Buying a Hairdryer

It has been a long time since I did any sort of product review, so this seems like a good time to write about my hairdryer purchase experience.

I used to dry my hair with a super-awesome Philips 1200 hairdryer. But I took it for granted, from the power consumption to the handle design. Being approximately 17 years old though, it didn’t last, which forced me to go shopping in the girly aisle.

Zellers sells hairdryers right next to women's deodorant. Nearby is hair dye. It's the "Lookin' Good, Smelling Better" aisle I guess. There were only 2 brands for sale – Revlon and Conair. I preferred the Conair, since they are Canadian, but my biggest concern was the wattage.

I wanted a hairdryer that did not use much electricity, however, I was shocked (no pun intended) to learn that every hairdryer on the shelf was 1875 watts. There were no options, save for one small Travel hairdryer which only required the use of 1 coal-fired power plant at 1625 watts.

Since I do not like the gun-style, I settled for the only one that was the same style as my Philips. The Conair 1875 featured a thermal brush, a detangling comb, a styling comb, as well as dual ionic ports for frizz-free hair.

I don't know if this ion-thing is a gimmick or what, but I certainly did not feel my hair strands being soothed by a cloud of negative ions even though the LED light told me the ports were working. When finished, my hair did look pretty awesome though.

I really liked the way the motor sounded on both high and low settings. Sound is an important thing. I hate the wrist-slashing, sad, hollow whirl of the gun-style hairdryers.

The only thing I didn't like about the Conair (aside from the generous power suckage) was the handle design. Because the switch is recessed, and large, it leaves a gap when it is moved up or down. The black hole gap sucks my fingers in to the sharp edge left where the switch used to be - which digs into the tender flesh of my fingertips.

I predict my band-aid consumption will soon rise, and when it does, I'll post a review on them. For now, 1 Martini-thumb up for the $26.97 Conair 1875 with 'IonShine'.