In 1888 the first hair dryer was invented by French stylist . His invention was a large, seated version that consisted of a bonnet that attached to the chimney pipe of a gas stove. Godefroy invented it for use in his
hair salon in France, and it was not portable or handheld. It could only be used by having the person sit underneath it.
Armenian American inventor
Gabriel Kazanjian was the first to patent a hair dryer in the United States, in 1911. Around 1920, hair dryers began to go on the market in handheld form. This was due to innovations by National Stamping and Electric works under the white cross brand, and later U.S. Racine Universal Motor Company and the Hamilton Beach Co., which allowed the dryer to be small enough to be held by hand. Even in the 1920s, the new dryers were often heavy, weighing in at approximately , and were difficult to use. They also had many instances of
overheating and
electrocution. Hair dryers were only capable of using 100 watts, which increased the amount of time needed to dry hair (the average dryer today can use up to 2000 watts of heat). Since the 1920s, development of the hair dryer has mainly focused on improving the wattage and superficial exterior and material changes. In fact, the mechanism of the dryer has not had any significant changes since its inception. One of the more important changes for the hair dryer is to be made of plastic, so that it is more lightweight. This really caught on in the 1960s with the introduction of better electrical motors and the improvement of plastics. Another important change happened in 1954 when
GEC changed the design of the dryer to move the motor inside the casing. , c. 1920–1925 The bonnet dryer was introduced to consumers in 1951. This type worked by having the dryer, usually in a small portable box, connected to a tube that went into a bonnet with holes in it that could be placed on top of a person's head. This worked by giving an even amount of heat to the whole head at once. The 1950s also saw the introduction of the rigid-hood hair dryer which is the type most frequently seen in salons. It had a hard plastic helmet that wraps around the person's head. This dryer works similarly to the bonnet dryer of the 1950s but at a much higher wattage. By 2000, reported deaths by blowdryers had dropped from fewer than ten to fewer than two people a year. == Function ==