
You just turn your hair dryer on and dry your hair, right? Well believe it or not there are a few features in most hair dryers that will make your life easier. And your hair will also thank you for it! So, today we are talking about the anatomy of a hair dryer!
I am a retired hair stylist, and I will admit it. I went years without realizing what those plastic things were that come with your hair dryer. You know, the ones that connect to the front of the dryer. They are air concentrators and they serve a great purpose! I will go into more detail below!
This site uses affiliate links, which means a commission is earned if you make a purchase via the link. All content and images on this site are protected and may not be reused without written permission from the author.
Air Concentrator
Are you ready to work smarter instead of harder with your hair? Most hair dryers come with one if not two air concentrators to attach to the end of your hair dryer. Their main purpose is to help direct the flow of air coming out of the dryer. Helps to target where you want the air to go instead of blowing air everywhere! These are great to use if you are using a round brush or paddle brush while drying your hair.
My hair dryer came with two different sizes. The opening is bigger on one of them. This will allow for more airflow to come through. I use the smaller one, so I have more control over where the air is flowing. This is a game-changer if you are looking for a finished-looking blowout!

Cool Shot Button
The cool shot button is highly underused. I will admit I nearly do not use mine enough! When should you use it? The best time to use it is if you are using a round brush or another type of brush while drying your hair. Hitting the cool shot button while the brush is still in the hair will help to “set” the hair and cool it down quickly.

Air Filter
I cannot stress this enough! Please keep the air filter on the back of your hair dryer clean and free from lint & hair. My hair dryer does not have a removable air filter, but I have seen multiple hair dryers that do. If yours does you can remove it and rinse it off. If it is not removable just make sure that it stays free from any lint or hair.
Maintaining the air filter will help to extend the life of your hair dryer. If your air filter is blocked even partially it can make your hair dryer overheat. This can cause damage to your hair and the dryer itself.

Heat Settings
Most hair dryers have 3 heat settings, low, medium, and high. I highly recommend that you dry your hair at the lowest temperature that you can make work for you. Most hair dryers get extremely hot on the highest setting, and this can cause damage to your hair. Especially if you leave it on one spot of your hair and if you are not using a heat protectant on your hair.
I always give the same recommendation for all hot tools, use them at the lowest setting possible to get the result you are looking for. Hotter is not better! Lol! And please always use a heat protectant. Yes, even when blow-drying your hair. My favorite one is Blow Out Cream because it extends the life of my blowout, gives me shine, and has a heat protectant built into it!
I did a blog post a while back, How Hot is too Hot When Using Hot Tools. You can read that here. I give recommendations on what temperature to use hot tools depending on your hair type.

Diffuser
This one is mostly for my curly and wavy hair girls! Most hair dryers do not come with them, but I found one recently that works great with my T3 dryer. It has an adjustable nozzle on it, so it is adaptable to a lot of different hair dryers.
To get the most out of your diffuser you want the air to be able to circulate when you lay your curls into the diffuser. So, you want to find one that has a nice cup size with fingers in it. You can find the one I use that is universal here.
So, any surprises with the anatomy of a hair dryer?! I love my T3 hair dryer which you can find here. And I also have a T3 1-inch curling iron that I love when I want to have waves in my hair. I am curious, do you use the air concentrator when you blow-dry your hair?



A functional hair dryer means a lot to those who love beauty and love hair.
Yes, it definitely does! Thanks for reading!
This post was so beautifully done Julie. I would be nothing without the diffuser and the cool shot button! And T3 blow dryers are so amazing!
Thank you so much Dyana! I love my T3!! The cool shot button is so under utilized!