The Weird and Wonderful Past of the Hair Dryer

By InStyle Staff
Updated: Aug 26, 2016 @ 9:18 pm
InStyle brings you the complete history of the hair dryer, a staple tool in every girl's beauty kit.
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Early Versions, Circa 1880

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Many early versions of the hair dryer were stoneware 'Thermicon' brushes that could be filled with boiling water, and combed through your lengths. 

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Chrome-Plated Dryer, 1928

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In 1928, the space age was still decades away, but in retrospect, this chrome-plated dryer would look more at home on a trip to the moon than one to the salon.

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Hand-Held Dryer, Early 1920s

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It may seem like a steampunk take on today's dryers, but this wood and bakelite-coated model wasn't as travel-friendly, with a massive box that doubled as a vanity as its power source. 

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Hand-Held Dryer, 1925

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Though its two-speed setting would seem primitive today, this '20s-era tool was innovative for its time, and became a staple in middle-class households during the decade. 

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Dual-Sided Dryer, 1930

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Perfect for setting the plaited and waved styles popular at the time, this dryer blasted both sides of the head using heat lamps.

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Helmet Dryer, 1930

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This helmet version blasted hot air over the entirety of the head to thoroughly dry each section, taking up to two hours in total for longer lengths. 

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Hooded Dryer, 1934

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The helmet shape of this version, displayed at a hairdressing hair in London, soon became the standard in salons. 

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Freestanding Dryer, 1935

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The freestanding nozzle of this dryer, being used at a beauty school in New Jersey, allowed the stylist more control over where to direct the heat—not to mention, was much easier on the client's neck than the helmeted versions.

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Multi-Prong Dryer, 1936

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Alien abduction, or hair styling session? This model, showcased at the 1936 Hair and Beauty Fair in London, featured a series of heat-radiating rods to completely cover the head. 

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Heat Drying Lamp, 1948

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One at-home version of the dryer popular in the late 1940s incorporated heated plates of glass, which would slowly dry and set the hair. 

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Hand-Held Dryer, 1956

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In the 1950s and '60s, leightweight versions of the hand-held tool became more mainstream, and allowed women to be their own hairstylist. Here, Sophia Loren gives her strands a quick touch-up prior to the premiere of her film Pain, Amour, Ainsi Soit-Il.

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Hooded Dryers, 1963

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But that didn't cancel out the beauty shop movement altogether. To achieve the trendy flips and beehives of the early 1960s, women visited the beauty parlor on a weekly basis to get their hair styled, and sat under the massive hooded dryers to allow each look to set correctly. Here, a group of Miss World contestants from Finland, Brazil, Spain, South Africa, Israel, and Japan have their hair styled prior to competing in the pageant.

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