I bought a new blow dryer! Here's why I picked the Hot Tools Black Gold Pro.
Hot Tools Black Gold Pro. Photo by me :)
Last week, I shared with you how I would go about shopping for a new hair dryer as a professional hairstylist. This week, I am going to put all of that knowledge into practice and review a blow dryer that I recently purchased since my faithful, $20, travel-sized dryer unexpectedly decided to expire.
I definitely felt that I needed to upgrade past the cheaper dryers, and wanted to try something much more advanced. After a good few days of research, I decided that the dryer that suited my needs best within my budget was the Hot Tools Black Gold Pro.
(This is not a sponsored post. Hot Tools does not know I am making this review, and I am going to keep it completely honest for you.)
Simple Review
Pros
Powerful airflow for fast drying
3 attachments and multiple settings for versatile styling
Cons
a bit heavy for prolonged use
Still caused a bit of frizziness, despite having anti-frizz components
Long Review
What was I looking for?
I was mainly looking for a much more powerful hair dryer that offered different speed/ heat settings as well as different attachments so that I can have more to work with if I wanted to experiment with my hair.
What I got!
I picked the Black Gold Pro specifically out of all the other options because it boasts a powerful airflow that allows me to dry my hair quickly and is built with ionic and ceramic components that have anti-frizz properties even at high heat to act as a protective factor. The higher the heat and power of a blow dryer, the more it helps to have these anti-frizz benefits.
If that isn't enough, there is also a turbo switch that can give an even more powerful boost to the airflow! I would suggest using this setting to help remove excess moisture at the beginning of your styling process, and then turning it off so that you have a bit more control when refining the details of your hairstyle. It is very handy for speeding up the drying process, especially if your hair is on the longer side.
For my own hair, I tend to use the lower heat setting with a faster speed for styling and I found the temperature was at the sweet spot for me! Not too cool where it felt like it wasn't doing anything, but not too hot where my scalp and hair could get damaged easily.
The attachments that come included are two concentrator nozzles (one large, and one narrow) as well as a diffuser. I enjoy having different options for how I want to style my hair, with the large concentrator being great for building volume, the narrow concentrator specializing in smoothing the hair, and the diffuser can be used for a more natural texture.
A really neat feature of the diffuser attachment is that the protruding tips are flexible and are very gentle when they make contact with the scalp. This allows me to be a little rougher while blow drying without irritating my scalp, and the tips have a bit of a grip that helps hold waves in place as you dry them. I have not seen this addition on other diffusers, but I am a fan of how it makes styling a bit more effortless.
Two concentrator nozzles (large and narrow) and a diffuser are included.
What's not to love about this dryer!?
Oh, I'll tell you.
A big selling point of this blow dryer is that it includes the ability to turn the ionizer on and off. The switch is labeled "smooth/volume", smooth being when the ion technology is on and volume being when it is off. I find that this function is a bit pointless, as the ion technology helps reduce static, and turning it off will only end up increasing frizziness. From my own experimentations with this setting, I have found that there isn't a significant difference in volume either between the switch being on or off.
If you really want to increase the volume of your hair, I'd suggest keeping it set to "smooth" and focusing on building volume with your fingers or a brush. A proper blow-drying technique will do a lot more than just expecting the hair dryer to create that effect for you.
Even with the hair dryer set to "smooth" I found that my hair ended up with very minor frizziness, but still noticeable enough. My hair is straight and coarse, and typically won't frizz, so it is a bit of a drawback that the Black Gold Pro creates this result. I can only imagine how much more frizz someone with fine/ curly hair will experience.
Another issue I had with the Black Gold Pro was that the weight sat on the heavier side. Luckily for me, I don't have to spend a lot of time on my hair to get it styled. However, if you have longer hair, you may find your shoulder will get tired from having to hold the dryer up for so long.
My last negative on the blow dryer is actually on the diffuser. I mentioned that I enjoyed its design for MY hair because of the flexible protrusions and the grip that they have. However, for those with fine/curly hair, I would heavily recommend not to take the diffuser so close to your hair as the friction may cause damage and frizz on your hair type. Instead, I would recommend hovering the diffuser a couple of inches from your head and letting the air circulate that way which follows my guide for wet-setting.
Who should get this dryer?
I think this is a dryer that is well-suited for a wide range of hair types and hairstyles. With the power, you are going to get a very efficient drying that will save you a lot of time in the morning. With the versatile attachments included and the different heat and speed settings, you're sure to find the right configuration for you.
Anyone with short to medium-length hair that is straight to wavy in hair texture will probably enjoy this hair dryer the most. Those with longer hair may find the weight of the blow dryer to be a bit bothersome, especially after a couple of minutes of holding it up. However, the turbo boost feature that it offers can help quicken the drying process so you may not have to worry too much about that.
Even with the ionic technology of the dryer, my hair ended up getting a little bit of frizziness in the finished result. If that's what can happen to straight hair, then I can already imagine how much more frizz one may get with fine/wavier-to-curlier hair. So if you have that kind of hair type, you may want to look elsewhere, maybe specifically for a hair dryer that has tourmaline components as they have even stronger anti-frizz properties than ionic.
This may not be the hair dryer for everyone, but with the range of features it carries, it is definitely a good benchmark to start with in your own search for a blow dryer. If you're like me and want a powerful hair dryer that provides different options for styling so that you can be playful and efficient with your hair, then the Black Gold Pro from Hot Tools could be all you need.
Hope you found this helpful!
My name is Wesley, I am a Barber located in the city of Calgary helping my clients become more confident with all things related to their hair by providing customized haircuts that suit them best while demystifying all the complicated hair information out there!
