After Weeks of Testing, We Found the 5 Best Hair Dryers for Every Hair Type

Our very own editors stepped in to trial each dryer. Each one of us has different hair lengths, types, and textures, which is perfectly demonstrated by the pictures of our air-dried hair above.

Katie Berohn, Beauty Editor: “I have 2C waves and verrry thick hair (I always have to book extra time at the salon), so I’m looking for anything that dries my hair fast and doesn’t leave it a frizzy mess. Also, since it takes so long for me to dry my hair, I really prioritize anything lightweight so that I don’t end up with an arm workout. I hate drying my hair, so for me, the faster the better. I also prioritize anything that doesn’t feel like it’s frying my hair while I dry it—dryers that go up to super-high heat settings often leave me looking like I just got electrocuted.”

Shawna Hudson, Associate Beauty Editor: “I have pretty dry, frizzy, thick 3C curls. Honestly, I’m not a big hair-dryer gal just because curls don’t fare well with extra/unnecessary heat most of the time, but for the sake of this experiment, I was willing to try!”

Kaitlyn McLintock, Associate Beauty Editor: “I have 2B hair, meaning I have long, fine, and slightly wavy hair. While I love my naturally beachy texture, I struggle with dullness, dryness, and split ends, so choosing a hair dryer that won’t inflict more damage is of the utmost importance. However, I also want my hair dryer to, you know, actually dry my hair. Basically, I’m looking for one that walks a fine line between working efficiently and maintaining my hair health.”

Tiff Soga, Managing Editor: “My hair is type 1A, so it’s normally superfine and extremely straight. I have a lot of hair, so it gets quite heavy. Every time I ask a new hairdresser to thin out my hair, they’re shocked at how much hair I actually have once they get into it. Yet despite the muchness, I’ve never had volume a day in my straight-hair life, so I usually curl it with a hot tool, which holds for about a day before it goes back to straight, regardless of hair spray or other products. I was sick of adding heat damage to my hair on a weekly basis, so I ended up getting a Japanese perm a week prior to testing out these hair dryers for my wedding (yay!). I wanted a consistent, voluminous, and wavy look without completely heat-damaging my very virgin hair, so imagine a lot of superfine but now wavy hair with a whole lot of baby hairs, and that’s me now!”