Why You Should Always Buy the Most Expensive Hair Dryer

For the longest time, despite multiple stints as a beauty editor at various glossy magazines, I insisted on the idea that there was no good reason to buy a hair dryer that was over, say, $50. 

Nope, I was a drugstore hair appliance girl, and nothing would convince me that some fancy-pants, Italian hairdryer with the engine parts that could rival a Ferrari was a necessary indulgence. 

NOW HEAR THIS: I stand corrected. 

During a particularly tough stretch of bad hair days and weak blowouts, I decided to ask for recommendations from my most sleek-haired, beauty-obsessed friends. After hearing their raves, I decided to take the plunge and buy one. 

When I saw it at a discounted price online, I went ahead and ordered the Super Solano 3600 Micro Dryer —a triple-digit hair appliance!!—and I have never looked back. Not to be overly dramatic—but all those people who sneered at the cheapo dryers were totally RIGHT. The dryer has changed my entire attitude towards blowouts, and shaved off at least 50% of my previous drying time.

Drying your hair with one of these high-octane models feels like the insane gush of air you get when you put your head out of a moving car—in the best possible way. It's the difference between a wind tunnel and a hand-fan. My old hair dryer now feels like a small child is blowing in my face. (A child with breath that smells like burnt hair, I should add.) I look scornfully at the dryers at the gym, tethered to the wall in hotels or languishing in drawers at my parents' home. 

And while I know there are a range of explanations behind the precise technology of how these dryers do such gusty, speedy work....but frankly I don't care. I don't care if it's ions or nanotechnology, tourmalines or aquamarines or submarines. 

To save you the time of polling your friends, or buying yet another "best of beauty" magazine issue, here's the top three dryers that came up over and over again during my research: 

• T3 Micro Featherweight
• Twin Turbo 3500 Professional (I've noticed that this what tons of pros have at their salons)
  
• Super Solano 3600 Micro (my pick)

You may be spending a scary amount on just one hair item, but you'll save yourself a graveyard of crappy styling tools and the scent of burnt hair! Money well spent.

More beauty and fashion tips!

• Style Advice: How Real Moms Can Wear Prints
• Fashion How-To: 3 Ways to Wear Stripes (Video)
• My Holy Trinity: 3 Beauty Products to Get You Out of the House in 3 Minutes—Looking Like a 10!