Jet Set Blow Dry

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Appearances matter in this age of high speeding life. When one is rushing off to office every day the only manner in which one can maintain glossy tresses is by using a hair dryer.

Before the 19th century most women depended on the sun and the wind to dry their hair. But today we cannot even think of travelling without our hair dryers; the hair dryer has made a long journey from exhaust hoses followed by helmet shaped dryers and eventually to the present models. This article will chalk out the line of descent as the hair dryer progressed.

The Early Hair Dryers Used

Initially women used vacuum cleaners to make the first archaic dryers. Most of these vacuum cleaners blew the air outward too and hence when attached to an exhaust end made ideal dryers for hair. Alexandre Godefoy, a salon owner from France in 1890 invented the very first hair dryer run on electricity. Though not popularly used because of its size, this dryer had a noisy motor with several tubes which blew out warm hair.

Arrival Of Handheld Dryers

The company of Racine Universal Motor Co. and the famous factory of Hamilton Beach Co. were the first to bring out the handheld dryers in 1920s. These dryers had a motor similar to the vacuum cleaner but it was a bit smaller. Nichrome wire was used to generate heat required for the hot air to dry the hair. Not only did this dryer made a lot of noise but was also heavy due to the aluminium frame in which it was enclosed.

Helmet Shaped Dryers

The unpopular gas dryers which not only diffused a lot of heat which ended not only by burning the hair but also emitted gaseous fumes which severely affected the user, a new breed, Helmet Dryers, came into the picture. These gas dryers were quickly phased out. Their place was taken by Helmet dryers which became popular since the curly haired look was the fad in 1940s. Most women sat under the dryer with curlers on to set their hair. The warm air promised to change one’s hairstyle.

A portable model of helmet dryers was the bonnet dryer. The basic technology of the electric motor attached to the hose remained the same, it was just that this dryer could be worn like a bonnet and women could carry on with their daily routine without having to bother about the dryer. But these dryers consumed around 300 watts of electricity and hence took a very long time to dry hair.

Contemporary Hair Dryers

But from 1950s hair dryers underwent various changes in the design which has made them sleeker, quieter, smaller and definitely lighter even though the inner technology had remained almost the same. New technology introduced aims more at regulating the heat of the air blown by the dryer to avoid hair damage.

This technology using negative ions helps dry hair faster without emitting much heat and making hair shinier, smoother and healthier. Ceramic dryers are ideal for hair which are either frizzy or have undergone colour treatments.