What Are The Side Effects of Using a Hair Dryer?

We all use our hair dryers without a second thought more or less every day, in most people’s cases. 

We believe we need them to help get us to work on time, looking the part with our beautifully styled tresses, helping us make a statement about who we are and what we’d like to be seen as.

Both men and women are becoming more reliant on these appliances which can help give us a gorgeous persona.

Our hair gives us part of our identity and our hair dryers help us achieve that.

We know the advantages of using the hair dryer: fast drying, perfectly styled hair from the security of our own bedrooms.

But do we know what we are doing to our hair when we blast it with hot air, sometimes extreme hot air?

Beware the dryer…

Most of us are not daft. 

We know that drying our hair with extremely high temperatures is inevitably going to have some effect on it!

We know that constant heat on our hair will take our hair’s natural shine, strength and moisture. 

Surely that’s why we buy products to solve all those dried out hair problems? 

Serums, scalp treatments, oils, shampoos, conditioners, sprays – the list is endless. 

These products aren’t cheap, but the days of air-hair are gone.

We also know that everything in excess is bad for us – including hair dryers! 

But do we know what harm these dryers can do?

A little hot air makes all the difference…

Hair dryers use hot temperatures.

Some hairdryers use heat settings of more than 300 degrees fahrenheit.

If they aren’t handled with due care and attention, they can cause serious burns to the head and ears.

Dryers are often accused of drying out or burning hair.

Yet, unlike other hair appliances such as irons, the dryer is moving throughout its use so the damage to your hair cuticles is limited.

Being used so close to your head means the heat can damage the hair fibres.

Using the constant movement of the dryer and with the use of a brush, the hot air can also be targeted so avoiding excessive damage, in most cases.

But, have you ever heard of bubble hair?

According to Dr. Michael Roizen, award-winning author and Chief Wellness Officer, Cleveland USA.

"the extreme heat from hair dryers and curling irons causes water under the cuticles (the outer most layer of the hair) to form bubbles that break and stress the hair"

The air blisters form between the hair cuticles as a result of evaporation of water contained within the stem.

This means weakening of the hair and possible rupture. 

The bubbles stress and break the hair. Result being? Split ends, breakage and brittle hair.

The days of air-drying maybe over.

To help prevent these split ends, don’t dry your hair from wet and once you’ve styled your hair leave your hair a little damp and use cool air from the dryer to ‘set’ your hair and to help dry your hair out too much creating that brittle look.

So, what are the real disadvantages of using a hair dryer?

Many scientific experiments have been done out to counteract these negative effects of using a hair dryer.

As the beauty industry is mega-bucks, hair dryer manufacturers don’t want to be sued for burnt heads or hearing damage due to consistent usage.

Therefore, concerns of heat and noise due to hair dryers is taken very seriously which is good for us all.

As with any electrical appliance, we are warned not to use them in the bathroom, near water and to ensure the appliance is kept clean and secure.

So, the real side effects of using a hair dryer tend to be how often we use it and how we use it.

This is manageable as the good thing about the disadvantages of hair dryers, is that they aren’t insurmountable.

Turning the negatives into positives

So, we might just have to accept that there are quite a few disadvantages to using a hair dryer every day.

However, if you are like many in the modern world and feel as though you couldn’t live without your daily blast of heat, there are many things you can do to turn the negatives into positives so you can still get your daily fix without the side effects.

Make sure:

• not to blow dry your hair so often
• to use good hair products to offset the damage
• and blot (don’t rub) your hair with a towel before drying to remove moisture
• to use low heats on the dryer
• to avoid direct heat on to head by using a brush
• to keep the nozzle away from your hair
• and work quickly!

As with everything, there are big thumbs down when using hair dryers on a daily basis.

If you think you need to take the heat out of your bedroom, then you need to think again as there are ways you can beat the heat!