Although the Revlon Perfect Heat Fast Dry Travel Styler is the lightest, least expensive blower we reviewed in our guide to the best hair dryers, it holds its own in terms of performance. It has a lot of power, especially for its size, and it feels solid though it weighs just a pound.
By contrast, despite its name, the Parlux 3200 Compact is the heaviest and most expensive hair dryer we tested and feels much more bulky and cumbersome.
The Perfect Heat has a 1,875-watt motor and combines ceramic and ionic heating technologies to suit all hair types. If its temperature gets too high or its air inlets/outlets are blocked, its thermostat cycles off to prevent overheating. It also has a removable endcap to access the filter for cleaning.
Its temperature settings range from 117 to 169 degrees, and its air speed ranges from 18.7 to 31.7 feet per second. When we tested its noise output in our lab, we measured 77.8 to 85.5 decibels. That result ties the Revlon Perfect Heat with the Conair InfinitiPRO as the loudest blowers we reviewed. Both units also both have short, 6-foot cords.
Unlike most of the hair dryers we tested, the Travel Styler and the CHI PRO don’t have separately controllable temperature and air speed settings. They only have low/high switches. That’s a drawback if your hair is damage-prone because you might like to use low heat but a higher air speed. Our favorite hair dryers give you that finer level of control.
As its name suggests, the Revlon dryer has travel-ready features. Dual-voltage operation makes it ideal for international travel. Its handle folds easily for storage or packing but doesn’t lock back into place. As a result, the handle can fold unintentionally during use. The Revlon dryer comes with a concentrator for precision styling, but we found that the concentrator falls off easily, and it’s not the highest-quality accessory we’ve seen.
Even so, the stylists we interviewed agreed that you often get what you pay for. With a price tag of just $17.99, the Revlon Perfect Heat can afford to be “cheap.” At a whopping $155, the Parlux hair dryer cannot, and its attachments are appropriately sturdier by far.
Revlon covers the Perfect Heat Fast Dry Travel Styler with a three-year warranty. Customer service is available by phone and email through Helen of Troy Consumer Services. We found that provider’s support to be less responsive than the service we received elsewhere.
