If you were to do a quick Google search for the best hair dryer, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there are tons of hair dryers to choose from. Quite a lot, in fact.
Today there are dozens of shapes and sizes available to suit all budgets. However, despite this sea of competition, it hasn’t stopped a number of new entrants from entering the market, hoping to steal a charge against established companies.
hair dryer specifications:
Here are the mdlondon BLOW hair dryer specifications:
Price: $236 / £195 / AU$342
Speed settings: three
heat settings: three
gallows ring: number
rope length: 1.8 m
Brilliant hit: yes
Weight: 0.79 lb / 360 g
Attachments: Two condenser nozzles. Diffuser sold separately
One such newcomer is the mdlondon BLOW dryer by Michael Douglas. While Douglas himself is no newcomer to the field, for nearly 30 years he has been a hairstylist for the likes of Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, and Jasmine Le Bon (to name a few).
He has worked on global beauty and editorial campaigns and has built up a following across social media, TV and radio as well.
The BLOW dryer is the first styling product to be launched under their mdlondon brand. It costs $236 / £195 / AU$342 and is available in the UK. There are plans to make BLOW more widely available later this year, as well as launching other straighteners and products in the near future, so wait if you’re out of the UK and the return on investment; This flagship hair dryer will (hopefully) be available to you soon.
We wanted to find out more about why mdlondon launched the BLOW, the thought process behind the design, and how this hair dryer will stand out from the crowd, so we caught up with Douglas for a chat about his creation.
Reinvent the wheel
The first thing you notice about the mdlondon BLOW is its T-shaped design. As you can read in our mdlondon BLOW review, this shape isn’t too different from the Beauty Works Aeris, but it’s a far cry from the old semi-bulb round hair dryer designs.
The buttons and drum are positioned in such a way as to make the dryer as balanced and easy to use as possible, and little touches like magnetic attachments and matte colorways add to the overall effect. According to Douglas, small, but important touches like this one are thoughtful and thoughtful.
“The hair dryer I wanted to use wasn’t there,” Douglas explained. “So I decided to create it. The design was tailored to my needs and the desire of others to use it on themselves easily. Many people ask me to recommend the best hair dryer ever, it wasn’t very expensive, unfortunately, I didn’t have a good answer.”
To solve this problem, Douglas started by eliminating all the things he didn’t like about the design of a standard hair dryer.
“[Traditional dryers] Too heavy, too noisy, too expensive, too bulky. It looks very old. The colors are either very pale (black) or very glowing (light pink). There wasn’t a lot of thought put into the dryer’s actual purpose, which is to create voluminous hairdos that are shiny, smooth, and frizz-free.”
The entire hairstyling industry seems to be lacking anything pretty. Most of the products seem to belong in the home appliances department rather than the beauty department
Michael Douglas, Mdlodon
Using his work experience, Douglas began testing existing designs that featured the latest in drying technology, the brushless DC motors found in the likes of the Dyson Supersonic.
“The technology was great but the designs were just awful and too expensive for me to recommend,” Douglas added.
In late 2021, Douglas set out to test the best, most modern designs of new hair dryers in the trade yard and used the results to design what he calls his “dream hair dryer.”
He designed the attachments, buttons, colors, finish and texture along with making the cable longer and giving the hair dryer a reverse self-cleaning function.
Douglas also wanted to make the dryer as lightweight as possible, without sacrificing speed or power.
“The actual weight of the BLOW hair dryer is a major difference. It’s half the weight of all the professional dryers I’ve been using and it makes a huge difference for consumers who style their hair.”
Elsewhere, the BLOW airflow measures 11 meters of air per second. “This is a wonderful power to make the hair do what you want it to do, i.e. make it silky soft,” Douglas continued.
The nozzle is then designed to create a flow of compressed air the exact size of a dryer brush, meaning you can dry an entire section in one go.
“This makes a huge difference in the amount of time it would take using a smaller nozzle,” Douglas said. “We’re talking about 40% less drying time shaved off with blow-drying when used properly.”
when used correctly
The warning Douglas offers at the end of this quote is key.
“Most people think their hair problems are solved with shampoo and conditioner, but it’s largely solved by blow-drying your hair,” Douglas continued.
“Every customer who purchases a BLOW dryer receives a QR code to guide them on how to use it efficiently via a video tutorial. There are also many design videos on the website depending on the desired style one is looking to achieve.”
Asked what it means to “use it efficiently,” Douglas said: “Many people start using a brush and blow-dryer when the hair is still wet. The styling process is only done when the hair has gone from damp to completely dry, so there is no point in using a brush.” Until the hair is about 75% dry.”
He also said that many people tend to use incorrect styling products and brushes to achieve the desired result. “One of the confusing issues when it comes to hair is that many think there are general solutions to different problems but in fact, it’s often specific solutions to individual needs.”
Price is right (approx.)
For all the design, features and performance pros – plus Douglas’ comments about how expensive current models are – spending $236 / £195 / AU$342 will put the Explosion out of reach for many people.
However, Douglas believes the price is too low.
“The price depends on two things: the cost of the goods, and how much we can sell through our own platform. Selling our dryer through regular third-party retailers comes with a whopping 50% retail margin,” he explained.
“Actually, BLOW should be in the $300 / £250 / AU$450 price point, however, if we can do enough business with our live website that we don’t have to incur such retail margins, we can The company can survive selling it for less than $250 / £200 / AU$350.”
He continued, “I know and respect my audience and want to offer the best products at the best possible price,” before adding: “We will be making other styling tools in the coming months that will be under $125 / £100 / AU. $175 too, so watch this space! “
Finally, when asked what made him want to enter such a seemingly competitive market, Douglas was quick to address it. “If I’m being completely honest, I don’t see it as competitive; I see it as desperately in need of a revolution.
“The whole sector seems to lack anything pretty, most products seem to belong in the home appliances department rather than the beauty department. How vacuum companies have tried to own this space is baffling and I’m aiming to win it back!”