AskMe Beauty Mavens: help me find a new hairdryer

March 4, 2015 10:07 AM

I have come to terms with the fact that I need to replace not one but two hairdryers. Help me find a good, not-terribly-expensive one to use at the gym.

My hairdryer is on its last legs, and now that I'm replacing it, I realize that I should buy a new one to leave in my gym locker, too. My current gym hairdryer is loud, cold, and not-very-powerful, and I would like something that works better and hopefully doesn't make quite as much noise. This old question convinced me that I should get a pricey Elchim hairdryer to use at home, but I can't really justify spending that much money on a gym hairdryer that I'm only going to use a couple of times a week. Does anyone have a recommendation for a sub-$50 hairdryer that will get the job done? If you have a better recommendation for a fancier hairdryer for home, that would be great, too.

I don't have very complicated hair needs. I have shoulder-length, straightish hair. My hairdresser once told me that my individual hair strands are fine, but I have a lot of them. My general drying technique is to slap some product in it and then dry it straight with a round brush.

posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

Best answer: I love my Remington (T Studio Pearl Ceramic) hair dryer. I've actually purchased the same model twice, because my first one finally died after 6+ years of use. I got mine at Target, but it's available at Amazon for $26. It's a very efficient hair dryer, and I like that it has three heat settings and two speed settings (plus it comes with a diffuser and a concentrator). I kind of hate drying my hair, but this gets the job done very quickly. I really couldn't ask for more from such a reasonably priced hair dryer, and I like it so much better than any other model that I've used at a similar price point.
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:04 AM on March 4, 2015

I've had great luck with the Conair 1875-- cheap, quiet, powerful, hot-cold settings, compact, plus it's dual-voltage for added convenience in travel. I like mine so much that I recently bought another one just so I could have one handy in each bathroom.
posted by Bardolph at 11:12 AM on March 4, 2015

I've got a Remington as well (the AC9096 Silk Ceramic Ionic AC Professional Hair Dryer), and like it a lot - it's super quick; I can do a casual blowout (on my lots-of fine, wavy, prone-to-frizzies hair) in under five minutes. I have no idea whether it's to do with the ion / ceramic technology claims, but it really smooths things out.

It's heavy for a hair dryer, though. (I've got wrist issues and can only handle five minutes with it. I put up with it, though, because it works really well, and I'm too cheap to get something else.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:36 AM on March 4, 2015

I like the Andis RC-2 Ionic1875W a lot. I use it daily on hair that is shoulder-length, straight, fine, and abundant. Very portable and inexpensive. I first used it in a fancy Marriot and was immediately sold.
posted by figgy_finicky at 12:18 PM on March 4, 2015

I have this Conair and it's great. Most hair dryers I have used (from the cheapest to the high-end fancy ones) are heavy, loud, and don't get very hot, so they take forever to dry my thick hair. It seems like they compensate for a lack of heat with heavy blowing, which defeats the purpose of using a dryer as a styling/smoothing tool as I do. But this particular dryer is the opposite--it gets very hot and doesn't blow quite as much, so it dries my hair quickly without that overly-windblown look. And it's lightweight and folds for travel.
posted by Jemstar at 12:45 PM on March 4, 2015

I also have a Conair 1875 but it's the Cord Keeper version. I think I picked mine up at Rite Aid as an emergency replacement when my last one died. I've had it about 3-4 years and thankfully mine hasn't caught on fire (read those Amazon reviews!!) but I unplug it because I don't have a place to store it plugged in. The cord keeper feature is really nice and the handle folds up next to the dryer part so it doesn't take up much space at all.

I have similar hair to you -- shoulder-length but sometimes longer, super fine strands, but a lot of hair -- and it usually takes me five minutes or less to dry my hair to about 90% dryness in the morning. I live dangerously, however, and use the hot setting.
posted by jabes at 3:44 PM on March 4, 2015

I still love my Chi Turbo (which I also recommended in that thread). It seems like a lot for a dryer but it's very quiet and it makes my hair shinier than a regular dryer.
posted by radioamy at 7:34 PM on March 4, 2015

I have, and really like!, this one: Babylisspro TT Tourmaline Titanium Travel Dryer
posted by NikitaNikita at 9:55 PM on March 4, 2015

Response by poster: Thank you, everyone! I ordered one of the Remingtons. (The second one looked great, but I'm a little concerned about the hair-getting-sucked-into-the-back issue, although my hair isn't long enough for that to be an issue at the moment.) I'm going to try that out a couple of times and see how I like it before I decide whether to get another one for home or upgrade to a fancy, expensive model.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:53 AM on March 7, 2015

I have that same Remington hair dryer and its lasted me 5+ years so far.
posted by celtalitha at 3:59 PM on March 10, 2015