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95 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New shine for the ol' mane, March 15, 2004
As a child of the Sixties, I still wear my hair long and I blow it dry every morning. When my old Hartman Protech 1600 hair dryer hit the bathroom floor, things weren't the same. Eventually, in a spectacular pyrotechnic display, it breathed its last. Since I had paid 20 bucks for it way back when, I was ready to spend that much on a replacement. Much to my surprise, in the 10 or so years I'd owned that dryer, a lot had changed, and now the same money buys a lot more hair dryer, so with some dough to spare, I bought one of these. Many complain that it doesn't pack the same wallop as other dryers but that's a case of perception versus reality. The Conair's barrel has a larger diameter than most dryers and its fan is quieter, so while the perceptible breeze isn't as blustery, it's still moving plenty of air. I know because I use an egg timer to count off 3 minutes while I dry my hair and the Conair never leaves my hair damp (a barber told me that after 3 minutes of blow drying, you're just toasting your hair and not helping it). If you MUST have that scalp-scorching pinpoint blast, Conair includes a concentrator. Ions are all the rage in hair dryer technology right now. Purportedly, a stream of ions directed at your hair will neutralize static electricity and smooth out frizzy hair. Ions are also claimed to flatten out scaly hair shafts, resulting in more shine. I'm waiting for our good friends at Consumer Reports to weigh in on the benefits (or lack thereof) of "dual ion ports", but after a week of daily use with the ion switch ON, I've noticed that my hair doesn't fight me as much when I brush it into place. Even when the static-charged Santa Ana winds are howling through sunny SoCal, my hair doesn't stick out like porcupine quills. And, yes, if I turn my head from side to side, there's a noticeable shimmer that either wasn't there before or I had never noticed it. A minor flaw is that the power and ion switches respond to a very light push, but after a couple uses you learn to position your hand accordingly after switching on the dryer. The dryer offers low and high air-speed/heat settings and has a "cool shot" button that cuts off the heater while cranking the fan up to its fastest speed. "Cool shot" is another feature that is said to set a style in place by cooling down the hair quickly. So, whether ions really do or don't make a difference, the overall performance of the Conair Ion Shine is worth the price.
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