Best hair dryers for sleek styles and bouncy blow dries

All the hair dryers that deliver shiny, speedy and smooth results

best-hair-dryer

by Hannah Mellin |
Updated on

The best hair dryers are the ones that suit your hair type and your lifestyle, and once you find one that fits, you'll be ready to style your hair with ease for years to come. It's one of the best hair tools that you can have in your haircare kit and some would even argue that it is the only tool you need to style your hair. No matter what your length, style, or colour, there’s a hair dryer out there for everyone.

We all know that excessive heat damage from hair dryers, hair straighteners, and hair curlers can lead to damaged hair, but hair dryers have come on in leaps and bounds over the years, with brands improving the power of the tools so it takes less time to style your hair. They have even perfected Cool Shot technology that effectively dries your hair with no heat whatsoever and there are even hair dryers out there that adapt to the condition of your hair whilst styling your hair. So clever, right?

Best hair dryers at a glance:

• Best overall: ghd Helios Hair Dryer - Buy now on Amazon UK
• Best for fine hair: Remington PROluxe You Adaptive Hair Dryer with Diffuser - Buy now on Argos
• Best for curly hair: BaByliss Hydro-Fusion Hair Dryer, Blue - Buy now on John Lewis

Hair dryers also do so much more than just dry your hair in a flash, they help enhance volume, revitalize limp ends, and will hold your hand whilst you try to achieve the perfect salon-quality blow dry in the comfort of your own home.

If you want hair to rival the likes of Kate Middleton but are a little overwhelmed with all the choices out there, we've narrowed down a list of the best hair dryers on the market right now and have answered any hair-related questions you might have.

Best hair dryers

Best overall hair dryer

ghd Helios Hair Dryer 

Rrp: £179.00

Price: £179.00
Alternative retailers
NET-A-PORTER£179.00View offer
Harvey Nichols & Co Ltd£179.00View offer
JD Williams£179.99View offer

Description

ghd hair tools remain popular for so many reasons and the ghd Helois hair dryer has been made to

Pros

  • Versatile
  • Salon quality
  • Very powerful

Cons

  • Some found it a little heavy

Best all-rounder hair dryer

Description

This smart, gold-trimmed Italian number looked good, coming with its own bag and accessories, but

Pros

  • Ergonomic design
  • Intelligent heat control
  • Four attachments included

Cons

  • Found to be quite heavy to use

Best hair dryer for curly hair

Description

Drying naturally curly hair can seem like a tedious task, but the BaByliss Hydro-Fusion Hair Dryer

Pros

  • Light to hold
  • Stylish
  • Loads of rave reviews about the diffuser

Cons

  • Some reviewers say they would like a longer cable length

Best lightweight hair dryer

Description

Hairdryers can be heavy and hard to constantly hold when you have weak wrists or arthritis. This

Pros

  • Ultra lightweight
  • Powerful

Cons

  • Magnetic attachments fall off easily if knocked

Best hair dryer for fine hair

Description

Remington's PROluxe Intelligent StyleAdapt Technology learns and adapts the heat it generates to

Pros

  • Adapts to your hair type
  • Cool function at a touch of a button
  • Dries hair quickly

Cons

  • Heavy

Best hair dryer brush

Description

If you're looking for the [best hair dryer

Pros

  • Great value for what you get
  • Able to achieve the blow dry look at home

Cons

  • Not great for thick hair

Best hair dryer for attachments

Description

If you're willing to splash out a bit more cash to get something that is guaranteed to be

Pros

  • Dries hair quicker than standard hair dryers
  • Stylish and lightweight design

Cons

  • You will need to find storage for all the pieces it comes with

Best multi-use hair dryer

Description

Compact, ultra-lightweight, and comfortable to use, the Shark FlexStyle 5-in-1 Air Styler and Hair

Pros

  • Five attachments for different styles
  • Brushes have actual bristles on them
  • Very lightweight

Cons

  • Certain attachments work better on certain hair types and lengths

Best value hair dryer

Description

This model feels, sounds and behaves like a professional salon model, but the price tag is

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Fast results
  • Custom settings

Cons

  • Some found the button placement a little tricky

Best hair dryer for frizz control

Description

Untamed is the most revolutionary hair dryer on the market - with a diffuser attachment to gently

Pros

  • The dryer nozzle diffuser controls the oil flow, allowing it to gently disperses into hair
  • Three heat and power settings

Cons

  • The argan oil bottle runs out quickly (but can be opened and refilled)

Best hair dryer FAQs

Do hair dryers damage your hair?

The short answer is yes, but not as much as they used to and there is so much you can do to prevent severe heat damage. Even the best hair dryers can break the hair and make it weaker. This leads to frizz, which leads to using a flat iron, and that in turn leads to more damage. Unfortunately, this is going to be an ongoing cycle of damage to your hair, especially if you use your hair dryer every single day. The best thing you can do as a frequent hair curler is to use a heat protection spray and/ or to try using methods that don't rely on heat.

What is a diffuser?

A hair dryer diffuser attachment is a large, round, and plastic attachment that you can slide onto the nozzle of your hairdryer. A diffuser works by spreading the airstream over a wider area in a more controlled way.

Diffusers are the perfect hair attachment for those with curly to wavy hair types as they can help to keep the natural curl pattern. However, you can easily blow curls out of shape and into a frizz without a diffuser.

How long will my hair dryer last?

Depending on the brand of hair dryer and how well you look after it, experts say that the best hair dryers should be replaced every two to seven years.

Hannah Mellin has been working in the Journalism industry for over a decade and has written for an array of brands. When she's not writing, perfecting her skincare routine, researching or testing products, she's renovating her Victorian terrace and chilling in the garden with her sausage dog Waffle.

BUTTON

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us