Key Difference: Hair dryers or blow dryers are electromechanical devices that give off hot or cool air to dry hair quickly after a shower. The hair dryer is designed to give off the air to help accelerate the evaporation of water from the hair. Hair iron is any tool that is used to change the structure of the original hair. It is also known as hair tong. Hair iron isn’t one device but three: a straightening iron, curling iron and crimping iron. All of these three devices are known as hair irons.

Hair dryers and hair irons are two different devices with two different purposes. The main purpose of a hair dryer is to dry wet hair after a shower, while a hair iron is used to style hair by providing curls, waves or straightening it. A hair dryer can also be used to style the hair and create a bounce or give hair volume. Hair dryer are the most common devices that are found in many people’s houses and are used regularly. Hair irons are much more popular with their separate names such as straightening iron, curling iron and crimping iron.

Hair dryers or blow dryers are electromechanical devices that give off hot or cool air to dry hair quickly after a shower. The hair dryer is designed to give off the air to help accelerate the evaporation of water from the hair. The faster evaporation also allows the hair to style and set quickly compared to air drying. Hence, hair dryers are a common feature of almost all salons and hair styling boutiques. After a wash, temporary hydrogen bonds form between strands of hair and are quite powerful and determine the shape and style of hair. Blow dryers also play a huge part in controlling these hydrogen bonds that shape the hair. These bonds are temporary and can be washed out.

Hair dryers and blow dryers were invented around the 1890s by Alexander F. "Beau" Godefroy and were a part of his salon in France. It is said that Godefroy created the hair dryer by taking inspiration from a vacuum cleaner. These traditional hair dryers were huge and had a dome that was placed on top of the client’s head, which would put out warm air to dry and style the hair. Modern versions of such devices, known as hair hood dryers are still seen in some salons. The handheld hair dryers that are found in almost all households popped up during the 1920s and were used by beauty salons and professional stylists. However, the first patent for a blow dryer in America was filed in 1911 by Armenian American inventor Gabriel Kazanjian.

Hair dryers are made by using plastic with ceramic heating elements. The ceramic provides an instant heating capability, resulting in faster heating and drying time. The device has coils of wire with high electric resistivity along with a fan that is powered by a universal motor. The heating coils or ceramic heating elements provide the heat to heat up the air, while the fan blows the air out of the device. The devices are powered by electricity. The hair dryers also have a ‘cool’ button that does not provide heat but simply provides room temperature hair to reduce the frizz from the hair. Now-a-days, many dryers are available with various technologies such as ionic features, which are claimed to reduce static electricity between hair strands and make hair less frizzy and smoother. Hair dryers are also available with various attachments such as diffusers, airflow concentrators, and comb nozzle attachments.

Hair iron is any tool that is used to change the structure of the original hair. It is also known as hair tong. Hair iron isn’t one device but three: a straightening iron, curling iron and crimping iron. All of these three devices are known as hair irons. The main purpose of a hair iron is to change the look of the hair, giving it curls, making it straighter or crimping it. All of these devices are powered electrically, with some portable, cordless curling iron being powered by butane.

Straightening Iron is a type of hair iron that is used to straighten the hair. These are also known has straighteners and flat irons. These irons are used to remove natural curls and waves from the hair and make it straight.  Straightening irons work by breaking down the natural hydrogen bonds between the hair strands. These bonds allow the hair to bend and be curly. However, exposure to humidity and moisture can result in the bonds to reform, which is why many people have frizzy hair when it is humid out.

Curling iron is a type of hair iron that can create waves and curls in hair using different methods and products in the hair. Curling irons are in cylindrical shape and have a metallic barrel, with a plastic handle. Some curling irons may also come with a clip to hold hair in place. The purpose of a curling iron is to provide curls or waves to naturally straight hair. The plastic handle commonly comes with only one button, but could have more buttons if the device has extra features. There are many different types of curling irons, which vary by diameter, material, and shape of barrel and the type of handle. The barrel can range between 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) to 2 inches (5.1 cm). The smaller barrels are used for curls and ringlets, while the bigger barrels are used to create waves.

Crimping iron is a similar to a straightening iron, but has ridges on the heating plates. The ridges allow the hair to have a crimped look to them. These irons are used for purely styling the hair and does not curl or straighten the hair. Crimping results in the hair looking wavy with very small waves, similar to a saw tooth. Other names include krinkles or deep waves. Hair is crimped using the crimping iron and can even be done using a straightening iron or just braids. The straightening iron is run through the hair in small S pattern, which creates small bends or waves in the hair. If one wants the style without splurging on the iron, they can create small braids and leave them for an hour or so, use a hair dryer to set the style and then remove the braids.

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