History

History

Hairdryer made by AEG, about 1935

Before the invention of the hairdryer, it was actually common for men and women to dry their hair using a vacuum cleaner. In fact, the original model of hairdryer was invented in 1890 by Alexandre Goldefroy by taking inspiration from the vacuum cleaner.^[4] Alexandre invented it for usage in his hair salon in France and it was not portable or handheld, but instead could only be used by having the woman sit underneath it. However, it was not until the 1920s that the hairdryer began to go on the market in handheld form. This was due to innovations by US Racine Universal Motor Company and the Hamilton Beach Co. that allowed the hairdryer to be handheld. Even in the 1920s the new hairdryers were often heavy, weighing in at approximately 2 lbs, and difficult to use. They also had many instances of overheating and electrocution. It was also only capable of using 100 watts so it took a lot longer to dry hair (the average hairdryer today can use up to 2000 watts of heat).^[5]

Since the 1920s, development of the hairdryer has mainly focused on improving the wattage and superficial exterior and material changes. In fact, the mechanism of the hairdryer has not had any significant changes since its inception. One of the more important changes for the hairdryer is having the materials change to plastic so that it is more lightweight. This really caught on in the 1960s with the introduction of better electrical motors and the improvement of plastics. Another important change happened in 1954 when GEC changed the design of the dryer to move the motor inside the casing.^[6] Also, including safety mechanisms in them has been important, especially since Consumer Product Safety Commission set up guidelines in the 1970s that hairdryers had to meet in order to be considered safe to manufacture. Since 1991 the CPSC has mandated by US law that all dryers must use a ground fault circuit interrupter so that it cannot electrocute a person if it gets wet.^[7] By the year 2000 deaths by blowdryers had dropped to less than four people a year, a stark difference to the hundreds of cases of electrocution accidents during the mid-twentieth century. In terms of positive health, this type of hairdryer has also been cited as an effective treatment for head lice.^[8] Overall, the size, weight, noise, and appearance of the hairdryer has dramatically changed from the heavy bulky noisy contraptions of the early part of the twentieth century, to the streamlined plastic that people are used to today.

There are two other major types of blowdryers other than the hand held. These are the bonnet hairdryer and the rigid-hood hairdryer. The bonnet hairdryer was introduced to consumers in 1951. This type of dryer worked by having the dryer, usually in a small portable box, connected to a tube that went into a bonnet with holes in it that could be placed on top of a persons head. This worked by giving an even amount of heat to the whole head at once. The 50s also saw the introduction of the rigid-hood hair dryer which is the type most frequently seen in salons, and it had a hard plastic helmet that goes over the head. This dryer works similarly to the bonnet hairdryer but at a much higher wattage.^[6]