11 best hair dryers for beautiful blow-dries, sleek straight styles and big, bouncy curls

Fans of BaByliss, and those who haven’t yet tried the brand, are sure to be blown away by its latest hair dryer model. Said to be 40 per cent stronger and 20 per cent faster than the brand’s beloved diamond hair dryer, it’s an obvious upgrade with a super-sleek look. Easy to use, with three buttons on the handle, it combines two heat settings (plus a cold shot) with three speed settings, for a very powerful performance.

We found hair was less frizzy after using this machine, which has been designed with super-ionic technology. This means the tool actually produces negatively charged ions that break down the water molecules without opening up hair shafts, creating a smooth, sleek finish. Genius? Absolutely. Plus, it has a lower price than some other options, which helped it nick the top spot in this round-up. However, keep in mind that a storage case and additional styling tools are not included.

This handy hairdryer blew our tester away (pun fully intended). Not only is it an absolute bargain at less than £11, but it’s also impressively powerful – despite its smaller size, it dried our tester’s thick, long hair in around 20 minutes, which is very impressive. The dryer features two heat settings and creates a cool shot, and the handle folds down, so it doesn’t take up too much space if you’re storing it or taking it with you in a suitcase. While it doesn’t have any fancy additions such as ionic technology or a large number of attachments like some of the other options in this list, it’s a great everyday basic that’s sure to be a welcome addition for anyone just looking to get the job done, no fancy frills attached.

The Dyson supersonic hair dryer needs little introduction, but it is on the expensive side. A fan favourite of many a beauty buff (Anita Rice included), it’s incredibly lightweight and cute, and its compact size has cemented it as a go-to for gold-standard styling.

Hollow in the centre, it’s a unique design, yet delivers a real punch of power for fast drying times, while being incredibly easy to use. Plus, we felt as though we could hold it up all day without any arm ache.

Coming in a handy storage box, with five additional attachments included, it’s easy to store (so long as you can fit all the fiddly pieces back in) and packs away neatly.

Sadly, the orange topaz colourway (pictured here) is now sold out but you can get your hands on a range of other shades.

Read our full review of the Dyson supersonic hair dryer

The key purpose of a blow-dryer is to dry hair fast. So, when speed is of the essence, or you just can’t be bothered to keep your arm above your head for too long, you may want to reach for this Nicky Clarke infrared option. Strikingly different from the other hair dryers we tested, this one uses infrared light to help dry strands while minimising heat. Said to speed up drying times by up to 50 per cent, our blow-dry took around 15 minutes (cutting 10 minutes off our usual drying time). Plus, our strands were left smooth and shiny, thanks to that all-important ionic technology, making it a great pick for those with thick, curly strands.

Along with faster drying time, the infrared light also helps to heal damaged strands, with some people even noting a reduction in split ends and hair loss, although we’d have to use it for a little bit longer to be able to confirm this. Easy to use and sleek in style, we were incredibly impressed, just don’t be surprised to see the red glow as you go.

Ghd is famous for its straighteners, and the helios hair dryer is designed with the same style in mind. With claims of giving your hair 30 per cent more shine, we were dubious at first but, so far, we can’t fault it.

Although larger than the Dyson, it is still lightweight, while being incredibly powerful, blowing at 120kph – a small air hole focuses the breeze for a more targeted, speedy blow-dry, too. Other attachments are available, as well as a wide range of blow-dryer colours, and a hook on the bottom allows for the hair dryer to be hung up, for easier storage. As an added bonus, you can pay £10 to personalise it too, truly making it your own trusty tool.

Heat is one of the most common ways to damage your hair, especially fine hair, and a huge number of us have been guilty of scorching our strands. If this sounds like you, but you still want to blow-dry your mane, this Belissima option may be your best bet. With four different attachments, you can create almost any style, without the need for additional heated styling tools.

Three heat settings and a cold shot allow you to tailor the temperature, and the small size makes it lightweight enough to hold up for longer when using a cooler setting. Making sure it never gets too hot, the tool measures the air temperature more than 50 times a second, to protect your strands from heat damage. Plus, ion care technology works to fight frizz while boosting hydration.

In a black and gold colourway, it is a little bit on the blingy side, while a handy storage case neatly holds all the accessories.

For anyone with thick hair, blow-drying brings its own number of challenges – an achy arm, a hot head and a seemingly everlasting damp patch that sits at the back of your scalp. So, when it comes to picking a blow dryer, you need it to tick a lot of boxes, and this Silk’n option does exactly that. Lightweight, simple to use and with a wide variety of different settings, we fell in love with it. There’s even a lock button to keep the settings in place, to save your sweaty hands from slipping on the temperature dial. With an air speed of 76kph, it dried our hair in no time.

However, what truly sold us on this Silk’n option was the water ion technology, which takes water from the air and finely shoots it through the device, smoothing frizz and boosting hydration. Two magnetic attachments make for easy styling, while a storage pouch and heat-resistant mat were welcome extras.

For anyone who fancies themselves a bit of an at-home hairdresser, the Shark flexstyle is sure to be hard to beat. Transforming effortlessly with the flick of a switch into a curler, straightening brush, diffuser and more, it’s a one-stop shop for all your styling needs. We found it incredibly easy to chop and change between all the different attachments, although any non-styling gurus may need to read up on exactly how each one works.

Housed in a chic black leather storage box, it’s small yet mighty and makes light work of any hairstyle. However, for extremely thick hair, we did find it took a little bit longer than some other options to truly get things dry. Although, considering it can take care of everything in one handy tool, we can’t really hold this against it.

Curly and coily hair takes more TLC than other types of locks, requiring more moisture, product and knowledge of how it best scrunches and styles. So, adding a hair dryer can often be a bit daunting, with the fear you’ll be left with a head full of frizz rather than tight, corkscrew curls. Luckily, curly and coily hair expert Pattern has come to the rescue, with a hair dryer designed specifically for tight textures.

Looking more like a very fancy beauty box, included is a shine spray, heat spray, four attachments and the blow dryer all in a chic terracotta tone. A wide-tooth comb, diffuser, brush and concentrator tool make for near-limitless styling opportunities, while three heat and air pressure settings tailor the device to all kinds of locks.

As there’s so much going on, it did take us a hot minute to work out exactly which attachments worked with our hair type, so be sure to have a play around before you jump into styling for a special occasion.

As this is an American brand, be sure to look at adaptor options and shipping costs before committing to buying.

Breaking up the bulk of black colourways, this Drybar hair dryer is the perfect pick-me-up. In a buttercup-yellow colour, it’s cute, bright and bold and definitely stands out from the crowd.

Designed by the hair specialists at the Drybar salons, it’s been created with professional-quality blow-dries in mind, and styled our hair beautifully. Ionic technology left strands smooth and shiny, and the two styling tools certainly worked wonders when it came to creating a sleek, straight style.

However, it was a little bit heavier than some other options, and not quite as powerful. So, if you’re looking for a fabulously fast blow-dry, you may be best looking elsewhere, but for those bored of black, this is sure to brighten up even the dullest of days. It comes in a handy box for storing, too.

Small yet mighty, this tiny hair dryer really does pack a punch. Housed in a storage tin, the blow-dryer and three attachments can be stored away neatly. The hair dryer alone can also be packed easily into a suitcase or even a gym bag, thanks to its tiny size. But don’t let its proportions fool you, as it’s also one of the most powerful models we tested, and the three attachments magnetically clip on, to effortlessly transform it into a trusty styling tool of your choice.

Its tiny size means it’s also incredibly lightweight, so there are no aching arms, while a washable micro filter helps to keep your hair squeaky clean, too. So, if you’re tight on space, like to travel or are after a hair dryer to take to the gym or office, this is the one we’d recommend.