* Get a professional salon dry right at home
* Adjustable height and air speed settings
* Extra-large hood can fit even jumbo-sized rollers
Throwback gimmick, or feasible beauty tool? Believe it or not, we’re inclined to say the latter when it comes to the Conair Pro Styler Bonnet Hair Dryer. A styling staple of the 40s and 50s, the bonnet or hooded hair dryer gave way to the now-ubiquitous, hand-held manual version. These days, the only place you’ll spy one of these is probably at your hair salon.
It’s understandable why the hand-held dryer took over — for one, it’s portable and takes up a lot less space than what was essentially a dedicated piece of furniture just to dry your hair. But there are a few reasons they were popular in the first place, and why they could stand to make their way back into our bathrooms.
With its domed shape that hovers over your entire head, the hooded hair dryer emits an even distribution of heat, unlike the concentrated, direct air stream of a manual dryer. By leaving all of your hair in place as it dries, it’s pretty much the ideal condition for setting any hair style. Hands-free styling is a pretty neat trick, too — one that’s especially welcome for those of us who don’t have pro-level skills when it comes to wielding a high-wattage manual dryer, brush and product, all while trying to look backward in a mirror. Two heat and speed settings, plus an adjustable neck make getting frizz-free, glorious hair that much easier.
While the physics of the hooded dryer remain the same, everything else has changed. Conair’s Pro Styler is a compact dome on a stand, so there’s no need to find a dedicated space for a wattage-blowing, hulking throne to hair like the old days. It folds neatly, ready to be stowed away in a drawer or bathroom closet. With its ease of use and minimal space-hogging, we’d dare say this throwback could be a look towards the future.
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