CHI Lava Pro Hair Dryer review: we test the luxe new tool

Table Of Content

• Best Budget: InfinitiPro by Conair SmoothWrap Hair Dryer
• Budget pick: InfinitiPro by Conair 1875-Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool
• How to Dye Your Hair at Home (Even Though You Probably Shouldn’t)
• Best affordable hair dryers
• What are the different types of hair dryers?
• best hair dryers for every hair type, approved by editors and experts
• Harry Josh Pro Tools Ultra Light Pro Dryer (Out of Stock)

If you’re on the go and need to bring your hair dryer with you, consider adding this tool to your packing list because it’s compact, foldable and has a 4.8-star rating from 200 reviews. Weighing less than one pound, it’s suitable for all hair types and helps dry your hair while also minimizing frizz because of its ionic technology, according to the brand. The dryer has auto dual voltage to automatically adapt to your new surroundings to minimize the worry of something going wrong while traveling and styling your hair.

Best Budget: InfinitiPro by Conair SmoothWrap Hair Dryer

It also has a mere one year of warranty coverage, and its nonintuitive touchscreen felt gimmicky. Compared with the Rusk W8less, the Amika Accomplice Compact Dryer (currently unavailable) is heavier, limited to a lower max temperature (215 °F), and double the price. However, its 9.5-foot cord ties with that of the GHD Helios for the second-longest cord among the dryers we’ve tried. The packaging for hair dryers is adorned with a ton of buzzwords and specs.

Budget pick: InfinitiPro by Conair 1875-Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool

Brush dryers have gained popularity because they simplify the drying process by simultaneously brushing and styling your strands, says Foster. This highly rated Revlon tool has nylon and tufted bristles designed to detangle and get close to the roots to create volume, according to the brand. Revlon’s One-Step has three heat settings and three speed settings, along with a cooling feature to help your style last longer. It has both ionic technology to dry your hair quickly, as well as ceramic to distribute heat evenly, according to the brand.

How to Dye Your Hair at Home (Even Though You Probably Shouldn’t)

Below, we break down how to determine which hair dryer is best for you. The Ghd Helios uses ionic technology, which means it can dry long, thick hair quickly without damaging it, according to our experts. It’s also lightweight at just 1.7 pounds, and has an ergonomic design, making it easier to style your hair, according to the brand.

We found that on the top setting, most dryers blew air at about 40 mph as measured a couple of inches away from the nozzle. That blowing air was around 200 °F (more if we held the dryer in place for a few moments). Although some dryers achieved faster wind speeds than others, interestingly that didn’t end up translating to notably or consistently faster dry times once we used them on our hair. Although this dryer is just as fast as pricier models, it’s the heaviest of our traditional hair dryer picks, and its attachments can be hard to remove. After putting in over 20 hours of research and spending over 70 hours testing 42 hair dryers, we’ve found that some are far more pleasant to hold and use than others.

If you want a slightly more affordable option, opt for the Pro Dryer 2000 from the brand. It’s heavy, but you don’t have to hold it high like a conventional dryer. It has a 5.5-foot hose that attaches to a 9-inch heat-producing wand.

Elchim offers an impressive warranty and repair program that covers all its hair dryers. At 1.2 pounds, however, the Elchim Classic 2001 is heavier than our picks, and we found the handle to be thick and awkward to hold. The EZ Dryer Ion is the most effective and efficient paddle-style hair dryer brush we tested. But because it’s missing markings for the air-temperature settings, it’s impossible to determine at a glance which setting the brush is on. More importantly, it lacks an ALCI (appliance leakage current interrupter) safety plug, so if it shorts or is immersed in water, the device won’t automatically turn off and therefore could cause an electrical shock. After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30?

The CHI Lava Pro makes hardly any noise and the LCD display is great when doing hair in a dimly lit bathroom. You know, when I need to light candles to help me unwind after a long day. Now, the Houston-based company is adding a new hair dryer to its family of heat tools—one that promises to reduce drying time while producing a stronger air flow of up to 110,000 rpm/min. I’m not a hairstylist, and I’m definitely not a physicist, but when I heard those numbers I was intrigued. When shopping for a hair dryer, our experts recommend looking at certain factors including your hair type, technology and settings to help you safely dry your hair with the help of these devices.

Harry Josh Pro Tools Ultra Light Pro Dryer (Out of Stock)

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For starters, the CHI Lava Pro weighs less than one pound, which is a big deal when you’re constantly lifting it to diffuse coarse hair. Trust me, lifting a heavy hair dryer can quickly turn into an unwanted workout session. The CHI Lava Pro allows me to dry my thick texture in 15 minutes and still have time for styling. Jessica Cruel blow drying her natural hair with the Dyson Airwrap straightening brush.

The 6-foot cord, though shorter than those on our other picks, is longer than those on most other inexpensive hair dryers. The buttons are easy to use, but the cool-shot button is a little small and harder to hold down than the cool-shot button on our top pick. Its tourmaline ceramic technology helps seal in moisture and prevent frizzy hair, experts told us. Other attachments include the brand’s Double-Layered Detangler Pik and Single-Layered Detangler Pik that help smooth and straighten hair, according to Kiss. It also comes with a removable filter, which Lothrop says is important to clean regularly. The Supersonic has all the key factors our stylists say are most important, so it’s not surprising Dyson’s unique-looking machine tops our list.

Conair covers the InfinitiPro with an impressive four-year warranty (PDF). The tip of this dryer gets really hot after using, so be careful placing it around small children or pets. And though the dryer itself isn't loud, I did hear a slight piercing sound in the background – almost like a television or radio that's lost reception. Deena Campbell is the Beauty Director of Marie Claire where she oversees beauty and health content on all platforms.