Hooded hair dryers offer many uses. They dry hair, improve and stimulate applied treatments, and provide multiple styling options and aid, especially for curly hair. Investing in a quality hooded dryer for your salon enhances your services in many ways, from quality to diversity. Here is a complete guide to the different types of hooded dryers and what to look for when buying one for your hair studio and spa.
Soft Bonnet vs. Hard Hooded
There are two main forms of hooded dryers: soft bonnets and hard hoods. Both dry hair but offer slightly different uses and results.
Soft Bonnets
Soft bonnet-hooded dryers, as their name suggests, provide a soft, stretchy cap—akin to bonnets—made from highly durable and waterproof material. It tightens around the forehead and seals the hair in an enclosed space. Compared with hard-hooded dryers, soft bonnet variations provide better deep conditioning and treatments. They sit close to your scalp and strands as the bonnet molds around your hair and seals at the forehead.
Hard Hoods
Hard hoods are the more traditional hooded dryers. They use a solid dryer head, usually made from durable plastic. Unlike their bonnet alternatives, hard-hooded dryers stay open along the forehead and do not fully seal the hair away. They remain open, providing more room for different styling options and solutions, like rollers. They are better for heat styling, from blowouts to tight curls.
Mount Variations
Different mount options give you placement flexibility, allowing you to find the best way to fit this crucial appliance into your salon. Each mount variation offers differing benefits affecting space usage in your studio, mobility ease, your salon’s interior appeal, and storage options.
Free Standing
Free-standing hooded dryers—dryer hoods attached to a pole and its associated base—are a classic mount option. They provide maximized mobility, especially when on wheels, allowing you to move the dryer anywhere easily. Free-standing hooded dryers make a great option for salons with limited space, allowing you to store them out of the way when not in use and simply roll them onto the floor when required. Plus, they allow you to move clients while keeping them attached to the dryer.
Wall Mounts
Wall-mounted dryers free up floor space in your salon. Although they are permanently placed on the wall, you can still maneuver them out of the way when they’re not in use. Simply swing them in or out along the hinge and retract their poles. They also offer flexible adjustability options, allowing you to change how far you need the hood to stick out and the angle you need it tilted at.
Chair Insertions
Chair insertions are mounts that you can attach to existing salon chairs. They provide less mobility and flexibility than free-standing and wall-mount options. However, like the latter, it saves floor space, providing your staff more room to maneuver around their clients and the space easily. This option allows you to consolidate the items in your salon.
Different Thermostat Controls
Depending on the style, treatment, or hair density in question, different factors influence the appropriate heat level for your needs. In general, an efficient and effective temperature for drying hair is anywhere between 100 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Perms and other specific long-lasting treatments require higher temperature settings.
Different types of hooded hair dryers offer varying thermostat controls, giving you different heat ranges to work with. A dryer with more flexible control options allows you to best customize the dryer to your needs and each client’s hair. It also gives you more control over how long you spend on your client.
Added Features Selections
Like many pieces of quality technology and equipment, hooded dryers come with many different feature selections and properties, providing multiple added benefits to your styling and drying tool. They change the ease of operation, efficiency, and your dryer’s capabilities.
Liftable Visors
Liftable visors are common features added to hard-hooded dryers. They allow you to easily access the hair and scalp without removing the whole dryer. They give your device another ventilation option, allowing more air to enter and a wider gap for heat to escape. Liftable visors also allow your clients to sit deeper into the head of the dryer. Clients can get their scalps closer to the dryer while still keeping their faces from being concealed or locked under the hood.
Self-Timers
Hooded dryers with built-in self-timers save you from using your phone or purchasing other timing devices. Don’t try to coordinate and juggle turning on the dryer and setting up an alarm. Instead, use a self-timer that starts the clock as soon as the desired temperature is reached. It gives you more accurate timing and, subsequently, better results. Many hooded dryers with self-timers also give you the option to have the dryer power down automatically once the allocated time runs out.
Warm-Up and Cooldown Times
Warm-up and cooldown times influence many different aspects of dryer operations. Cooldowns reduce the risks of burns and fires from the heat generated by the device. Warm-up times better indicate when the device is still climbing temperatures or reaches the desired heat level. When using certain conditioners or treatments that require set temperature conditions, making sure your dryer temperature is at the right heat level before settling your client in gives better results.
Hooded dryers allow you to expand and elevate your salon services in many ways. They make your salon more inclusive to natural and curly hair, broaden your heat styling options, reduce the need for multiple styling tools, and improve treatments and conditioning. They also give your clients longer-lasting results.
Keep this complete guide to the different types of hooded dryers on hand to make sure you equip your salon with the best dryer to meet your needs. Knowing the different types of dryers allows you to better find a device that fits your space, gives you the right control abilities, and offers many other benefits. A dryer like this will upgrade your services and work conditions.
At Keller International, we offer a grand selection of salon and spa equipment that enhances your services, space, and customer experiences. Check out our selection of hooded hair dryers and get your salon a multifaceted styling and drying tool that works well in your space in many ways.
