Hair Styling Tools

Whenever I hear friends or colleagues talk about buying a hairdryer, I sometimes cringe when I hear them say they just bought one at the local discount store (Target, Walmart, K-Mart,etc.).  The comments typically start out with “I only paid $20.00 and it works just fine,” or “why should I pay all that extra money for a professional hairdryer  or salon hair dryer, when I can just pick one up at _______ for really cheap.”  You see the operative word here is “cheap”.    I equate “cheap” to you get what you pay for.   When it comes to hairdryers, and you are going for ”cheap”, this typically means $20.00 or less.  But did you know that if you are willing to shop the web, you can actually find some professional hairdryers in the $20.00 price range?  Typically this might be a sale or a low end professional blow dryer, but the fact remains that there are some professional dryers out there that are “inexpensive”.

So why go for a professional model hair dryer versus a standard one?  Well, let me ask another question, “how much does the health of your hair matter to you?”   I hope that you are savvy enough to know that a standard dryer will, after time, end up damaging your hair.  For this very reason, professional hair stylists either when asked, or if they really care about your hair, will recommend that you purchase a professional hair dryer.  Most people who are skeptical about this recommendation will come up with excuses why not to buy one.   Probably the most popular one I hear is that “the stylist is just saying that because they sell dryers in the salon and they want to make more money.”  In reality this can be true but more times than not, a stylist wants repeat business and they are actually giving you sound sound advice.   And,  just because a stylist recommends that you buy a professional dryer, it doesn’t mean you have to buy it from the salon. 

Ok, so after you get through the financial excuses for why you shouldn’t buy a professional dryer, and if someone could prove to you that financially in the long run it will pay off for you to “give in” and buy one, what are the reasons you should do so?  

If someone told you that your hair would be less prone to split ends and drying out, and that your hair will look shinier and fuller, would you be interested?  Also, would it interest you to know  that with a professional dryer you would be spending less time drying and using  40%  to 50% less heat?  This means no overheating of the dryer, especially if you have a lot of hair, whether it be short or long.  These are just a few of the benefits of a professional dryer. 

 The truth of the matter is that when you pay more for something, whether it be a hairdryer, a vacuum cleaner, a coffee maker, etc. you are typically paying for better quality, better benefits, and usually more options.  I think we as consumers all know this and yet, when it sometimes comes to buying a personal item such as a hairdryer, we are hesitant to spend the extra money.    Additionally, when you spend more for something, you also expect it to last longer.  That is not to say that there are always exceptions to every rule and lemons can be found in anything that is manufactured in quantity.  This is obviously the exception to the rule.

Professional hairdryers are built to last longer.  Keep in mind that stylists are using their hairdryers all day long and we at-home stylists are either using them at the most once daily or every couple of days. 

So, have I convinced you?  The choice is yours, however, I think investing in a professional hairdryer is a no brainer.  For many of us, we just aren’t happy unless our hair looks good.  How do we keep our hair healthy so that it can look good when you style it?   Buy a professional hairdryer and then answer the question.