Blow drying your hair has many benefits. It can help with curl definitions for curly girls, give fine or limp strands a little extra volume, and make frizzy, untamable strands that bit more manageable.
The benefits of hairdryers are many – but we’ve picked eight of our favorites.
From helping you to style your hair better and boosting your confidence to ensuring you always have sleeky, smooth strands, regular use of blow dryers comes with various advantages.
Are Hair Dryers Bad For Your Hair?
Hairdryers typically work by applying heat to sections of your hair. They’re a heat styling tool, much like a flat iron or curler is.
All of these work by using heat in order to help you either dry or style your hair.
The thing about heat is that it will cause some damage to your hair.
Therefore, whilst there are benefits to using a hairdryer, if you don’t look after your hair when you do use a blow-dry, you may cause some damage and dryness.
You’ll know that you can burn when you expose your skin to the sun, or even to a hot oven. It’s the same for your hair.
If you use a hairdryer to dry sections of your hair, and over-expose that hair to heat, you may burn it.
Even if you’re careful, blow-drying can result in some cuticle damage, which breaks down your hair’s fundamental structure.
As a result, you may notice dryness, frizz, or even breakage.
That’s why it’s important to follow the right hair care procedure before blow-drying your hair and to purchase the best possible hairdryer possible.
8 Benefits Of Blow Drying Hair
1. Decreases drying time
This one is a classic and is probably one of the main benefits of using a hairdryer.
The reason that people tend to purchase blow dryers is that they reduce the drying time of hair.
For people with especially long hair, those in a hurry, or even for individuals who want to wash their hair in the morning and avoid heading to work with dripping wet locks, this is a major benefit.
Plus, once you’ve saved yourself those precious extra minutes, you can put them to good use with another task.
2. Helps with volume
If you’re a curly girl, having a hairdryer and using a diffuser can actually help to define your curls, giving them more definition and body.
Otherwise, if you’re looking for bounce and volume, hair drying can also help.
You just have to tip your head upside down when blow-drying in order to give your strands some lift from the roots up.
3. Boosts confidence
A hairdryer allows you to style your hair the way that you like it. On a good hair day, you’ll be looking and – most importantly – feeling your best.
Blow drying your hair can give you that little lift that you need to have a great day.
4. May lighten the hair
It’s an old haircare rumor that using a blow dryer may help to lighten your hair.
Maybe you’ve gone for an at-home coloring session and aren’t keen on your look, or you just want to highlight some strands.
Using the heat from blow-drying might help you to achieve this.
5. Can straighten hair
Just as blow dryers can give your hair more volume, they can also help to straighten your hair.
If you’re going for the sleek, silky look but don’t own a flat iron, you can nonetheless achieve this with your blow dryer.
Use a comb in order to detangle your strands and throughout the blow-drying in order to get that super straight look.
6. Can reduce your risk of colds
Picture it: it’s cold, wet, and dark outside, but you’ve just washed your hair.
If you head outside with your own wet hair, you may be at greater risk of contracting a cold – or worse.
By blow-drying your hair, you’re reducing your risk of getting a head cold, which is essential for those living in slightly colder climes.
7. May make hair more manageable
Some people have thick, frizzy hair that’s just a little untamable.
But using a hairdryer has the benefit of making this more manageable – particularly when used alongside haircare products like a leave-in conditioner and hair oil.
You’ll be smoothing your strands and making them feel and look sleeker all around, and will help to minimize static, too.
8. May help with fungal infections on the scalp
It’s perfectly normal to sometimes experience irritated or itchy scalps – but there is a line that, when crossed, can make this a problem.
If you’re prone to fungal infections on your scalp, this can result in a range of other problems such as dandruff. This is more likely to occur if you leave your hair to air dry.
But using a blow dryer can help to reduce this risk, which therefore supports healthy scalps and all of the benefits linked to this.
What To Look For When Purchasing A Hair Dryer
Using a high-tech hair dryer will help to ensure that you’re making the most of its benefits.
These are some things to look out for when buying yours:
Ionic or infrared technology
This essentially works to break down the water molecules in your hair, using deep-penetrating technology.
This ensures your hair dries faster and will help you to manage frizz at the same time.
Ceramic or tourmaline technology
Look for hairdryers with either of these materials.
They work to distribute heat more evenly, dispensing an even flow that stabilizes the temperature and reduces the risk of burning or other damage.
2000+ watts
The higher the wattage of your hairdryer, the faster your hair will dry.
This also means you don’t have to turn up the heat so much, which will reduce your exposure to potential damage.
How To Best Protect Hair When Blow Drying
These are our top recommendations for protecting your hair when blow-drying:
Use a heat protectant
There are so many fantastic products on the market designed to protect your hair from the damaging effects of heat.
Spritzing or smoothing a heat protectant onto your strands will help to minimize the impact of the blow dryer.
Alternatively, you can also use a leave-in conditioner on your hair before blow-drying it.
This will also add a layer of protection that can help to reduce the heat damage from the air.
Don’t overdo it on the heat
Yes, you’re looking to dry your hair, and that will require a certain amount of heat.
However, if you turn the temperature up too high, you might end up frying either your scalp or your hair.
Anything over around 110 degrees Fahrenheit is too high, so stick to cooler settings.
Purchase a high-quality hairdryer
The kind of hair dryer that you use really matters.
If you have a cheap and cheerful one, not only might it break too soon, but you also won’t experience the benefits from the hairdryer, as you may be causing damage.
Ceramic or tourmaline technology can help to distribute the heat better, and ionic or infrared technology also speeds up the drying time.
Be careful with your nozzle
Different nozzles serve different purposes, but you need to be careful how you use them.
Always ensure that there is a distance between your nozzle and your scalp and hair.
Remember to avoid pointing your hair dryer at one section of your hair for too long, as this might cause burning. Keep your dryer moving to reduce this risk.
Gently dry your hair before blow-drying
If you can use a microfiber towel to gently towel your hair, squeezing out any excess moisture, this will reduce the damage caused by the blow dryer.
As your hair is dryer, your blow-dry has to work less hard and you won’t be exposing either your strands or scalp to excess heat
Frequently asked questions
Can Hair Dryers Be Bad For Your Health?
No, hairdryers should not cause any issues with your health. They may cause some damage to your hair, which will impact its health, but they won’t have an overall impact on your body.
Is It Safe To Use Hair Dryer Daily?
Whilst there’s no research to indicate that using a hairdryer is unsafe, we still might not recommend doing so every day.
There are advantages to letting your hair air dry every so often – not least because you’re giving your strands a break from heat exposure.
Ultimately, heat does cause some degree of damage to your strands, no matter how vigilant you are with heat protectors.
So, if you can give your hair a break from the hairdryer, it’s best to do so.
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