11 Of The Best Hair Dryers For All Hair Types
Looking for the best hair dryer should begin with identifying your hair type and what your goal is when drying it. Do you have coarse or coily hair that needs its moisture retained and its curls defined? Or do you have fine hair that only needs gentle heat but lots of volume added? Or perhaps you need a hair dryer that’s light, fast and stealthily quiet so you can get on with your day without even thinking about it.
Whatever your daily beauty routine and your hair concerns, there’s a hair dryer out there to suit your needs. Below is British Vogue’s pick of the very best hair dryers, as well as the lowdown on what makes them stand out.
Vogue’s pick of the best hair dryers at a glance:
How we tested the best hair dryers
Like all good beauty tools that the Vogue team put to the test, finding out which hair dryers are worth investing in required plenty of willing volunteers, all with different hair drying needs. For some, that meant trying hair dryers that could inject shine and keep strands healthy-looking; for others, it meant finding a hair dryer that could add definition and glossy separation to their curls. Then there are those on the hunt for a great hair dryer that is compact enough to travel.
When doing the research, the Vogue took plenty of elements into consideration, from air flow, motor power, lightness, ease of use, speed of drying and noise level. The ones we chose were carefully chosen because they performed well across the board and delivered results worthy of a salon blow-dry.
Best fast-drying hair dryer: GHD Helios Professional Hair Dryer
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: If you’re short on time in the mornings, this powerful dryer will swiftly keep flyaways at bay, and still give you a smooth and sleek finish.
- Sound level: Low
- Lightweight
- Comes in lots of colours
- Long cable
- Only comes with concentrator nozzle
Best hair dryer for frizz: ELCHIM 3900 Healthy Ionic Hair Dryer
Best hair dryer for fine hair: Cloud Nine The Airshot
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: Fine hair needs a little oomph, and there is no better tool to deliver just that than Cloud Nine’s powerful hair dryer. Its ceramic heating elements are infused with vitamins and tourmaline, a crystal that is said to soothe and calm, meaning that you’ll not only have silky smooth hair, you’ll feel pretty good about it, too.
- Sound level: Medium
Best hair dryer for volume: T3 Aire 360
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: A great dryer that protects the integrity of hair to leave it smooth and glossy. While the main drying element ensures speedy drying time and hair that feels hydrated and healthy, the ceramic attachments are especially good for producing gentle, defined, soft curls.
- Sound level: Low
Best hair dryer for thick hair: Panasonic EH-NA65 Nanoe Hair Dryer
Best hair dryer for shine: BaByliss Keratin Shine Lightweight Hair Dryer
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: Lightweight, affordable and an excellent tool to help take down frizz, we’re quite obsessed with BaByliss’s Keratin Shine dryer. With ionic technology and a keratin-infused ceramic grille, it is a dab hand at upping shine.
- Sound level: Low
Best hair dryer for dry hair: Philips MoistureProtect DryCare Prestige Hair Dryer
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: Curly hair needs as much moisture as possible, for curls that feel nourished, bouncy and frizz-free. This dryer boasts intelligent moisture-protect technology that measures how hot the hair becomes and adapts to keep heat at healthy levels for your specific hair type – the brand says it preserves hair’s natural moisture levels by up to 85 per cent.
- Sound level: Medium
Best hair dryer for smooth hair: Remington HYDRAluxe Pro Dryer
Best hair dryer for curly hair: Dyson Supersonic r
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: The latest hair dryer from Dyson, the Supersonic r is the brand’s lightest but most powerful dryer to date. Available in two options, one for straight and wavy hair and one for curly and coily, the Supersonic r maintains scalp moisture and hair health all while delivering mirror shine, frizz-free strands and no heat damage. It also comes with five targeted attachments for precision styling.
- Sound level: Low
- 46 per cent frizz reduction
- Enhances curl definition
- Speedy
- Some attachments may go unused
- Expensive
