THE DANGEROUS AND STRANGE HISTORY OF THE HAIR DRYER

Did you know that the lightweight and quiet hair dryers we use today to dry our hair in just a few minutes were once connected to gas stoves, and that women even used vacuum cleaners to dry their hair? The evolution of the modern hair dryer is literally filled with “fire hazards” and strange coincidences.

The first hair-drying system was invented in 1890 by French barber Alexandre Godefroy. It was not a handheld hair dryer; instead, it was a huge metal dome connected directly to a gas stove by a pipe. A female customer would sit in a chair while the metal hood was placed over her head. Hot air from the gas stove would then flow through the hood and dry her hair. Although the system was very effective, it carried the constant risk of an explosion or the customer’s hair catching fire, so it could only be used in professional salons.

Since there were no technological tools for drying hair at home, women came up with an incredible method in the early 20th century. The first electric vacuum cleaners, introduced in the early 1900s, had a special outlet that could both suck in dust and blow out warm air from the back. Women would attach the vacuum cleaner hose to the rear outlet and use the warm airflow to dry their hair. Some well-known vacuum cleaner companies of the time even officially advertised in newspapers: “Our vacuum cleaner not only cleans your carpets, but is also perfect for drying women’s hair!”

In 1920, the first portable handheld hair dryers went on sale in the United States, but using them required real courage. Because the devices were made of heavy cast iron and zinc, they weighed more than 1 kilogram. By the time a woman finished drying her hair, her arms could be completely exhausted. They operated at only 100 watts (modern hair dryers can use around 2,000 watts), meaning that drying thick hair could take at least 40–50 minutes.

The most frightening part was that the metal outer casing became so hot that it could burn the user’s hands and scalp. Moreover, when held with wet hands, these devices could frequently cause electric shocks.

It took about 50 years for the hair dryer to evolve into a truly safe and convenient device:

-The heavy metal body was replaced with lightweight, heat-resistant plastic.

-Electrical safety cut-off systems and thermostats were added so that the device could automatically switch off when it overheated.

-As a result, the 1-kilogram, fire-prone “iron monster” was transformed into the safe and convenient beauty tool we can comfortably use in front of the mirror every morning.