The best hair dryers for fine hair: our top picks for volume and hold

When it comes to scouting out the best hair dryers for fine hair, it's important to remember that not all models are made equal. For thinner hair types that means finding something that won't frazzle delicate ends or leave you with flat, wispy locks.

In our bid to find the best hair dryers for fine hair, we took into consideration several factors: Drying and motor power, volumizing potential, and, of course, ease of use. For this, we tried and tested dozens of models on the market—and while the overall winner may not surprise you, there are some unexpected models in the mix too.

With some of the industry's best hair dryers and best hair straighteners under its belt, it follows that longstanding hair styling titan ghd topped our list with the excellent ghd Helios. This dryer is packed with power and comes in a gorgeous selection of colors. We also love the shiny finish we get from Cloud Nine’s futuristic-looking Airshot Pro, while the pioneering Dyson Airwrap Styler makes achieving a whole gamut of at-home blow-dry looks a cinch.

How to choose the best hair dryers for fine hair

When picking the best hair dryer for fine hair, consider these essential features:

• Multiple speed settings: Low speeds can give you more styling flexibility—especially if you have a short hairstyle or bob hairstyle. “With finer hair, you need to control the direction of the blow-dry so that you can stop it blowing out of the brush—a low-speed button can help, so make sure your hair dryer has this,” says Craig Taylor, creative director at Hari’s.
• Multiple heat settings: Lower heat will help prevent damage, which is a good thing for fine, delicate strands. Hair Restoration surgeon Dr Munir Somji explains, "look for hairdryers that have adjustable heat settings and cool air buttons. That way you can lower the heat to cause less damage, and use the cool air to seal the cuticle once finished." Many of the best hair dryers for fine hair offer a selection of at least two lower temperature settings. 
• Cold button: “I like a cold button for when I'm trying to set movement into the hair or root; blowing cold air helps set the bend and body that you're trying to mimic in the hair,” says Taylor. Cold air will also seal the hair cuticle, so hair looks smoother and shinier, too. You might also want to look for features such as dryers than include the best diffusers for curly hair, if your hair tends toward being fine and frizzy.
• Material: Dr Somji notes that the materials used in your hair dryer make just as much of a difference as the high-tech elements. "If you have fine or dry hair, ceramic or metal nozzles give the heat a consistent temperature and make the heat less harsh."

Fine hair also needs extra care when it comes to heat styling, according to Dr Somji—which is why picking the best hair dryer for fine hair is important. He advises, "Use a microfiber towel to retrieve as much moisture from the hair as possible, then use a hair dryer. Doing this means that you will be using it for a much shorter amount of time, therefore reducing the risk of extensive heat damage." 

The best hair dryers for fine hair, chosen by our experts

Eight years after the straightening-iron powerhouse entered the hair dryer arena with their Air blow dryer, GHD dropped the irresistible Helios. And it seems that with its most recent offerings, the cult brand has stepped up its design game, as, just like the ghd Platinum+ hair straightener, the Helios hair dryer will take any vanity from bleak to chic.

It tops our best hair dryers for fine hair list, as it looks fabulous in every one of the six stylish color options, designed to be shown off on a hair dryer stand. It also packs a serious punch when it comes to power. It's got a mega-high wattage that means you’re getting a forceful 120km/h shot of air through the concentrated nozzle, which goes a long way in adding volume to fine hair and will leave you with a shiny, bouncy look in seconds.

It is at the high end of the price spectrum and comes in heavier than most of the rest, but it is so streamlined that you can’t feel the difference in weight when using—its ergonomic design, which makes giving yourself a bouncy blow dry very easy, making the minimal extra weight on this tool definitely worth carrying.

See our full GHD Helios hair dryer review (opens in new tab)

Going away on vacation is all fun and games—until you have to brave the hotel hair dryer tucked in your room’s bathroom drawer, or worse, the stock version hooked up to the bathroom wall. T3’s Featherweight Compact is here to save you from the horrors of sub-par vacation hair with its light, portable design, effective performance and enviable results. Oh, and it looks like something straight out of a five-star salon, so there's that too. 

With a folding hinge that makes it a breeze to fit into your carry-on, the dryer has an unusually small barrel that can look slightly strange, but makes for painless styling. Despite being a bit slower than our other favorite hair dryers (as you would probably expect from a smaller, travel-friendly product), it packs a stronger punch than most tools you’ll find in a hotel room and comes with a cool-shot option and a concentrator nozzle for sleek styling that can be enhanced with products such as shine serum or at-home keratin treatments . It's also great if you prefer hairstyles with bangs and need a tool to keep your fringe in check on the go. It may not give the other best hair dryers for fine hair a run in the power stakes, but for a post-swim session, we’ll take it.

Unboxing this glossy-black masterpiece, you would probably mistake it for a high-end splurge. The modest dryer boasts curvy contours in its sleek barrel, with an attractive clinched vent at the back that can be easily popped out for regular cleaning to avoid any overheating. And for such a humble offering, its energy is staggering, which is why it made it onto our list of the best hair dryers for fine hair. 

The forceful jet of air allows for quick drying and accurate styling; however, on the highest speed it can almost be a bit too powerful to control fine hair, so if your locks tend to be on the wispy side, we'd suggest opting for the lower setting. Plus, the robust airflow does make the dryer one of the louder ones we tried. 

We did also find that, despite the use of hair-strengthening tourmaline-ceramic technology, the results on the hair weren’t as sleek as some of the other dryers on our list. So if you wanted a super smooth look, you might need to finish up with one of the best hair straightener brushes. But for such a reasonably priced option it definitely holds its own against the industry’s best.

There's nothing more annoying than spending ages doing your hair only for it to go frizzy and static. Sometimes, no matter how much you've perfected how to blow dry hair, it will still get frazzled and flyways appear. If your hair's on the drier side, it's important to pick products specially designed for your locks to ensure it gets an extra boost of hydration. This affordable option by Babyliss is perfect for fine, frizz-prone hair.

Although maybe not as lightweight as some of the others, the benefits balance that out. 2100 watts makes for a powerful blast of air, and the three heat settings mean you can stick to the cooler options, to help prevent hair from getting fried. It comes with two attachments—a smoothing nozzle and a handy diffuser for curls, so really it works on almost all hair types. On our tester's curly hair, it left coils looking shiny and soft without a hint of frizz. 

The price point is brilliantly affordable too—we were really impressed with how smooth hair was, especially when compared to other options four times its price. If you're looking for the best hair dryer for fine hair as well as frizz this is your best bet.

While professionals make achieving a bouncy blow-dry look effortless, anyone who’s ever gone the DIY route will understand the perils of wrangling different-sized barrels and brushes and how one wrong move can leave you looking the worse for wear. Enter the Dyson Airwrap: It caused ripples among blow-dry fans with its intriguing attachments that claim to do all the hard work for you. While the multi-functional tool does take some getting used to if you’re one who relies on a plethora of different hair tools or changes up your look day to day, then this one is definitely up your alley.

While the Airwrap does give your mortgage payment a run for its money, its all-purpose attachments do mean that you’re really getting the most bang for your buck. Not only is there a dryer attachment that essentially transforms it into the  Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, (opens in new tab) if you invest in the complete set, it also comes with two different-sized barrel attachments to easily create waves and curls, two brush attachments for straightening and smooth drying, and a round brush to create a dreamy blow-dry. It’s not quite powerful enough to leave a smooth, frizz-free finish on thick and curly hair—for that you might need to pair it with one of the best straighteners for curly hair—but for fine hair, it does the job in seconds, so it's definitely worthy to be classed as one of the best hair dryers for fine hair.

Even when we take as much care as possible and get strict about heat protection for hair, using a hairdryer can still cause some damage. Damage is more noticeable on fine hair, so it's something you need to be extra careful about when picking a hairdryer for fine hair. 

This high-tech buy uses infrared lights to penetrate the hair shaft, helping to repair damage and even preventing hair loss in early stages—a real problem in fine hair. The infrared technology also helps speed up drying time by 50%, which will minimize the exposure to heat and help lessen any future damage. It's a double-pronged attack to prevent hair from getting frazzled. The nozzle uses a clever honeycomb-shaped front, which helps evenly distribute heat for a more balanced blow-dry. It's also really lightweight—just over 500 grams, which is incredibly rare for such a powerful pick. That paired with the speedy drying means that annoying arm ache will be a thing of the past.

The lightness is a huge bonus, and we did notice our hair looking extra shiny and glossy after the first use. Ok, so maybe it won't actually reverse years of blow dries, but it certainly puts hair health at the forefront of its priorities, which you really do notice when you're using it.

If you have curly hair, you know the military precision and planning that goes into washing your curls and coils. It's not as simple as a wash and go—the curly girl method is high maintenance, to say the least. There's a lot of debate about whether you should use heat on your curls at all. Letting hair air dry is said to be better for its health, but let's be honest—we don't always want to wait around for hours after washing our locks.

Chances are if you dry your hair, it's through a diffuser attachment onto your existing hairdryer. But this clever little gadget cuts out the middleman entirely, working as a standalone, specialized diffuser. Learning how to use a diffuser works especially well for fine curls. It'll help boost volume and help your hair look fuller. 

The focus here isn't on the highest wattage or quickest setting—so there's less focus on the motor that can make some models heavy and clunky. This is pleasingly simple—just place your curls into the diffuser, switch it onto one of the four heat and speed combinations and they'll gently dry. Curly girls know that patience is key, and this is especially important when it comes to drying your curls. Speedy styling this is not but if you're looking for an easy, gentle diffuser to make your wash days easier and quicker, this is ideal. 

Walk into any hair salon and chances are you’ll glimpse a Parlux on every counter - so of course it has to be one of our best hair dryers for fine hair. It’s the signature dryer you’ll see your stylist using to give you the gorgeous bouncy look that you somehow always fail to replicate yourself. That said, investing in this humble purchase could give you a better chance at mastering how to blow dry hair. Despite being one of the brand’s most basic dryers, it still boasts a punchy motor and sleek durable casing.

It is less powerful than some of the other offerings on the market, but when it comes to working with fine hair, that can actually be a pro, as a slower airflow will give you more control over wispy locks and stop them from escaping your styling brush. A concentrator nozzle also makes for fast drying, despite the lower wattage. It’s not the prettiest hair dryer around, but for the super-pleasing price and the even more exciting salon-like results, it definitely deserves a place on our list.

Even the name gives us an inkling that this hair dryer is one to look out for. Cloud Nine’s Airshot Pro, which hails from one of the original founders of ghd, really does give you a professional-like shot of air for more control over your style—making it one of our best hair dryers for fine hair. And not only does it shoot out a mega-dose of power, but, in keeping with the brand’s kindness ethos, it’s also good for the environment: Its eco-precision motor monitors velocity to hyper-optimize airflow at fast speeds and cut drying time in half (literally, by 50 percent), while its lower wattage uses less energy than competitors on the market.

It has a ceramic mineral-infused heating element that distributes healing minerals tourmaline and sericite onto your locks to nourish and strengthen while leaving a healthy and shiny finish. And for any fine-haired types out there who also suffer from frizz, the Airshot Pro also features clever technology that works to get rid of frizzy hair and flyaways for a salon-worthy finish.

Ideal for those who love sleek, smooth styles, this savvy hair dryer comes complete with a concentrator nozzle that directs airflow for precise drying. While we’d expect more than one attachment for the price point, you can also remove the concentrator nozzle for general rough drying. In terms of power, this one packs a punch with 2100W, cutting down our drying time by half. Considering the high power, its weight of 525g is extremely impressive and easy to handle. 

There are four heat settings as well as two speed settings to suit your hair wants and needs. What’s more, you can choose between three ‘advanced care’ programs: gentle, strong, and care+. For those with fine hair, we’d highly recommend switching to the latter setting—it helps maintain healthy hair by reducing heat damage and reflecting light for shine. Double win! 

As for results, expect a smooth, shiny, volumized blow-dry—thanks to both the concentrator nozzle and the fact the hair dryer is infused with smoothing oils and uses ionic technology to reduce frizz. It’s a brilliant hot tool for sleek results but if you have a curly hairstyle and want a diffuser, we’d suggest looking at alternative dryers. 

The sleek, luxurious design of this hair dryer first caught our attention. Available in pearlescent white and rose gold or midnight black, there’s a style to elevate every dressing table. As well as being easy on the eye, the hot tool is a great choice for fast results. With powerful airflow and OPTIHeat technology (an optimized heat setting that boosts temperature by 400W), the device dries hair at an impressive speed. 

According to the brand, it also produces 90% more ions than Remington’s previous models to create healthier-looking, super sleek results. Included with the hair dryer are three different attachments. First up, the concentrator nozzle, which is great for creating sleek, straightened styles. Next, the stylized concentrator which is the perfect pick for creating a voluminous salon-worthy blow dry. Finally, there’s a diffuser attachment that enhances and helps define natural curls (providing you know how to use a diffuser.)

Overall, this powerful, chic hair dryer is a great pick for creating versatile styles in a matter of minutes. Word of warning: It can get very hot and is much noisier than the other dryers we tried. However, if you’re worried about the quality, take comfort in the fact that it has a 5-year warranty.   

Following in Dyson’s footsteps, technology giant Shark recently released a hair dryer that’s high-tech, innovative, and delivers impressive results on all hair types, including fine. Granted, it’s more expensive than most—but if you’re after a hair dryer that cuts down on damage as well as drying time, this could be the hot tool for you.     

Powered by something called iQ Technology, the dryer uses speed over force to generate a constant flow of ionized air that dries fine hair quickly with little-to-no damage. The results? Smoother, shinier strands. You can also take control of the dryer with three temperature and airflow settings (low, medium, high). 

As for attachments, there may only be two, which feels disappointing for the price point, but they’re both very intelligent. Magnetically connected, Shark recognizes which attachment is on and alters the heat and speed settings accordingly to give you the best results. Choose between the concentrator for sleek results or the diffuser to lift and define curls. We love how compact this dryer is and it’s quieter than most hair dryers we’ve tried.  

See our full Shark hair dryer review. 

woman&home thanks Craig Taylor and Dr Munir Somji for their time and expertise.