Hair dryers

What's behind our hair dryer Ratings?

Experts at our National Testing and Research Center tested 6 models in hair dryers to see which ones perform best.

We look for:

Overall score
Overall score is based mainly on ease of use, noise and features.
Ease of use
How easy it was to operate the model.
Features
This score reflects the presence or absence of convenience features.
Noise
Noise is the users' judgment of the annoyance of a model's sound.

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Recommended hair dryers

Recommended hair dryers are standout choices with high scores. They include CR Best Buys, which offer exceptional value. When narrowing your choices, weigh features, price, and attributes that matter to you.

Recommended hair dryers

Hair dryer buying guide

To find the hair dryer that is right for you, read our expert advice on which features to consider and how to find the best value.

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Why shop here?

In addition to finding Ratings for the latest models, you can now shop online using an ad-free interface where you can buy hair dryers in a safe-shopping environment.

Learn more about our Price & Shop program

Despite big differences in price and wattage, drying time for the hair dryer models we tested didn't vary much. Fancy claims were harder to assess. If you're looking for information about hair dryers, Consumer Reports is your best resource. Consumer Reports’ hair dryer reviews will give you honest buying advice that you can trust. Use our hair dryer buying guide to discover which features are most important to consider. We also provide unbiased Ratings and hair dryer reviews to help you choose the best hair dryer for your needs.

Ratings & recommended hair dryers

Hair dryers (6)

Recommended models are standout choices with high scores. They include CR Best Buys, which offer exceptional value. When narrowing your choices among models, weigh performance, features, price, and attributes that matter to you, such as color, size, or style.

Hair dryer buying guide

You can pay $20 or more than $200 for a blow dryer, but does it really matter what you spend? We tested several models to find out. All of them were ionic dryers, and several makers claimed that theirs had tourmaline and/or ceramic technology. Despite big differences in price and wattage (ranging from 1,300 to 1,875), drying time didn't vary much. So if speed is key, shelling out a lot doesn't pay. But once we factored in noise and other features, we found a few standouts that should give you plenty of great hair days.

Getting started | Types | How we test

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