The Hair Dryer: A Brief History of an Appliance

The hair dryer is, in our view, the most under-rated beauty appliance in the Western home. The dryer is, in most cases, taken for granted. The dryer is, in most cases, stored in a drawer. The dryer is, in most cases, replaced, every few years, with another dryer that is, in most cases, more or less the same as the dryer it replaced. The dryer is, in our view, the appliance that the contemporary household most under-uses.

The dryer has, in its hundred-year history, been a complicated object. The dryer has been a professional object. The dryer has been a domestic object. The dryer has been, at various moments, a luxury object and a commodity object. The dryer has been, in our view, finally, an object whose history has been, in most tellings, erased — and whose presence in the modern bathroom is, in most cases, unexamined.

This essay is, in part, a recovery of the history. It is also, in part, an argument that the dryer — properly used, properly chosen — is, in 2026, the most important beauty appliance the contemporary wearer owns.

1900 — the bonnet dryer

The first hair dryer, in the modern sense, dates to the very end of the 19th century. The first dryer was a bonnet dryer — a soft, often rubber, hood that fit over the head, with a hose connecting the hood to a separate heating unit, often a coal- or gas-fired unit. The bonnet dryer was, in 1900, a salon appliance. The bonnet dryer was, in 1900, an expensive appliance. The bonnet dryer was, in 1900, an appliance that, in most cases, took twenty minutes to dry a head of hair.

The bonnet dryer was, in 1900, an engineering triumph. The bonnet dryer was the first appliance that could, in a controlled way, deliver warm air to a head of hair. The warm air was, in 1900, a new thing. The warm air was, in 1900, the technology that the salon had been waiting for.

The bonnet dryer was also, in 1900, a physical trial. The bonnet dryer weighed, in most models, ten pounds. The hose was, in most cases, six feet long. The heating unit was, in most cases, a separate piece of equipment, on a separate table, in a separate room. The wearer, in the salon, sat under the bonnet for twenty minutes. The wearer, in most cases, read a magazine.

1920 — the handheld

The handheld dryer arrived, in the 1920s, with the general electrification of the Western home. The handheld dryer was, in the 1920s, a domestic appliance. The handheld dryer was, in the 1920s, an appliance that the contemporary household could, for the first time, own.

The first handheld dryers were, in most cases, manufactured by the major American appliance companies — Universal, Hamilton Beach, Sunbeam. The dryers were, in most cases, heavy — five to seven pounds, in most models. The dryers were, in most cases, hot — the heating elements, in most models, were not yet thermostatically controlled, and the dryer could, in some cases, scorch the hair.

The handheld dryer was, in the 1920s, also a cultural object. The handheld dryer was, in the 1920s, an object that the modern woman — the flapper, the working girl, the woman who had, in the 1920s, begun to leave the home — owned. The ownership was, in most cases, a sign of arrival. The ownership was, in most cases, also a burden — the dryer required, in most cases, an electrical outlet in the bedroom, and required, in most cases, the woman to learn to use it.

1950 — the salon hood

The 1950s were, in many ways, the heyday of the salon hood dryer. The salon hood dryer was, in the 1950s, the centrepiece of any mid-century American beauty salon. The salon hood dryer was, in the 1950s, a piece of furniture — a large, often pink, often Bakelite, often with a fitted chair in front of it. The salon hood dryer was, in most cases, also a social object — the woman, under the hood, was, in most cases, expected to chat with the other women under the other hoods.

The salon hood dryer was, in the 1950s, also, in formulation terms, a technological leap. The salon hood dryer introduced, in most models, thermostatic control — the temperature of the air could, for the first time, be set, in a way that did not scorch the hair. The salon hood dryer introduced, in most models, timers — the dryer could, for the first time, be set to turn itself off after a period. The dryer was, in our view, the appliance that the 1950s salon had been waiting for.

The salon hood dryer was, in the 1950s, also a fashion object. The dryer was, in most cases, matched, in colour and form, to the rest of the salon. The dryer was, in some cases, a designer object. The dryer was, in our view, an object that, in the 1950s, the contemporary culture had begun to think about — and to think about, in particular, as a domestic object.

1970 — the blow-dryer as cultural object

The 1970s were, in many ways, the moment the blow-dryer — the handheld dryer, used with a brush — became a cultural object. The blow-dryer was, in the 1970s, no longer a tool. The blow-dryer was, in the 1970s, an instrument — an instrument of the new professional hair, the Farrah Fawcett feathered hair, the Dorothy Hamill wedge, the hair that, in the 1970s, moved.

The 1970s blow-dryer was, in most cases, lighter than the 1920s dryer — two to three pounds, in most models, with a more focused nozzle. The 1970s blow-dryer was, in most cases, hotter than the 1920s dryer — the heating elements, in most models, were now thermostatically controlled, with settings for high, medium, and low. The 1970s blow-dryer was, in most cases, also louder than the 1920s dryer — the motors, in most models, were higher-wattage.

The 1970s blow-dryer was, in our view, also the first dryer that the contemporary wearer understood. The 1970s blow-dryer was, in most cases, the dryer that the wearer learned to use — with a brush, with tension, with the techniques that the contemporary home blow-dry is still based on.

1990 — the ionic dryer

The 1990s introduced, into the hair dryer, ionic technology. The ionic dryer was, in formulation terms, a dryer that produced, in addition to warm air, a stream of negative ions. The negative ions were, in the marketing, supposed to break up the water molecules on the hair, in a way that dried the hair faster. The negative ions were also, in the marketing, supposed to seal the cuticle, in a way that made the hair smoother.

The ionic dryer was, in the 1990s, a technology leap. The ionic dryer was, in the 1990s, also a marketing leap. The marketing has, in the last thirty years, been, in most cases, more enthusiastic than the science. The science is, in most cases, less conclusive than the marketing suggests.

The ionic dryer is, in 2026, the default dryer. The ionic dryer is, in 2026, sold, in most cases, at every price point. The ionic dryer is, in 2026, an appliance that the contemporary wearer expects to own.

2016 — the Dyson Supersonic

The Dyson Supersonic was launched, in 2016, with a marketing campaign that, in our view, was, in part, legitimate and, in part, hype. The legitimate part was the engineering — the Supersonic, with its digital motor in the handle, with its intelligent heat control, with its magnetic attachments, was, in 2016, the most engineered dryer that had ever been sold to the consumer market. The hype part was the price — at $400, the Supersonic was, in 2016, four times the price of a mid-range dryer. The price was, in 2016, an event.

The Supersonic was, in our view, also a cultural event. The Supersonic was, in 2016, the first dryer that the contemporary culture had, in some time, thought about. The Supersonic was, in 2016, also the first dryer that the contemporary culture had, in some time, written about in the serious press. The writing was, in most cases, mixed. The writing has, in the years since, settled into a more measured view.

The Supersonic is, in 2026, the benchmark dryer. The Supersonic is, in 2026, the dryer that the other dryers are, in most cases, compared to. The Supersonic is, in 2026, the dryer that the contemporary wearer, in our view, most respects.

The hair dryer, in sum, has been a hundred years of incremental improvement. The dryer has, in most cases, gotten lighter, faster, hotter, and quieter. The dryer has, in some cases, gotten smarter — with ionic technology, with intelligent heat control, with magnetic attachments. The dryer has, in our view, also gotten more expensive — the contemporary dryer is, in most cases, more expensive than the 1920s dryer, even adjusted for inflation.

The dryer is, in our view, the most under-rated beauty appliance in the Western home. The dryer is, in our view, also the appliance that, in the last hundred years, has most improved the wearer’s daily life. The improvement is, in most cases, invisible. The improvement is, in our view, finally, what the dryer is for.