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  4. The Weird and Wonderful Past of the Hair Dryer

The Weird and Wonderful Past of the Hair Dryer

By InStyle Staff
Updated Aug 27, 2016 @ 12:30 pm
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Credit: Kent Gavin/Keystone/Getty Images

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

Credit: Jennie Hills/Getty Images

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

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Chrome-Plated Dryer, 1928

Credit: FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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

Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images

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.Ā 

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Hand-Held Dryer, 1925

Credit: SSPL/Getty Images

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.Ā 

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Dual-Sided Dryer, 1930

Credit: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

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

Credit: Getty Images

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.Ā 

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Hooded Dryer, 1934

Credit: J. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

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

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Freestanding Dryer, 1935

Credit: Lewis W. Hine/George Eastman House/Getty Images

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

Credit: David Savill/Getty Images

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.Ā 

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Heat Drying Lamp, 1948

Credit: Ralph Royle/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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.Ā 

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Hand-Held Dryer, 1956

Credit: Jack Garofalo/Paris Match via Getty Images

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

Credit: Kent Gavin/Keystone/Getty Images

But that didn't cancel out the beauty shop movement altogether. To achieve the trendy flips and beehives of the early 1960s,Ā 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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1 of 12 Early Versions, Circa 1880
2 of 12 Chrome-Plated Dryer, 1928
3 of 12 Hand-Held Dryer, Early 1920s
4 of 12 Hand-Held Dryer, 1925
5 of 12 Dual-Sided Dryer, 1930
6 of 12 Helmet Dryer, 1930
7 of 12 Hooded Dryer, 1934
8 of 12 Freestanding Dryer, 1935
9 of 12 Multi-Prong Dryer, 1936
10 of 12 Heat Drying Lamp, 1948
11 of 12 Hand-Held Dryer, 1956
12 of 12 Hooded Dryers, 1963

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The Weird and Wonderful Past of the Hair Dryer
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