The T3 Tourmaline Featherweight weighs 13 oz. but is perhaps the most effective hair dryer available. It’s made of crushed tourmaline crystal.
Tourmaline emits negative ions and infrared heat when pressure is applied to it. These phenomena are known as “pyroelectric” and “piezoelectric”.
For heating, the dryer uses infrared heat and a ceramic heater coil, along with an 1800 watt motor.
The infrared heat is better for drying hair, because it dries the hair shafts from inside rather than heating the surface.
The manufacturer claims that the negative ions also break up water molecules into smaller sizes on the hair surface, making them evaporate more quickly.
There is also a setting to release an ultra high dose of negative ions for damaged hair.
It’s available at here for $200. A travel-sized one is also available here and here.
Well, I suppose you could also say the production of hairbrushes was a waste of natural resources, but the way one’s hair looks is important to many people. If brushing blowdrying my hair makes me look fierce, I don’t consider it a waste of energy.
This one looks much more efficient, though: http://www.hairpower.com/greentechnologyPR.html
According to the US Dept. of Energy, Hair dryers use 1200-1875 watts of energy. This one appears to be on the high end @ 1800 watts. There are much more energy efficient hair dryers available.
Yes, hair dryers do use a high amount of electrical energy. However, they are useful to dry hair at night and on rainy days.
Drying clothes in the sun is also more effective using an electric dryer. However, they are needed sometimes when it rainy or snowy, or you live in Alaska and the sun isn’t coming out for another couple months.
Aren’t hair dryers instrinsically wasteful? Why not just let the sun dry your hair? “Meta-efficient” or not, it is hard not to think of hair dryers as frivolous uses of electricity. Likewise for clothing dryers. Better to use a clothes line or a wooden drying rack. An added bonus is that your clothing will last longer.