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The Evolution of the Hair Dryer
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Today, we see streamlined, hard plastic blow dryers that can use up to 2000 watts of heat at a time and are very efficient.
In 1970, the Consumer Product Safety Commission set up new regulations for hair dryers. Many companies had to make changes to their design.
Even though there were many innovations to the hair dryer by the 1920s, the dryers were often heavy weighing around 2lbs, were difficult to use, and ran into many problems with electrocution. It also took a long time to dry hair, considering that the average dryer could only use up to 100 watts of heat at a time.
This law is still in place in the United States. There are only an average of 4 deaths a year in the U.S. from electrocution with hair dryers thanks to this law.
In 1954, GEC changed the design of the hand-held dryer to move the motor inside the casing.
In the 1960s, blow dryers improved
by being altered with better
electrical motors.
Hamilton Beach Company also started branding hand-held hair dryers around this time.
The hair dryer was invented in 1890 by a French stylist for his salon. Before hair dryers were invented, people used vacuum cleaners to speed up the drying of their hair. The vacuum cleaner is what inspired the invention of the hair dryer.
In 1915 the hair dryers began to get on the market in hand-held form due to innovations by National Stamping and Electricworks under the White Cross brand.
U.S. Racine Universal Motor Company started making the hand-held dryers shortly after White Cross.
The first American hair dryer was invented in 1911 by an Armenian-American inventor, Gabriel Kazanjian.
Since the 1920s, development of the hair dryer has mainly focused on improving the wattage, superficial exterior, and material changes.
AEG also started making hand-held dryers in 1925.
The Evolution of the Hair Dryer
by Amber Marie Clark
The plastics used to make hair dryers also improved in the 1960s.
In 1951, the bonnet hair dryer was invented.
In 1991, the CPSC mandated the U.S. law that all blow dryers must use a ground fault circuit interrupter to prevent electrocution.
The 1950s also saw the introduction of the rigid hood hair dryer, which can use a much higher wattage of heat at a time than the bonnet dryer, and is commonly used today.