Best Hair Dryers
The top-rated hair dryers CR tested proved to be powerful, lightweight, and less noisy
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
Hair dryers first arrived on the home consumer market in the 1920s, and they’ve been hot ever since. In a 2018 report by the Dyson company, it was reported that 60 percent of women and 20 percent of men in the U.S. regularly use a hair dryer over air-drying. And while the technology has improved with time, hair dryers still serve the same basic function: to blow hot air until your hair dries. These appliances range from under $100 to upward of $400. Consumer Reports evaluated several of the most popular ones to gauge their effectiveness.
When it comes to choosing a new hair dryer, it’s the performance and ease of use that matters. You want an appliance with enough speed and heat that it can dry your hair fast, but not so much heat that your hair will fry. You’ll be aiming this device around your ears, so it needs to be quiet to avoid damaging your hearing. And ideally, it should be light enough to wield with ease.
