The 9 Best Hair Dryers For Every Hair Type and Budget
Finding the best beauty products has never been easier thanks to Pia’s Picks, our weekly curated list. As the Senior Beauty Editor at HelloGiggles, I test and examine the latest skincare, makeup, hair, and nail products so I can confidently recommend the best ones to you.
We all know that it’s essential to have high-quality hair products and tools to keep our hair healthy and shiny, which is why we spend so much time on our haircare routines. Apart from using the best leave-ins and masks for our hair type, we also pay close attention to the hot tools we use. After all, if we’re applying heat to our hair, it better not damage our dye or weaken our strands.
Hair dryers are a beauty essential we could all benefit from using. Apart from speeding up the drying process, a good hair dryer will also increase shine, decrease frizz, and won’t make your arm sore in the process. (Lightweight tools are key!) However, there are so many on the market that it can be tricky to know which ones are actually worth your hard-earned cash—that’s why we did the leg work for you. We tested dozens of hot tools to find the best hair dryers on the market to find the 10 that have earned our stamp of approval.
1. Best drugstore hair dryer:
You don’t need to drop half your paycheck on a hot tool, especially when options like this Conair pick exist. It uses both ionic and ceramic technology, which help speed up drying time while preventing excess damage. You can opt to use one three heat temperatures and two speeds, and we love that each hair dryer comes with a diffuser for curly hair and a nozzle for super-straight blowouts.
2. Best luxe hair dryer:
Say goodbye to extreme heat damage with this smart hot tool. The Dyson hair dryer is engineered to work well with all hair types and textures, and its high-tech functions work to create smooth and shiny finishes for all.
3. Best overall hair dryer:
Emitting an airflow of 75 mph, this hair dryer will speed up your dry time significantly, and it utilizes ionic technology to reduce frizz and flyaways. We love that it reduces dry time, cuts down on noise, and how the contoured nozzle delivers uber-concentrated airflow, so each hair stays in place—it’s why we gave it a 2021 Beauty Crush Award.
4. Best hair dryer for curly hair:
No matter your curl type, if you have waves and kinks in your hair, you know how important a good hair dryer and diffuser can be. DevaCurl’s patented diffuser allows you to get a 360-degree hold on each curl so you can shape and define it while cutting down on frizz. It’s a total game-changer.
5. Best hair dryer for blowouts:
This budget-friendly styling tool is a total game-changer. We reviewed the tool and found that we were able to style a full head of hair in seven minutes, and the results looked just as fresh the following day. This brush is lightweight and super easy to use, so even beauty newbies will love it.
6. Best hair dryer for travel:
This compact hair dryer is perfect for the person on-the-go—even Hilary Duff’s hairstylist swears by it! It offers the same powerful drying speed as a full-size dryer with the convenience of a smaller size and lighter weight. It uses ionic technology to dry hair gently, reduce frizz, and boost shine, too.
7. Best hair dryer kit:
The original Drybar hair dryer typically retails for about $200, so when we spotted this incredible deal, we hopped on it immediately. Apart from having a seriously slashed price, this kit also comes with rollers, a round brush, and some of Drybar’s best-selling hairstyling products to ensure you have everything you need for a seriously good hair day.
8. Best high-tech hair dryer:
If you’re looking to dry your hair faster and smarter than you currently are, consider this Tineco tool. Thanks to its multiple smart sensors, it can detect moisture levels in your hair in real-time and automatically adjust its heat and airflow to keep your hair healthy and prevent damage.
9. Best hair dryer for major shine:
“As a professional stylist, I need a dryer that is powerful, fast, and lightweight, and to me, this is one of the best dryers on the market,” says Kendall Dorsey, a celebrity hairstylist and one of the experts we consulted for our 2020 Beauty Crush Awards. “The dryer is ultra-fast and great on all types of hair. Bonus is it saves hair integrity by perfectly sealing the cuticle.”