I compared this hair dryer to several others for type of air flow and what temperature they could heat a surface to, which was measured with an infrared meter.
Clairol DryGuy 1200W:
- Somewhat loud
- Very poor air flow in low/medium/high
- Good heat (95F/115F/130F)
Notes: Hot, loud, not much air flow.
Buy/Don't: Don't even think of buying it.
Clairol Salon Power 1500W:
- Loud
- Okay air flow in low/high
- Good heat (100F/105F-med, 125F/130F-hot)
(note temperature is for low/high fan setting)
Weight: About 12 oz.
Notes: Warm, Loud, eventually will dry hair.
Buy/Don't: Don't buy it.
Conair Ion Shin 1875W:
- Noise not bad.
- Good air flow in low/high, wide output.
- Very good heat (100F/110F-med, 135F/150F-hot)
(note temperature is for low/high fan setting)
Weight: About 23 oz.
Notes: Soft breeze, warm air, dries hair well.
Buy/Don't: Buy it.
BaByliss Pro 2000W:
- Noise not bad.
- Better air flow in low/high, narrow output.
- Excellent heat (105F/115F-med, 150F/170F-hot)
(note temperature is for low/high fan setting)
Weight: About 23 oz.
Notes: Really warm, great air, dries hair fast.
Buy/Don't: If you have a lot of hair, buy it. If you don't have a lot of hair, get the Conair and save your scalp.
The DryGuy is near useless.
The Salon Power 1500 is obnoxious. It's loud, and doesn't dry well.
I love the Conair for shrinking window wrap and drying the dog, plus it did a great job on my hair! It's a very soft, warm breeze that is hard to beat.
The BaByliss is just amazing. With high fan and high heat I have to hold it back from the window wrap so it shrinks evenly, and keep it moving over the dog's coat or my hair so we don't burn, but man is it fast! Without the concentrator it gets right to the roots of thick hair, where as the Conair needs the concentrator, and doesn't dry as fast.
So what about the "ions?" Maybe they're there, but it seems blowing fast-moving air over any sort of solid material isn't going to create enough ions to do much of anything you or I could notice in daily life.
If you want quick but soft drying, get the Conair. If you want a really fast dryer, BaByliss is the one.