The Hair Dryer

A hair dryer is a small machine that dries wet hair. It blows out warm air through a nozzle. People use hair dryers after washing their hair. The warm air makes hair dry in just a few minutes.

How Hair Dryers Work

Inside a hair dryer is a little fan and a heating wire. When you turn it on, the fan pulls in cool air. The air passes over the hot wire and comes out warm. Most hair dryers have buttons to change the heat and speed. Some even have a cool button for a blast of cold air.

The First Hair Dryers

The first hair dryer was invented in France in 1890. It was huge and looked like a vacuum cleaner hose. Women had to sit under it at hair salons. Handheld hair dryers came out in the 1920s, but they were heavy and not very safe. Today's hair dryers are light, fast, and much safer to use.

Fun Facts

• Old hair dryers weighed more than two pounds and made very loud noises.
• Hair dryers can reach temperatures over 140 degrees.
• Some people use hair dryers to warm up cold shoes or thaw frozen locks.

Did You Know?

The very first home hair dryer was invented by a man named Alexandre Godefroy to help women at his beauty salon.