Blow dryers are a very important part of the morning routine for many people. So, if it lasts, how loud it is, what bonuses it comes with and how fast it dries your hair are things you need to know before investing a lot of money in a new one. With all the new gadgets on dryers it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a good one and a bad one when you are trying to select one to purchase. This is where our friends at ShopSmart come in …

ShopSmart tested 10 models of blow dryers on swatches of hair in an environment chamber, and then a panel took those dryers home to give them another test. You would think the biggest difference the group found would be in the time it takes to dry hair, right? Not so much. They found that even though these dryers were at several different price points and ranges of wattage, the dry time did not vary too much. Once noise and other attributes of the dryers were put into the equation, the tops picks were selected. ShopSmart says its smart splurges include the CHI Pro Dryer GF 1505, $135 and Bespoke Labs T3 Featherweight 83808-se, $200. Revlon’s Ionic Ceramic Pro Stylist RV484, a bargain buy at $20, was also a top pick as it had separate heat and speed settings to allow the user more control.

Unrelated to the ShopSmart study, I have a dryer that I absolutely do not recommend. The Conair Ion Shine 1875 Watt dryer. I had two of these die on me in less than nine months … and one of those got so hot it melted two of my brushes. Definitely a sign it could not be doing much good on my hair.

Thanks to ShopSmart for its terrific information and to read more on its blow dryer study and see what it says about straighteners, check out the latest edition on newsstands now.