The 8 quietest hair dryers for a less noisy blow-dry, as tested by our experts
Drying your hair can be a fairly noisy task, so we tried and tested an array of tools to find the 8 quietest hair dryers on the market...
Best quiet hair dryers 2024: Jump Menu
1. Best overall: mdLondon Blow Hair Dryer
2. Best for no high-pitched sound: Beauty Works AERIS Hair Dryer
3. Best for a long warranty: Bio:Ionic Smart-X High Efficiency Dryer
4. Best for curly hair: Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer
5. Best for energy efficiency: Zuvi Halo Hair Dryer
6. Best for hairdressers: Hershesons The Great Hair Dryer
7. Best for storage: Diva PRO Atmos Atom Hair Dryer
8. Best stylish design: BondiBoost Sonic Hair Dryer
Forgive us for stating the obvious, but hair dryers can be loud - in fact, really loud. If this is something that bothers you, investing in one of the quietest hair dryers might just be your answer. With one of these tried-and-tested tools in your hair styling arsenal, you'll be able to hold a conversation or even (mostly) hear the radio while drying.
The best hair dryers are easily one of the most-used hair gadgets on the market, found in homes up and down the country. But even top tools aren’t guaranteed to be quiet – and if you can't try before you buy, how can you know which dryers will make less of a racket?
Apart from browsing those that are marketed as quieter, hairdresser and mdlondon founder Michael Douglas recommends a brushless motor over a traditional AC motor. "[This] means there are fewer moving parts in the engine of the hair dryer, so there's less friction and it therefore creates less noise,” he explains. “I think on average it makes it about 12 decibels quieter, which is quite a big deal. A direct current (DC) motor also consumes less energy, so it's more energy efficient and it costs less money to blow dry your hair [with one of these dryers]."
Between our decades of experience, woman&home's beauty team has probably trialled hundreds of hair dryers – including some that are impressively quiet, considering their power. After much testing, here is our selection of the quietest hair dryers on the market, with detailed reviews for each one.
Make a notable £70 saving on Hershesons The Great Hairdryer. This ultra-lightweight dryer has not only been engineered to avoid that dreaded arm ache but also to dry your locks in a speedy time. Equipped with Oxy Active Technology to help preserve hair colour and boost shine, while boasting a multiplying air flow, this quiet tool is a must-have for achieving a salon-worthy blow dry.
Michael Douglass is a hairdresser with a career spanning 35 years and is the founder of both the mdlondon hair salon and hot tool brand. He's shared his insights into what makes quieter dryers exactly that.
The quietest hair dryers at a glance
Best with no high-pitched sound
We loved this option due to its lack of a subtle but frustrating 'whistling' sound that we've noticed with a lot of hair dryers. The LED display shows what temperature the device is set to, as well as its speed setting. If something blocks the rear vent or it gets too hot, the dryer will handily turn itself off.
Best for curly hair
It's no secret that we love the Dyson Supersonic at woman&home, especially for curly and wavy hair types. But it's also one of the best quiet hair dryers, with a silencer in the handle and a motor that makes barely a hint of a whistling sound. Is there anything it can't do?
Best for energy efficiency
Though expensive, we found the Zuvi Halo was extremely quiet, with a gentle air attachment that creates an even softer result for the hair. What we liked the most about this option, though, is how efficient it is; emanating just 680w of energy.
Best overall
Created by hairdresser Michael Douglas and available in blue or an olive shade, this one takes the spot for the quietest hair dryer we tested. The incredibly light hair dryer omits a sound of just 76 decibels, with a brushless motor and a very useful self-cleaning feature.
Best with long warranty
Using air pressure rather than lots of heat to dry the hair, the Bio:Ionic Smart-X™ claims to dry hair 75% faster than most other dryers. There's also a lock function for once you've input your desired speed and heat settings, plus you'll see a light indicate when it's time to (self-)clean the device.
Best for hairdressers
When one of London's best-known salons creates a quiet hair dryer, you know it's going to be good. At 300 grams, this is ideal for travelling with, and there's even a small diffuser attachment for curly hair. With three heat and speed settings (and a cool shot), this is a really versatile option, too.
The quietest hair dryers on the market, reviewed by our beauty experts
Why you can trust Woman & Home
Lucy Abbersteen is a freelance beauty editor who has written for titles including Marie Claire, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and OK!, as well as regularly contributing to woman&home. She has many years of experience in rigorously testing and reviewing hairstyling tools, including dryers.
The best quiet hair dryer with no high-pitched sound
1. Beauty Works AERIS Hair Dryer
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
As well as both a lightweight and aesthetically pleasing white and gold design, Beauty Works' AERIS Dryer offers a very quiet user experience. As well as its low volume, what really stood out for us was the lack of the ever so slightly high-pitched "whistling" sound that is just about detectable in most quiet hair dryers, such as the Dyson Supersonic or mdlondon models.
As for the user experience, we loved the circular LED display at the top of the tool as you can clearly see the dryer’s exact temperature (60, 90, or 120°C) and speed setting continuously while drying, which is a nice touch if you want to make any adjustments. Once finished, however, we noticed the dryer continuously displayed "OFF" unless unplugged or switched off at the mains (though, on the flip side, this serves as a good reminder to do so when you've finished using it). Another useful safety feature worth mentioning is that the dryer automatically shuts off if the rear vent is blocked or its temperature exceeds 150°C.
This dryer comes with two nozzles and a handy dust bag for storage, but the compatible diffuser has to be bought separately, which does let it down a little when you consider the significant price tag. But all in all, this ultra-light, ultra-quiet hair dryer didn’t disappoint when it came to styling, yielding a pretty smooth finish as well as drying our hair quickly – in fact, we'd also vote it one of the best hair dryers for fine hair.
The best quiet hair dryer for curly hair
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
By far one of the most famous hair dryers on the market, the Dyson Supersonic and its expert engineering were truly revolutionary when the tool first launched in 2016. Alongside its smart airflow system that dry hair quickly and efficiently, it's also famously quieter than your standard dryer – even on its highest speed setting. A Dyson engineer explained to woman&home that the motor, which sits at the base of the handle, is made quieter thanks to the inclusion of a silencer. The V9 Digital Motor's fan was also tweaked slightly to avoid any high-pitched whistling.
While the Supersonic is great for all hair types, we wanted to give it a particular shout-out for styling curly hair types because the expertly engineered airflow is so gentle on curls through the accompanying diffuser – just one of a whopping five attachments that come with this dryer as standard. Admittedly, this attachment could be slightly larger, but it has lots of tiny holes to evenly disperse the air, which can add volume (for those who feel they need it) and definition. In other words, it's easily one of the best diffusers for curly hair.
We can speak from firsthand experience that it’s the best pairing for styling all types of curly hair – think defined and frizz-free. And on another note, we've really never seen flyaways flattened as well as the unique flyaway attachment can. It's a brilliant tool.
See our full Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer review
The best quiet hair dryer for energy efficiency
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
We would describe the Zuvi Halo drying experience as eerily quiet (in a good way), which is largely down to the fact that it uses clever light technology as well as gentle air to dry hair. Whether we were opting for a sleek style or using the accompanying diffuser – though do note this bundle costs more at £369 – to achieve a curly blow dry, this combination left our strands feeling seriously soft. What’s more, it also comes with a gentle air attachment for an even softer drying experience.
A must-mention that really sets it apart from competition is this dryer’s energy efficiency. While most models’ rating exceeds 1,000w – sometimes even 2,000w – the Halo’s is remarkably low at just 680w, so it will have far less of an impact on your electricity bill while still performing to a high standard. Its ability to save you money in the long run slightly softens the blow of its hefty price tag which, much like the Dyson Supersonic's, isn’t feasible for many people.
As for the actual user experience, there was no denying that it left our hair soft, probably because, for the most part, it dries at one note – you physically cannot crank things up to much hotter or faster. Overall, we’d say this is proof that you can put a price on healthy hair.
See our full Zuvi Halo Hair Dryer review
The best quiet hair dryer overall
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The competition for the top spot in our edit of the quietest hair dryers by ear was a very, very close call, but if we’re talking specific volume ratings, this tool topped the rest coming in at just 76 decibels. Created by celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas, this dryer looks and feels incredibly premium. Even the colour options are trendy, with both dark teal and olive green on offer (we tested the former for this piece).
But, most importantly, let’s get into the details of how well (and how quietly!) it performs. First of all, when used on the lowest speed setting it is impressively hushed, which is thanks to that aforementioned brushless motor. As well as being compact and very light, another feature that sold it to us is how quickly it switches between the hottest and coldest heat settings – there's no waiting around for the dryer to cool down, so if you’re styling in a hurry, you can set your style quickly with peace of mind that it will be cool in no time.
To mention a couple of minor quibbles, you have to press and hold the button for a little while to turn it on and off, and, though a diffuser is available to buy separately, we always like it when this is included as standard. But, really, neither of these things makes a dent in our overall opinion of it. It left our hair feeling great and ticked all of our boxes, as you'd expect from a tool made by a top hairdresser.
Read our full mdlondon BLOW Hair Dryer review
The best quiet hair dryer loved by hairdressers
5. Hershesons The Great Hair Dryer
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
In a stylish electric blue hue, The Great Hair Dryer marked Hershesons', one of London's most luxurious salon destinations, entry into the hot tools arena. Arriving in a handy metal case with a leather-look handle, the dryer itself features three attachments: two concentrated nozzles and a small diffuser.
It's small but incredibly mighty, its quiet nature and less than 300 gram weight makes it ideal for travel, whilst promising impressive blow-dry power and results. With three speed settings and three heat settings, including a cool shot, its oxy active technology also works to boost shine and preserve colour.
It can be easy to accidentally knock buttons and change setting with smaller and compact dryers, however the tool's helpful lock button helps avoid this. You can even programme in your desired settings and forget all about them until you’re done. As you’d expect from a brainchild of hairdressers, it performs brilliantly, and hairstylists and beauty editors alike have been raving about it; our senior beauty editor deems it one of the best hair dryers for curly hair.
Read our full Hershesons The Great Hair Dryer review
The best quiet hair dryer with a long warranty
6. Bio:Ionic SMART-X High Efficiency Dryer
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Thanks to its impressive credentials, Bio:Ionic’s Smart-X immediately piqued our interest when researching super quiet hair dryers. Utilising enhanced air pressure, as opposed to excessive heat, this tool claims to dry hair 75% faster than its competitors. Whilst the highest heat setting is still pretty hot in our book, it also ensures consistent drying by balancing the air and temperature 100 times per second.
When it comes to actually using the dryer, we thought it was particularly powerful which left our hair feeling soft, however, we didn’t notice a dramatic difference with the drying time compared to other top-tier tools from the likes of Dyson, mdlondon and Beauty Works. Regardless, this dryer did give us the feel of a premium gadget - which we enjoyed using at that.
Other notable tech specs that ticked our boxes include a switch that locks in your programmed desired settings – it even remembers them next time you fire it up – and a light-indicating its self-cleaning feature. All set with a huge 10 year guarantee, if you’re looking for an investment dryer, this is one that will go the distance.
The best quiet hair dryer with a stylish design
7. BondiBoost Sonic Hair Dryer
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
This tool from Australian brand BondiBoost also makes the edit of the quietest hair dryers. Aside from its equally cool black and white colourway, it also comes with two useful attachments – a narrow nozzle and a decent-sized diffuser.
We did notice that it’s ever so slightly noisier when starting it up than other dryers in this roundup, however, it is still noticeably quieter than traditional hair dryer motors. Despite the noise, the tool did assist a nice drying experience, leaving our hair soft and frizz-free - two features that helped score it points throughout the review process.
As for downsides, the only real quibble for us was that it was difficult to know what setting you’re on simply by looking at the dryer. Instead, you have to go through each setting to work out where you’re at while changing. It could also benefit from a lower speed setting than the current lowest offering, but it’s still a lightweight and undeniably quiet tool.
The best quiet hair dryer for storage
8. Diva Pro Atmos Atom Hair Dryer
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Another super compact dryer, Diva Pro's Atmos Atom Hair Dryer is very small and therefore, it's no surprise that it made our roundup of the quietest hair dryers - which lends itself well to travel. Both the dryer and attachments are set out in a stylish metal tin, which is great for both general storage and keeping these parts together when on-the-go.
Each attachment is magnetic, which is both satisfying and secure, and you get two different lengths of narrow nozzles and a diffuser to play with – its cable length is also very generous measuring at 3m. The results leave you with a nice drying job without an excessive amount of unwanted frizz after. The downsides are that the plug, although adaptable for EU use, is quite chunky and it's not the most premium-feeling hair styling tool we've ever picked up. But there's no denying this is a quiet device that provides a pleasant drying experience.
How we tested the quietest hair dryers
Throughout this review process, we tried and tested a variety of hair dryers that were promoted as being particularly quiet by their manufacturers, whilst comparing them against one another to find the overall quietest tool. Whilst volume was an important factor, it wasn’t the only category we required these dryers to score well in – we also required them to be all-around excellent dryers and assessed the below factors while testing...
- Volume (in decibels if provided)
- How loud it sounded at the lowest and highest speed settings
- Price
- Number of heat settings
- Number of speed settings
- Attachments that come as standard
- Any outstanding advanced technology or features
It’s also worth noting that some of the quietest hair dryers can be a little on the pricier side, due to their advanced technology in making them less noisy. However, more positively, this means they are often lighter and more compact, which increases their value-for-money factor as they can often double up as the best travel hair dryers.
How to choose the quietest hair dryer for your hair
First and foremost, when it comes to finding the quietest hair dryer to suit your needs, it’s crucial to look at the decibel rating to decide whether it’s less noisy than other average tools. However, you'll still want to ensure it ticks all of the boxes that'll make it suit your hair type and all your styling needs. The following are all important features to take into account before making a purchase…
- Attachments: Ideally, the attachments will come included with your dryer rather than having to be purchased separately. Concentrator nozzles are beneficial for more precise styling, while a diffuser is extremely useful for drying curly hair types.
- Speed and heat settings: Having multiple speed and temperature options means you can adjust your dryer depending on your hair's needs and/or desired finish.
- Size and weight: These are both important day-to-day, especially if you're hoping to avoid the dreaded arm ache. But it's even more important if you travel frequently and need a tool that won't take up too much space, or weigh a tonne, in your bag.
- Technology: Look out for any special features that are incorporated into a dryer - key ones to look out for are ionic technology for a smoother finish or ceramic for more even heat distribution.
What is the average decibel level of a hair dryer?
Hairdressers Journal reports that the average decibel level for a hair dryer usually falls somewhere between 80 and 90 dB. Therefore, dryers that are 80 dB or lower would be considered quieter than standard and should make for a less noisy blow dry. To that end, the quietest dryer in our guide is the mdlondon Blow Dryer at 76 dB.
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Lucy is a UK-based beauty journalist who has written for titles including Marie Claire, Glamour and OK!, as well as contributing to woman&home. Her work covers everything from expert skin and haircare advice to beauty trends and reviews of the latest products. During her career she regularly speaks to the industry's leading hairdressers, dermatologists and make-up artists, has covered backstage at London Fashion Week and interviewed many a celeb about their beauty routine.
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