features a smoothing ionic generator, super powerful airflow for quick drying, a unique lock button so that you can conveniently lock your settings while in use, as well as an overall easy-to-wield silhouette.
One note regarding the lock feature: While it’s a great add-on to ensure you don’t accidentally change your settings mid-use, if you adjust them, you’ll have to turn the dryer off, flip the device around and recalibrate the settings before going back to drying.
When we put this dryer to the test, we found that our hair looked sleek, not frizzy. It was silky and smooth, and it looked healthier than ever.
As impressed as we are with the drying results, it’s worth mentioning that this dryer isn’t the most impressive in terms of attachments. It comes with a simple concentrator nozzle and a traditional diffuser, but that’s it. That said, the attachments are easy to snap on and work well to control the direction of airflow. When it comes time to snap them off, though, it may require a bit more muscle, as they really latch on.
Price at time of publish: $300
Motor: 1875 watts | Attachments: Concentrator and diffuser | Cord length: 9’ | Heat settings: 3 | Speed settings: 3 | Features: Ion generator, cool shot, setting lock button, self-cleaning feature
Shape / Jhett Thompson
How We Selected
To determine the best hair dryers of 2023, we started by researching the most popular dryers on the market. We came up with 12 dryers worthy of testing. We then spent weeks evaluating each dryer in five key areas: ease of use, features, drying performance, overall look, and value. We didn’t just test each dryer on one person, though. Instead, we had 48 testers and two expert stylists review the units, ensuring that each dryer was tested by at least four different users with different hair types. In total, we spent 560 hours conducting our testing. In the end, we landed on nine stellar hair dryers.
What to Know About Hair Dryers
Wattage
The wattage of your hair dryer determines how powerful it is. If you have curly, kinky hair, a higher wattage is often necessary. That said, it’s important to be mindful of your wattage if you’re buying a dryer for travel, as different countries have different wattage standards, which could potentially render your dryer useless abroad.
Cord Length
While six feet may seem pretty long for a hair dryer cord, it’s actually quite short. In general, pro stylists recommend a cord that measures at least eight feet long (preferably nine) for maximum convenience while styling.
Bonus Features
Features that make a hair dryer stand out include smoothing tourmaline and ionic technologies, cool shot buttons to lock in smooth styles, folding handles and dual-wattage for travel units, and more. When picking a hair dryer, you want to consider how and when you plan to use it. If your goal is to fully style your strands with the dryer, look for a device with multiple attachments; if you hope to travel with it, make sure it packs easily; if you want to smooth your strands, prioritize dryers with ionic and tourmaline technology; if you want to maintain kinks and curls, opt for dryers with diffusers.
Pro Tip
“Ionic technology eliminates static and makes hair super shiny,” says Clariss Rubenstein, Hairstylist and R+Co Collective Member, noting that it’s particularly beneficial for diffusing curls. “It also speeds up drying time—less heat time equals less frizz.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How to use a hair dryer diffuser?
As a refresher, diffusers are hair dryer attachments designed to disperse airflow.
“They reduce the intensity of heat on your hair and are particularly useful for those with curly or wavy hair, as it helps to enhance and define the natural texture while minimizing frizz,” says Franck Izquierdo, co-founder of IGK Hair Care.
For best results with a diffuser, Shiva Tavakoli, Founder of JOON Haircare, says to apply leave-in conditioner, oil, curl cream, and/or heat protectant and allow hair to dry 75 percent of the way. Then, pop on your diffuser attachment and get to work.
“Flip your head over and apply the diffuser to the roots,” she says. “Use the low heat and low-pressure setting on your dryer to create longer-lasting, frizz-free curls. The roots take the longest to dry, and sometimes you will be tempted to turn up the heat or pressure, but be patient! The most beautiful curls require time to form.”
And whatever you do, try to let the diffuser do all the work. “Touching your hair at any point throughout the diffusing process will make it frizzy,” Tavakoli warns. “As difficult as it can be to leave your hair alone, it's best to not touch it until it is fully dry. And even then, try not to touch it unless your hair feels crunchy or hard, and then only to slightly break apart the curls.”
Do you need heat protectant to blow dry your hair?
Even when using top-rated hair dryers—including those specifically designed to prevent heat damage—it’s important to use a heat protectant on your strands. “Heat protectant products are essential when blow-drying your hair because they create a barrier between your hair strands and the high heat from the dryer,” Izquierdo says. “Blow-drying exposes your hair to direct heat, which can cause damage, such as dryness, breakage, and split ends.”
Is a hair dryer bad for your hair?
Not if you use it as intended. “Blow drying your hair isn’t bad if you know how to properly do it,” says Marissa Marino, Hairstylist and R+Co Collective Member. “First, make sure your heat settings aren’t too high. Most hair dryers’ highest heat settings should not be used. For example, if a hair dryer has 3 heat settings, use the middle setting. Second, use a heat protectant.”
Should you consider your hair type when picking out a hair dryer?
Hair types are broken down into four categories. Type one is straight, type two is wavy, type three is curly, and type four is coily. Generally speaking, the higher you are on the hair type chart, the coarser your hair may be. This is important to know because thick, coarse hair typically requires more heat and power to adequately style. With this in mind, if you have curly or coily hair, you’ll want to choose a hair dryer with higher wattage and heat settings. If you have straight or wavy hair, you can typically get by with anything.
Why Trust Shape
Rebecca Norris is a freelance writer who has covered beauty for the past 10 years. For this story, she read reviews and evaluated in-house testing insights. She then spoke with four hairstylists about what makes a high-quality hair dryer and how to use hair dryers for best results. She presents the best hair dryers of 2023.
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