10 Surprising Hairdryer Facts

  We've rounded up 10 hairdryer facts from Ego Professional founder and the brains behind the event, Kala Kilshaw-Laing.

• Before the invention of the hairdryer, it was common for men and women to dry their hair using a vacuum cleaner! This was where the inventor, Alexander Godefroy, took his inspiration from in 1890 when he created the first hood dryer for use in his salon in France.

• The first handheld, household hairdryer appeared in 1915. The average hairdryer of this time weighed a whopping 2 pounds in weight, making it a lot more difficult to use. The original model was only capable of using up to 100 watts, so took a lot longer to dry the hair too. The average dryer today can use up to 2000 watts in heat.

• The mechanism of the hairdryer has not had any significant changes since its inception. However they have developed significantly in terms of wattage, exterior and material advancement. One of the more important changes is changing the exterior to plastic, making it more lightweight.

• By 2000, deaths by hairdryers had dropped to less than four people a year. This is a huge difference to the hundreds of cases of electrocution accidents that occured during the mid-twentieth century.

• A hairdryer not only dries the hair, but it also accelerates and controls the formation of temporary hydrogen bonds inside each strand, which sets and styles the hair in place.

• The hairdryer is also cited as an effective treatment to head lice.

• The average hairdryer lifespan is around 300 hours, although it can be more with higher quality dryers.

• If you feel your hairdryer is failing you, always try a thorough clean inside before chucking it out. This is often the common cause for the hairdryer's lack of heat or airflow. The filter, vents and screens can get dirty relatively quickly which causes performance issues.

• At home, women will spend approximately 1.5 years in total doing their hair. In total that’s 14,000 hours brushing, washing, blow-drying, straightening, curling and cutting.

• In Florida it is illegal for women to fall asleep under a hairdryer and the client and salon owner can be fined!

Looking for a low decibel hairdryer? These are the quietest hairdryers according to Chris & Sons.