Is A Ceramic Hair Dryer Better?

If you are looking for a hair dryer I am sure you have heard about ceramic hair driers. But I bet you are asking yourself the question is a ceramic hair dryer really any better? But before that question can be answers it’s a good idea to understand what is a ceramic hair brush.

Ceramic hair dryers heat up faster and heat transfers evenly. Benefit is faster blow drying times when using a ceramic hair dryer. Another benefit is consistent temperature allowing you to style your hair faster. Ceramic is used in the construction of these sorts of hair dryers, whether it is the heating coil or any other internal component of the dryer.

What Is A Ceramic Hair Dryer?

If you can remember back from art class in high school ceramic is a hard material made from clay. Clay is heated to over 2000 degrees in a kiln and the result is a hard ceramic. One of the properties of a ceramic is that it heats up very quickly. As it heats the temperature is distributed evenly through the material. So for example in a hair dryer or hot brush as the hot air passes over the ceramic material it heats up and stays hot. As the hot air passes over the ceramic material it also releases ions. These just so happen to be negative ions. See my article on negative ions and hair for more information about ions. Andrew Carruthers states the ions helps your hair dry quicker while blow drying. He was skeptical at fist but after running side-by-side tests he realized the ions really do make a difference.

Ceramic dryers emit infrared heat that is non-damaging to the hair, according to Stacey, and dries the hair gently for further heat protection. However, tourmaline hair dryers emit infrared heat and negative ions, which means the heat is more friendlier on the hair while styling (heat without creating damage), leaving the hair looking shinier and less frizzy in the end. Moreover, it permits the hair to withstand significantly higher amounts of heat without suffering any damage.

Caution Using A Ceramic Hair Dryer

According to Stacey, Hair Research Analyst, “Be careful when using a ceramic brush due to the ceramic plates do get very hot which is great for creating wavy blowouts but can create hot spots on your hair quickly.” So ceramic dryers emit heat and negative ions causing you to be able to dry your hair much quicker and gives your hair a shiner and less frizzy finished look without causing damage to your hair.

Benefits Of Using A Ceramic Hair Dryer

If you frequently dry hair, ceramic hair dryers are a popular choice. Ceramic is a heat-dispersing material that stabilizes temperature rapidly and uniformly. The material improves smoothness by sealing hair cuticles and regulating frizz, which is why it is particularly beneficial for women with weak, damaged hair, frizzy hair, or even sensitive hair. Ceramic hairdryers are ionic in nature, which means that they release negative ions into the hair shaft, which makes your hair appear fuller, bouncy, frizz-free hair and shinier as a result.

What is a ceramic hair brush?

1. Temperature

Due to the ceramic plates heating up quickly and emitting negative ions your hair dries much quicker and with less heat. Due to your hair is under less heat and for a shorter period of time the end result is that you have less of a change of damaging your hair.

2. Negative Ions

The negative ions cancels out the positive ions thus helping to eliminate static electricity. This causes your hair to lay flatter and have more shine. The negative ions helps do away with fly-a-way hair and frizzes.

3. Heat Transfer

Due to the ceramic material heat is distributed evenly. The ceramic material heats up quickly and stays hot. This allows the heat to be consent and even. The end result is you always get a constant temperature allowing you to style your hair faster. You are not waiting on the hair dryer or hairbrush to heat up before going to a new section of hair.

Is A Ceramic Hair Dryer Better With Tourmaline?

Fist you need to know what tourmaline does. It basically add more negatively charged ions to the hot air. So the more the better, so of, more to come on this topic a bit later in the next section. According to Meesh, Hair Product Analyst, “The tourmaline and ceramic combines produces even faster results so if you want the best of all the technology then you should seek a hairbrush or hairdryer with both ceramic and tourmaline.

Do You Need Negative Ions All The Time?

According to Andrew Carruthers at Sam Villa, you may not want or need negative ions. If you want more definition and volume at the base then you do not want negative ions. However if you want a flat, sleek and shinny hair base the you need negative ions. So depending on your style and hair type you may not want to use negative ions. This is why it’s important to look for a hairdryer that has a switch to turn on or off the negative ion feature.

My favorite dryer is the Sam Villa Blow Dryer because you can turn off the ions when you do not want flat hair! Try that with a low cost hair dryer. Most folks will spend hundreds of dollars on shampoos and conditioners but will not spend much for a hair dryer. My recommendation is a professional hair dryer will have a bigger impact on your hair than expensive shampoos and conditioners. It will do the job quicker as compared to a low cost dryer, add lots of shine and will practically eliminate frizz hair conditions.

What Hairdryer Do I Use?

Ceramic hair dryer with negative ion technology
Ceramic hair dryer with negative ion technology you can control

One of the best hairdryers with this feature is the Sam Villa Artist Series Professional Blow Dryer and is recommended by Andrew Carruthers. This is a professional series model that comes equipped with a nice high power motor giving you fast focused heated air flow. But the best feature I think is the ability to control weather or not you want negative ions. The Sam Villa Artist Series Professional Blow Dryer has an on/off switch for the negative ions thus giving you results you are looking for every time.

If you do not want to spend a lot on a hairdryer then I recommend you at least purchase one with heat control, three heat settings, at least three heat settings. Ceramic hair dryers regulate heat by sensing and adjusting to the room temperature or your surrounding environment. It begins with a hot blast of air, but gradually cools down to match the surrounding temperature in order to minimize hair damage while drying your tresses swiftly and evenly, resulting in a smooth finish. Consequently, the ceramic hair drier is extremely popular due to its delicate treatment of your hair. This hair dryer uses infrared heat to dry your hair, which helps to decrease frizz and static. All of these hair dryers have different amounts of ceramic coating on them; nonetheless, their basic characteristics are the same.

The Sam Villa hair dryer comes with as air filter that is simple to clean and ensures that the dryer operates at peak performance levels. It also has two speed settings, weighs less than 1 pound, and has a cool shot button (cold shot button) allowing you to set you hair for an all day hold. With a cool shot your hairstyle will last longer (your style will have a long duration).

When it comes to price don’t be afraid to spend some money on a quality tool. Paying a couple hundred of dollars on a professional styling tool at first thought may shock some folks. But then when you think about all the $10.00 to $20.00 hair products you buy thought the year you quickly realized that that adds up easily to well over $100.00. So putting things into perspective paying for a high quality professional hair dryer is well worth it.

Problems Associated With The Use Of Ionic Hair Dryers

According to Stacey, one of the most significant problems with utilizing an ionic hair dryer is that people don’t know when to quit using them. You are brushing your hair because it is hot, and you aren’t paying attention to whether or not your hair is dry at the time. A large number of people are over-drying their hair, particularly around their faces. They just don’t feel the heat and are unaware their hair is already dry. this leads to big problems and due to you are over drying your hair.

What Is The Difference Between Ceramic And Tourmaline Hair Dryers?

Ceramic dryers emit non-damaging infrared heat, which, according to Stacey, dries the hair quickly and thoroughly for maximum heat protection. However, tourmaline hair dryers emit infrared heat and negative ions, which means the heat is more friendlier on the hair while styling, leaving the hair looking shinier and less frizzy in the end. Moreover, it permits the hair to withstand significantly higher amounts of heat without suffering any damage.

Stacey’s Pro Tip Using A Ceramic Hair Dryer

Stacey‘s pro tip using a ceramic hair dryer is do not use the high heat setting if at all possible. When using a ceramic dryer most of the time there is no need for high heat. All you really need to dry your hair effectively is warm hair. Test the air stream from your hair dryer on the back of your hand. It should feel comfortable as not to be too hot.

Meesh’s Pro Tip Using A ceramic Hair Dryer

Meesh says one of the best tips she can give regarding the use of a ceramic dryer or any hair dryer for that matter is do not dry your hair in a room filled full of high humidity. First, off, it’s going to take longer to dry your hair and secondly you will have to work harder. Many folks will dry their hair in the bathroom right after a shower. The room is filled full of humidity. Meesh advises to go to another room or prop the bathroom door open and let most of the humidity escape before drying.

Definitions

Ionic Technology

With ionic technology, inside an ionic dryer millions of negatively charged ions are produced, which break down the positively charged ions in water molecules and prevent them from penetrating the hair shaft and generating frizz. If you have an ionic hairdryer, you will be able to dry your hair quicker versus using non ionic hairdryers. Dryer produce ionic technology controls frizz better and is great at removing frizz.

References

de Bruyn, S. (2014). How to blow dry: Blown away!. PS Post Script, (Apr 2014), 33.