When it comes to getting a hairdryer, finding a top-quality product that suits your hair type and is within your budget can really improve the health of your tresses. With the right dryer, your chances of ending up with fried hair reduce drastically. 

Left to many people, they would have been getting professional blowouts every day without going to the salon if they had the right dryer. While this might not truly happen, having the right hair dryer can help you recreate that salon-quality blowout you desperately want. 

Like most gadgets, there are pricey hair dryers that come with all other perks just as there are affordable options that are equally efficient. 

When searching for a hairdryer, the key features to concentrate on are the material it’s made of, wattage, its weight, and unique properties that would make drying your hair easy. Here are some things to consider when getting affordable and safe dryers. 

Look out for wattage

To get a hair dryer that meets your budget criteria, you need to be on the lookout for the watt. A moderate wattage motor uses just the right wind power and can also reduce the time spent in styling without exposing your hair to excess heat. 

Put in mind that it is affordable and really cheap. Really cheap dryers are ones with weak motors that end up toasting your hair rather than drying it. Even though strong motors are sometimes expensive, you can go for moderate ones like the Revlon salon infrared hair dryer. The benefit of good motor dryers with high wattage is that they don’t burn out as fast as small-motored ones, especially if you have thick hair that takes a really long time to dry.

Ceramic, porcelain, or infrared

What these mean is that hair dryers with these materials are built to distribute heat across the equipment evenly and gently. The ceramic or porcelain material can be used to cover the dryer’s metal heating element or plastic including its other interior parts. Also, remember the negative ions spoken about earlier? Well, they do emit it too to make the drying process faster and smooth frizz. 

The infrared dryer tends to use longer energy wavelengths directly on your hair and dries it from the inside out. It is more expensive than ceramic or porcelain. Before selecting any, you might need to find out if you’ve got AC allergies to be on the safe side. These materials ensure that the heat is not too harsh and maintains consistency in temperature.

Is it ionic or tourmaline?  

Ionic hair dryers typically shoot negative ions while water’s ions are positively charged hence why an ionic dryer is effective in drying up water droplets on the hair shaft. The hair won’t be able to soak in more water, there would be frizzing and quick drying time.

The ionic feature works best when you want to remove moisture from your hair to make it look sleek and polished looking. Tourmaline dryers on the other hand are equally great, but you think of them as being on steroids as their interiors are usually made with a semi-precious mineral which releases more negative ions and can raise the cost of the dryer. That tells you which would be affordable and effective for your harm. 

Check its weight

Most professional-grade dryers are sometimes heavy probably because of their big motors or solid components. When you think about it, it is easy for your arm to become tired when using a heavyweight dryer even though it is very effective. 

Select a lightweight dryer, so your arms don’t get weary. It might seem trivial or minor, but checking the weight of your blow-dryer is important when you’re on a budget. Not only does a lightweight product be much easier for you to hold while drying your hair, but it also makes the blowout procedure easy.

To help out with your search, check out some affordable hair dryer you’d be able to afford. 

• BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Dryer. This dryer ticks all the feature boxes listed before in terms of watt, speed, and design. With its 2000 watts, the BaBylissPRO allows you to dry up in no time, and it costs about $80.
• TIGI Bed Head Curlipops 1875 Watt Diffuser Dryer. This is a tourmaline and ceramic dryer that is designed for people with curly hair. Finding the right dryer for your curly hair can be difficult, but not to worry; with TIGI’s three heat and two-speed settings, you can use the cool blast feature to help keep your curls in shape. It’s $30 on Amazon.
• Conair Infiniti Pro Dryer. An ergonomically designed dryer that helps you achieve any hairstyle without making you feel uncomfortable. Despite having a powerful motor, it is really quiet which makes it possible for you to use it any time, and it costs $35.

Having a low budget doesn’t stop you from drying and fixing up your hair. Do a little of research based on the features listed above and get a dryer that would fit your budget.  

Ellen Diamond did her degree in psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She is interested in mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.