When shopping for a hairdryer you’ll probably have noticed that each hairdryer has its wattage listed, such as 1875 Watts or 1875W.
But what does this wattage actually mean? And does it matter? Is a high or low wattage hair dryer better?
The answer is that it depends on your need. In this guide, I’ll explain everything about hair dryer wattage so that you can choose the best high wattage or low wattage hair dryer for your hair.
What Does The Watts Mean On A Hair Dryer?
The wattage of a hair dryer shows how much electricity it uses. So, a 2000 watt hairdryer will use twice as much electricity as a 1000 watt hair dryer, making it twice as powerful.
How Many Watts Does A Hair Dryer Use?
Hairdryer wattage typically ranges from 800 watts for a cheap, travel hair dryer to 3500 watts for a professional salon-quality blow dryer. The average wattage for a hairdryer is 1800 watts.
In our home we have a small hairdryer – not quite travel size, but certainly not a large one that you would consider powerful. To be honest, it’s not the best! But it does use a lot of power – I know because I tested it with a wattmeter:
I was quite surprised it used 1800 watts to be honest – because it doesn’t do a great job of drying my daughter’s hair, I assumed it was a lower-powered model. It goes to show that while the averages dictate better power, they aren’t always true – cheap hairdryers can use more electricity without being efficient.
Do Watts Matter in Hairdryers?
A high-wattage hair dryer will cost more to run and usually be more expensive to buy, but it will produce more heat and airflow, drying your hair faster than a less-powerful machine.
If you have long, thick hair, it makes sense to go for high wattage hairdryer. If your hair takes a long time to dry, you’ll want to get that job done as quickly as you can. Hairdressers often use very high wattage hair dryers because to them, time is money.
It’s important to consider though, that using a hairdryer that’s too powerful can damage your hair. While all hair dryers will damage hair to some extent, if the heat is too high this can cause fine, curly, or delicate hair to frazzle and break off.
You might also want to think about the cost of electricity to run your hairdryer. Blow-drying your hair can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour, depending on your hair type.
Running a 2000W hairdryer for one hour will cost around 28 cents, based on the average price of electricity in the US being 14 cents per kWh in 2022. However, if you live somewhere like Hawaii where electricity costs more, that price could easily double.
What Wattage Hair Dryer Is Best?
For most people, a hairdryer with a wattage of 1600 to 2000 watts is best. This will give you enough power to dry your hair quickly. But, if you have very long, thick hair, then it’s worth investing in a more powerful model.
It’s wise to choose a hairdryer with several speed and temperature settings. You don’t need to have your hairdryer on full power all of the time. You can turn down the fan speed and temperature as your hair becomes drier. And using cool air can be helpful if the room is already very warm.
Is 2000W good for a hairdryer?
2000 watts is good for a hairdryer. A 2000 watt hairdryer is a little more powerful than average and you should have no problems drying your hair with it. If you find it to be too powerful, make sure to adjust the speed and temperature settings to suit your needs.
Is 1800W good for a hairdryer?
1800W is average in terms of hairdryer power. You’ll find a good range of hair dryers to choose from and these will be sufficient to dry most types of hair in a reasonable amount of time.
Is 1600W good for a hairdryer?
1600W is a little on the low side in terms of hairdryer power, unless it’s a travel hairdryer. If you have short or fine hair then 1600 watts will be just fine, but most people would benefit from choosing a more powerful model to speed up drying time.
The 3 Best High Wattage Hair Dryers
High-wattage hairdryers are used in hair salons to dry hair very quickly? Have you noticed how hairdressers can use just one quick blast of air on each section of hair to dry it? That’s because their professional blow dryers are more powerful than most.
Here are the best high-wattage hairdryers for long or thick hair:
1. Somoya 3500W Professional Hair Dryer
This professional salon-quality hairdryer runs at 3500 watts with a pure copper motor and ionic technology to protect your hair and eliminate static while drying it quicker than any other.
2. Twin Turbo 3900 Advanced Hair Dryer
The go-to brand for many hairdressers, this Twin Turbo hairdryer has 2100 watts of power and a special attachment for professional blow dries.
3. Elchim 3900 Professional Hair Dryer
Fast-drying, quiet and lightweight, this ceramic and iconic blow dryer has everything you could need for a salon-quality blow dry at home.
The 3 Best Low Wattage Hair Dryers
Low wattage hair dryers are great for camping or to use in an RV. As they don’t use too much electricity, you can run one on generator power. If your hair is short and fine, low-wattage hairdryers are good to use every day as they’re less damaging than others.
Here are some of the best low-wattage hairdryers to buy:
1. Lalasani Mini Blowdryer
At just 20cm in size, this mini blowdryer is small enough for travel yet with 800 watts of power it has sufficient airflow volume and heat to use every day.
2. Jinri Professional Mini Hair Dryer
This 1000-watt hairdryer is ideal for curly hair with a mini diffuser as well as an air concentrator. It’s small enough for travel and lightweight enough for kids to use.
Hair Dryer Power FAQs
Hairdryers don’t typically lose power over time. However, modern blowdryers are generally made to be more powerful than those that were made many years ago. Rather than a gradual loss of power, most hairdryers fail suddenly when one of the components fails.
The Somoya Professional Blue Light 3500W hairdryer is the most powerful hairdryer on the market with 3500 watts of power. With two speed settings and three heat settings, this blow dryer will dry your hair faster than any other.
12V hairdryers use as little as 216 watts of power. They often come with a special plug so that you can connect them to a car power socket or other 12V power supply when camping. They’re not very powerful, but okay for short hair.
You can power a hairdryer with a generator, but you’ll need to make sure that the wattage of your hairdryer is lower than the generator’s output wattage. A 2000 watt generator will power most standard hairdryers.
To Conclude
When choosing a good hairdryer, wattage is one of the most important things to consider. The wattage shows not just how much electricity the device needs to run, but it’s a good indication of how powerful it is in terms of heat and airflow.
Most hairdryers have multiple speed and temperature settings. So when choosing between two models, it’s wise to go for the most powerful option, knowing that you can turn down the power should you find that your hair dries too quickly before you have time to style it.