Warning: Don't spend $80 on that fancy ionic hair dryer until you try a cheap one first

I always thought expensive dryers were the secret to smooth blowouts. Then my $80 Babyliss crapped out after 6 months and I grabbed a $30 conair from the drugstore in a panic. Honestly my hair dried just as fast and didn't feel any more fried. Anyone else had the same thing happen with a pricey tool?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane17010d ago

hang on, gotta disagree hard here. i had a $30 conair that literally melted the housing near the nozzle after a few months of daily use. cheap dryers often lack the thermal controls to protect against overheating, especially if you're like me and have thick hair that takes forever. the ionic babyliss i finally caved on has a ceramic tourmaline coating that dries way faster without needing max heat every time, and my hair hasn't snapped off at the ends like it used to. my cheap conair also had a really weak motor that took forever to dry even fine hair when my sister tried it. sometimes you get lucky with a cheap one but the build quality and heat distribution just aren't the same across the board.

the_daniel10d ago

Ugh, is your hair really snapping off at the ends? That sounds dramatic. Maybe it was just time for a trim anyway. I get that a melted housing is bad, but you had to have really been pushing that thing to its limit. My cheapo Conair has been fine for years, it just takes a few extra minutes. Honestly, I think people overthink hair dryers. It's hot air blowing on your head, not brain surgery.

blake_kelly1910d ago

Yeah I gotta back up @shane170 on this one. I actually read somewhere that the thermal cutoff in cheap dryers can fail way easier than people realize, especially if you're using them daily. It's not just about "hot air blowing on your head" like the OP says - the heat distribution and motor quality make a HUGE difference over time. My wife had a cheap one that started smelling like burnt plastic after a few months and we had to toss it before it actually caught fire. So no, you're not overthinking it when you want a dryer that won't literally melt on you.