Alexandra Godefroy, a French man who first invented the blow-dryer in 1890 when people felt the extreme desire and need for something which could assist them to dry their hair. Before the invention of the hairdryer, people have been using various methods for centuries. Alexandra Godefroy owned a salon where he thought of this idea of using blow dryer for clients.
In 1890 the first hairdryer was invented by French stylist Alexander Godefroy (Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com)
The hairdryer used during those times was not the same as the one we now use. It was a large machine that the person must sit on while their head is tucked under the dryer head. There are still such head dryers that are used in salons even today. The bonnet was attached to the chimney pipe of the gas stove and was fixed to it.
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Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com
Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com
Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com
Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com
Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com
Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com
Credit: rarehistoricalphotos.com
EARLIER VERSIONS
After two to three decades of use, people began to search for portable hairdryers that were safe and easy to use. Although a handheld hairdryer was introduced successfully by some companies in 1915, it was still heavy and difficult to use. The handheld hairdryers were also limited to 100 watts due to its power usage issue and thus this meant that they took a long time to dry hair. The average hairdryer wattage that we use today takes around 2000 watts to dry hair.
Dryer Made by AEG 1920-1925 (Credit: Wikipedia)
Five years after this invention, people thought of using plastic material to make hairdryers weight lighter and more user-friendly. The primary focus was still on power consumption to increase the efficiency of hairdryers. There were some other developments during this time, where the material and exterior surface of overall hairdryers were changed. However, the hairdryer’s working mechanism was the same as it was when Alexandra Godefroy introduced it in 1890.
1950S – LIGHT WEIGHT AIRDRYERS
In the 1950s after countless efforts, hair dryer companies developed a more advanced version of their hair dryers. These hair dryers were small, light weight handheld devices that had a tube connected to a bonnet and worn on the head. Similar to the previous mechanism, air was flowed through tubes into the bonnet through holes providing heat. However, these devices only used 300 watts of power and it was still very low for a faster process.
1960S – MORE POPULARITY
In 1960, new hairdryers were created with better electrical motors that are more efficient and better power usage. The motor was housed inside the hairdryer body, which made them portable and more user-friendly. These hairdryers could produce up to 500 watts heat and the hair dryers advancement were possible because of the electrical ad mechanical advancement of these hair dryers.
1990S – THE INVENTION OF MODERN HAIR DRYERS
The Consumer Products Safety Commission took necessary and important precautionary measures to protect hair dryers dangerous associated risk. Manufacturers were also given a warning notice requiring them to take additional safety precautions. New developments were initiated by this warning in the 1990s. Modern hairdryers were then introduced with temperature cutoff switches, and ground fault circuit interrupters. These hairdryers were lightweight and could produce up to 2000 watts. These advances made hair dryers safer and much better efficiency in enabling the hair to be dried faster.
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