Last year, my very old cheap brandless hairdryer with diffuser started giving out on me after 10 years – so it was time to buy a new one. There are a lot of hairdryers with diffusers out there specifically for curly hair, but many of these are quite expensive. So I started looking for a cheaper version that is also good for long wavy curly hair. I wanted it to have quite a large diffuser with long prongs, and I wanted the hairdryer itself to have both ceramic and ionic technologies, at least 3 different heat settings that were not too hot, and at least 2 speed settings. I ended up buying the BaByliss Turbo Smooth hairdryer, and in this blogpost I will review it.
The BaByliss Turbo Smooth hairdryer comes with both a diffuser and a concentrator nozzle attachment. For my curly hair, I am only using the diffuser attachment. The diffuser is quite big, slightly bigger than my previous one. The bowl is not very deep, but it is pretty wide. Although a lot of my (low density) hair fits into the diffuser, it works best for me to split my hair in three to four sections. The prongs are much longer than the bowl, and it took me a couple of times to get used to that. However, this does help me to dry my scalp more easily and create a little more volume.
The temperature and speed settings are quite similar to what I am used to, although the temperature seems to be a little lower. I usually diffuse my hair on the medium heat and low speed setting, and that takes me a little longer than it did before. It takes me about 15-20 minutes to get my hair 90% dry, and it used to take me 10-15 minutes. However, because the temperature is a bit lower, I can now also use high heat if I want to speed up the drying process. I try not to use it too much though, as the manual says to only use the diffuser attachment on low heat and speed.
The main thing I like about this hairdryer is that it gives me a lot less frizz than I am used to. With my previous hairdryer, I couldn’t really hover diffuse as it would blow my hair around a bit too much. With this one, I find that both hover diffusing and pixie diffusing don’t create as much frizz. I think this might be due to the ionic technology, which is said to reduce frizz and increase shine – but the airflow of this hairdryer might just work better as well.
In conclusion, I think the BaByliss Turbo Smooth hairdryer is a good budget option for wavy and curly hair. Of course, there are many options with similar specifications in the same price range on the market, often with slightly different looking diffuser attachments – so it all depends on what you are looking for. The only minor downside is that I think the drying time can be quite long if your hair is high density or very thick. If it takes you very long to diffuse, it might be worth it to invest in a more expensive hairdryer with better drying times. But otherwise, this hairdryer is a great choice on a budget and I am personally quite happy with it.
Len's Cup of Tea 