This is why you should spend the money on a professional hair dryer

No one does it like Dyson. (Read our review here.) It's fun to believe that the $400 price tag isn't worth the hype, but this is high-precision, high-velocity drying that you won't find anywhere else. That price also cover's Dyson's revolutionary scanner that measures air temperature 20 times per second to keep air below 212 degrees Fahrenheit. For those with brittle hair that needs every break from heat it can get, minimizing damage is pretty priceless.

Instead of relying on heat to dry faster, the Supersonic has sheer speed on its side. The bladeless design works similarly to that of Dyson's fans, mimicking natural drying with Air Multiplier Technology that focuses air on one area rather than blowing everywhere and creating tangles. The hollow head doesn't leave much room for a motor anyway, but putting the motor in the handle was a purposeful move to rebalance the weight and shape of the dryer. Instead of your wrist having to overcompensate for one end that's extra heavy, the Supersonic sports an even weight on each end that feels natural to hold for longer periods.

It's impressive that Dyson was able to shrink such a complex motor into the size of a quarter: The controlled air jets are powered by a digital V9 motor, which revs up to 110,000 rotations per minute and is so fast that it produces ultrasonic sound waves that are inaudible to the human ear. Dyson claims that its digital V9 motor dries six times faster than motors in competitors.

The process is further streamlined by multiple opportunities for customization. Aside from three speed settings and four heat settings (more than most competing dryers offer), the Supersonic comes with three attachments: a styling concentrator, a smoothing nozzle, and, wait for it, A DIFFUSER. They're magnetic, so you don't have to worry about them coming coming loose or being impossible to get off.

If you're going to spend this much on a hair dryer, it should be on a dryer that works for you. T3 would know — it's been paving the way for luxury at-home hair tools before Dyson even caught a whiff of the beauty industry. The brand's most revolutionary brainchild, the T3 Cura Luxe, offers two unique features that make styling on yourself the painless experience you've been dreaming of.

The Cura Luxe's auto pause function is one that no other dryers in this list have, and one that you probably didn't know you needed — but once you try it, you won't want to live without it. Infrared sensors in the handle can tell when your hand lets go of the dryer and will turn it off until you pick it up again. Just think about how many times you set your dryer down between sections. Suddenly, at-home blowouts aren't such a pain.

A range of five heat settings is an obvious plus for stylists who deal with multiple hair types in a day, but is also sweet for people at home who want to experiment. T3's blog(opens in a new tab) had professional stylists (who use the Cura on the daily) weigh in on the best combos of hair type and speed level: People with thick, coarse hair almost always need level 5, but those with fine, damage-prone hair probably don't need above a 3.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the Dyson Supersonic and the T3 Cura Luxe is the "shape" of the airflow. T3's drying is much less aggressive and better for fine hair that gets static-y easily. The volume booster is another bonus for the thin-haired folk: It turns ion production off to give hair every bit of volume in can get.

A hair dryer doesn't need to sound like a leaf blower to prove that it's powerful. The Harry Josh Pro Dryer 2000 is proof of that: It's the dryer to get if you're worried about waking someone up by doing your hair, and it still manages to clock airflow speeds over 80 miles per hour. 

The signature matte mint green shade is reason enough to love this dryer. But this bad boy isn't the winner of Allure's Best of Beauty awards three years in a row for nothing. This customizable dryer was created by stylists for stylists (celebrity stylist Harry Josh(opens in a new tab), if that wasn't obvious), spun into a package that's user-friendly and small enough to take on the go. The arctic cool shot button seals waves so well that you won't need to pack your arsenal of hair products, either.

Another beloved feature is the ion button. Most hair dryers produce negative ions, which keep hair shafts closed and help to keep hair sleek during heat styling. But not all styles require such a pin-straight texture. Harry Josh made the ions optional, so you can press it when you need to smooth or let it be when going for a more teased, tousled look.

It's probably not surprising that everyone's favorite flat iron brand also makes a bomb hair dryer. ghd's straightener is beloved for its ability to turn the frizziest strands into the silkiest ones in a single pass, and ghd's hair dryer is beloved for its ability to smooth hair that's prone to puffing.

Non-believers in ionic technology might just change their mind when they see the frizz control power in this bad boy. An industrial ion generator sits by the nozzle opening to ensure that every single section of air is being smoothed evenly while locking in moisture. The difference is so big that some people say they're experiencing soft hair for the first time in their life. One Sephora reviewer(opens in a new tab) calls it witchcraft.

This is one professional dryer that genuinely feels professional. That's good and bad. After years of going through crappy dryers, the ghd's sturdiness and durability will feel like a godsend — one that you'll be able to rely on for a really long time. However, the professional motor is so hefty that the dryer weighs noticeably more than competitors of the same size.

The heat and speed buttons are lined up on the back of the handle. This is great from a stylist's perspective, but awkward and easy to bump when styling on yourself. (Don't say we didn't warn you when you accidentally blow all of your hair products off the sink in front of you.) The included nozzle is also very sturdy. Attachments falling off in the middle of a client's appointment happens far too often in the salon, but some users have pointed out that it's literally too snug to take off.

Blow drying shouldn't feel like arm day at the gym. But when you're lifting hands above your head for 20 minutes on end, a heavy hair dryer quickly starts to feel like a dumbbell, and all the hand movements that go into styling really take a toll on those wrists.

Stylists who deal with wrist fatigue stan the Sam Villas Light Ionic Dryer because it manages to deliver serious airflow while weighing — wait for it — less than a pound. For reference, that's almost a pound lighter than the BaByliss Nano dryer. It's also the same weight and length as T3's compact Featherweight dryer but offers nearly 700 more watts of power. 

Think of it as the best of both worlds: You're getting the power of a full-sized professional dryer in the size of an easy-to-pack travel dryer. The dynamic airflow can be attributed to Sam Villa's patented Evolution-Turbo Compressor, which apparently can create the airflow that a salon-grade dryer needs to style quickly and smoothly with less power drainage and noise. 

Budget hair dryers prove why they're a fraction of the price as soon as you hit the "on" button. The air is weak, dangerously hot, and their motors crap out because they simply can't handle heavy regular use. BaByliss is an exception: Its recognizable line of blue titanium-infused hair tools are probably the only less-than-$100 tools you'll find in a salon.

The BaByliss Pro Nano Titanium hair dryer has the highest wattage of any dryer on this list, and its power makes itself known when the thickest heads of hair are dried in half the time it took with a different cheap dryer.

Curly hair but not a DevaCurl stan? The BaByliss is a great alternative for curly, coarse, or textured hair. Titanium is a great heat conductor because it warms up almost instantly and stabilizes and transfers that heat quickly, too. It's the type of constant, controlled heat that unruly tresses respond to, and the titanium-produced ions help to give you the shine that may have felt impossible to achieve at home. Beware: Titanium gets hot on the outside, too, so try to keep your hands off the barrel and give it time to cool down after unplugging.

Titanium is also less prone to corroding and chipping than ceramic, and many reviewers mention that they're only shopping for a new dryer because their five-year-old BaByliss finally died.

Drying curls requires an additional amount of care. A good diffuser is needed to mitigate airflow and ensure that your natural curl pattern isn't disrupted, and the DevaCurl's hand-shaped DevaDryer is hands-down the best option for keeping those natural curls glossy and bouncy.

Once you get past the initial shock of this diffuser looking like a literal cartoon character, the hand shape starts to make sense. (Don't ask about the lime green color choice.) The "fingers" provide the same coverage that the hand of your stylist would, getting close to your scalp to dry and volumize those roots. Holding a section of hair in the "palm" of the DevaFuser provides well-rounded airflow to all sides of a curl to promote bounce and prevent shrinkage.

Truth be told, people are more in love with the combo of the diffuser and dryer rather than the dryer itself. There's nothing special about the DevaDryer's two speed settings or middle-of-the-road wattage. The DevaFuser is advertised to be able to fit on most hair dryers, but a good portion of reviewers say that it's not that universal. If you want the DevaFuser, you should probably just buy the DevaDryer, too.

Adding to DevaCurl's lists of problems is, um, a lawsuit. The brand came under fire(opens in a new tab) in early 2020 from customers after reports of hair products like serums seemingly causing hair loss. If you'd prefer to support a different brand, the hair community won't blame you. Psst: The Black Orchid diffuser by xtava(opens in a new tab) is cheaper than the DevaFuser and has over 1,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.