Hood Dryers vs. Diffusing - What's your brand?

Suburbanbushbabe

Someone asked me to start a new topic so here goes.

When it comes to drying my hair I have no patience with diffusing with a blow dryer. I use a hood dryer (Ion brand from Sally Beauty Supply or available on line, I paid $40). It takes me 30-35 minutes (hair is mid-neck length) to dry my hair. My hair looks like helmet head when it's bone dry, but I can pull it back into a scunci for a couple of minutes to loosen and fluff it.With a diffuser I'm constantly touching my hair and don't have the patience to stand there for that long. P

roblem is hood dryers aren't very portable. So this morning I got to the gym at around 6 a.m. so I could stop at around 7:10, go back home and shower/do hair and ...now I'm sitting under the hood dryer. I have totally lost the desire to air dry for 3-6 hours -- this from someone who walked out with wet hair this past winter and had it freeze between my front door and the car.

How do you solve the hair drying issue including not touching your hair? Do you diffuse or hood dry? What's your dryer brand? What's your workout solution?

hmkenny

I'd love to hear other people's answers. I workout first thing in the a.m. and I diffuse with a Conair bowl diffuser attached to my Andis dryer. I diffuse my hair all the way because I just can't dry it naturally. Takes too long and then it looks like I have bald spots. When it's really hot and humid and I am too pressed for time I wear it slicked back in a scunci, which is not a bad look for me but it's not a curly do. Can't have 2nd day hair because of the fact that I workout in the morning and therefore must at least rinse my hair afterwards.

Today I am having a very satisfactory hair day, better than I've had all month. No pics to share yet. I think I am finally settling into a good product/technique routine with my hair. (hope I didn't just jinx myself!)

curlynikki

My life revolves around my hair :oops:

Thus, I work out in the evening after I get off. I usually wait for the sun to start going down (my stationary bike is on the screened-in deck), so I'm usually done around 7:00pm. I then take a shower, co-wash and apply products. I use the same hooded dryer as you Suburban (Ion from Sally's), and I sit under it while I read or watch TV for about an hour and a half. My hair is usually about 80% dry at this point, so then I turn on the ceiling fan in my bedroom and sleep under it. In the morning I pull, pick and lift my 'helmet hair' into fluffy goodness

It's time consuming and a bit inconvenient, but I could never get up early enough to do this, and plus I like to look good everyday
I work out just about every day of the work week.

hth

curlynikki

Suburban,

How have you faired with that ION dryer? After blowing out two of them (in a one year period), I purchased a warranty and I've had pretty good luck with this one. I've really considered buying a professional one...but for now, the ION gets the job done.

I use to use a diffuser, but like you, I'm totally impatient and I end up touching it toooo much and it turns into a frizzy, undefined mess. Plus, I feel like the heat is a bit more extreme when I use a hand held dryer.

Air-drying is tough for me. Again, I'm very impatient, and it takes my hair 6-8 hours to dry.

I keep my ION set on low and medium heat. What about you?

2happy

I'm very interested in getting a hood dryer. How long does it take you gals to dry your hair with it?

I plop my hair for only 5 minutes (long enough to dry off my body and lotion up, etc). Then I let it air dry for 30-40 minutes while I do other stuff. Then I diffuse to about 80% dry. It probably only takes 10-15 minutes (depending on products, plopping time etc). My diffuser technique leaves me with some weird shaped curls sometimes. I think if I could sit under the hood, the shape would stay better, but I sure don't want helmet head. I'm a poofy kind of girl! Volume needed.

KristaRose

Thanks for starting this topic. I really want a hood dryer! When I got my Deva cut, a hood dryer was used. It scrunched quite nicely. I think perhaps I'm going to have to get one. If I do hate it (which I doubt), is it returnable? At Sally's?

spiderlashes5000

The hood dryer is nice to have for certain things. But my everyday drying implement is my diffuser. It's faster and a lot more convenient.

My hair is a bit past BSL and it takes me roughly 15 minutes to diffuse completely on the lower heat speed.

Over the years, I've had various blow dryers and bowl diffusers (usually mismatched brands). It really doesn't matter as long as the bowl fits securely on the dryer. The bigger the bowl, the better. Technique is more important than the brand. Just cup a big wad of your hair in the bowl and turn it on. Leave it for 2 or 2.5 minutes w/out moving it. Keep your head still. Check it after 2 or 2.5 minutes and if it's still very damp, give it another minute. Move around to different sections on your head. Rescrunch after you've done all over your head and go back over the places that are still damp. You can leave it 75% damp and dry the rest in your car very quickly.

curlynikki

kikirose wrote:

Thanks for starting this topic. I really want a hood dryer! When I got my Deva cut, a hood dryer was used. It scrunched quite nicely. I think perhaps I'm going to have to get one. If I do hate it (which I doubt), is it returnable? At Sally's?

If it's within 30 days and you still have the receipt it is returnable. If not, you're screwed. But the warranty!!

meriellyn

I want a pro hood dryer so bad I can hardly stand it.
I'm not sure where I could put a portable one that I'd be able to get my head under it properly. :?

Suburbanbushbabe

curlynikki wrote:

Suburban,

How have you faired with that ION dryer? After blowing out two of them (in a one year period), I purchased a warranty and I've had pretty good luck with this one. I've really considered buying a professional one...but for now, the ION gets the job done.

I use to use a diffuser, but like you, I'm totally impatient and I end up touching it toooo much and it turns into a frizzy, undefined mess. Plus, I feel like the heat is a bit more extreme when I use a hand held dryer.

Air-drying is tough for me. Again, I'm very impatient, and it takes my hair 6-8 hours to dry.

I keep my ION set on low and medium heat. What about you?

I've had the ION for around 2 years, using it infrequently. Only in the past 2 months have I been using it a lot. I use the high setting mostly and you can tell because the shell is warped :-D. I'm definitely thinking about buying a free-standing hood dryer like this one or a Conair:

http://www.folica.com/BaByliss_Therma_d1050.html

meriellyn wrote:

I want a pro hood dryer so bad I can hardly stand it.
I'm not sure where I could put a portable one that I'd be able to get my head under it properly. :?

Yes, that's my problem too. I have it set up on a stool with a box added for height. I use it when I'm on the PC or reading, and still it's a bit awkward as I have to turn this way and that. But it's only 30 minutes or so and beats diffusing.