Both Andis and BaByliss make top rated hair dryers, so whether it's a ceramic, tourmaline, cheap, travel, lightweight or top-of-the-range appliance you're after, you can rest assured that both companies make a pretty comprehensive range of good quality blow dryers. But, which makes the best ionic hair dryer?
If you're looking to buy a new hair dryer make sure it's ionic. Traditional dryers will dry your hair all right, but they produce lots of positive ions. They are positively charged particles that have been shown to open up the cuticle thereby giving hair split ends, or that that ‘frizzy', ‘blow-dried' look. Negative ions, on the other hand, are good for hair. The negative ions seal the cuticle making hair shinier and healthier. They also break down water droplets into much smaller droplets that more easily evaporate – cutting down drying time – and the water droplets can also be absorbed into the hair shaft itself, thereby hydrating hair, giving it a smooth, shiny and sleek finish.
Andis has a long history of manufacturing hair care products and still designs and makes its product in the U.S. The company probably manufacturers more models of blow dryers than anyone else – everything from wall mounted, through to travel models. The company hasn't been slow to produce a range of ionic hair dryers and the Andis Colorwaves Pro 1875 Tourmaline Ionic AC is an excellent and popular appliance.
BaByliss is actually a subdivision of Conair and its range of appliances is designed in France. The BaByliss Thermal Ionic dryer is a best seller.
So, how do both of these appliances compare?
On price, the Andis wins, costing only around two-thirds the cost of the BaByliss. If cost is a consideration, you could do far worse than choosing the Colorwaves Pro. While both come with a concentrator nozzle, the Colorwaves Pro also comes with a Pick, which some might find useful. However, the concentrator of the BaByliss is made from ceramic, which is better.
The BaByliss may cost more but you do get a lot more for your money. For instance, the Andis hair dryer comes with a 1875 watt AC motor, which is more powerful than most, but the BaByliss Thermal Ionic comes with a very impressive 2000 watts of power.
Also, you get more heat settings. The Andis comes with 2 speed and 2 heat settings whereas the BaByliss comes with 3 heat and 3 speed settings – the high heat setting is very hot.
When using both dryers I found that I disliked the positioning of the heat/speed buttons on the Andis – they're found on the side of the handle, which is okay if your right-handed, but if you're left-handed I could easily imagine how accidentally turning them on/off could be an issue – until you got used to using it, I suppose. The buttons on the BaByliss are found on the front of the handle, which makes using them so much easier. Both models feature the cool shot button on the front of the handle.
Overall, the BaByliss hair dryer is better, however if you want to save yourself a few dollars, don't mind where the buttons are located on the handle, and don't particularly need a very hot temperature setting, then the Andis hair dryer would be a perfectly good choice.
