It's the woman's equivalent of a hammer. The tool you can't live without. There are so many options on the market now for the biggest, best, most powerful and expensive blow dryers . When you need to replace it, what do you do? Ionic, Ceramic, Cool shot buttons. With all the options available, what are you to choose? What do you need to survive in the big, scary hair jungle? Blow dryers were invented in the late 1800's by a French stylist, Alexandre F. Godefrey. These first dryers were very large seated versions where clients would sit underneath and be nearly engulfed by the sheer size. Quite a risky seat to be in in the name of beauty. Handheld models, similar to today's versions, would not become available for home use until the 1920's. Hairdryers work by using a fairly simple concept. Dryers work by blowing hot or cool air over your hair to speed up the evaporation process. Room temperature air is sucked in through the vents and passed over wire coils that heat it, causing hot air to be sent to your head. Blow dryers that offer a "cool shot" button simply turn the heater portion of your dryer off and blow room temperature air through. This is a nice feature to use when adding a polished look to your ends, but certainly not something you must spend an additional $50 on. Ionic blow dryers have a very appealing function for those with frizzy hair. Dryers that are ionic produce additional ions that help to reduce the amount of static electricity that becomes built up in the hair. This leaves your hair feeling smoother and softer. Almost every blow dryer available now, from top of the line to bargain basement, is ceramic. Ceramic, in the hairdryer world, means that the coils inside are "instantly" hot so your hair will be dry even faster. Since ceramic materials are usually ionic already it is a safe bet that you will usually be getting the benefits of an ionic dryer even if it only claims to be ceramic. Good tools will help you achieve the results you get from salons. The cheaper the dryer you are looking into buying, the lower the quality of products put into it. Even if the $10 blow dryer boasts ceramic technology, the quality of the ceramic is probably so poor that the benefits of using that dryer are almost null. So, now that the fancy words have been chopped down to the basics and deciphered, you can accurately shop for what you need in a hairdryer. Remember that you get what you pay for in quality, and if ever in doubt, ask your stylist what he or she uses!

Tabitha is a beauty professional at Salon Destino in Strongsville, Ohio.

Learn more about your hair at www.beautykazoo.com

* Historical information taken from Wikipedia at www.wikipedia.com