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Let me address the title of the review. From the very first day she used this thing, she started getting compliments about her hair. Her hair is normally pretty straight and flat, and it definitely had more body. It was also less frizzy after she got done drying it for whatever that's worth. The compliments are fading now that her coworkers are used to the "new look", but my wife is still raving about it.
I purchased this for her because I got tired of repairing or replacing all of the crappy ones she bought over the years. The latest one I put to rest dimmed all of the lights in the house when it was coming online. She and I needed a change. I read all of the good reviews on Amazon, and elsewhere, and gave it a shot.
The Elchim is everything I hoped for in a hairdryer. The first thing my wife and I both noticed was that it was MUCH quieter than any hair dryer she had ever used. Its highest setting is equivalent to most hair dryers' lowest setting. We can actually hold a conversation now if we need to while she dries her hair. I figured it was up to my wife to protect her own hearing, but I was very concerned when she dried my daughter's hair. It definitely defeats the myth that louder is better or more powerful.
Secondly, the quieter airflow was very powerful. 1500 liters/minute is the claim. I haven't ever seen another volume measurement, but it sounds impressive, right? Anyway, as others have stated, my wife dried her hair in about half of the time that it took her normally. She thought I was nuts when I showed it to her and it did not sound like a fighter jet, but she was pleasantly surprised. It has a removable filter screen (twist-off) on the end to keep the airflow at its peak which will prove invaluable over time. The buildup of hairspray, makeup, lint, and whatever else will be easy to remove without completely disassembling it. This congealed mess has contributed to the deaths of other hair dryers in the past.
Elchim is a professional brand and they build their products for heavy-duty use. It has a thick round cord, which will be much less prone to tangling. It is smaller than almost every full size hair dryer she has owned. It has a sleek design as opposed to the ones with the cylinder sticking out the side to house the motor. This will prove great for packing. I expect it to last for years.
I read many mixed reviews about the ionic dryers, Tourmaline, ceramic heating elements, EMF, etc., but none swayed me away from common sense. See below:
The ionic dryers are supposed to "trap" moisture in your hair. A few things on that: Moisture = weight. Weight = flat. Conditioners are still the best thing to protect your hair and give it shine without weighing it down. Many use wax, which is much lighter than water and gives body and shine without weighing the hair down.
There are also claims about breaking down the water molecules to smaller sizes. Science note: Breaking down a molecule of water (H2O) leaves hydrogen peroxide (HO) and a free hydrogen atom (H). We now have that answer for fuel cell cars and bleach blondes, right? "Ionic dryers don't heat the air, they heat the hair from within." Isn't that what microwaves do? There are good Ionic dryers out there, but be wary of the claims. Some people claim that ionic dryers also cause dry eyes and headaches. I did not see a need to risk anything like that.
Last thing about ionic dryers, the cheaper ones use technology in which the ionizer does not last. A good ionic dryer will cost you more than the "$29.95 delivered!" versions. Read the reviews, none of the 5-star reviews for the cheaper ones is after extended use. Many of the lowest reviews complain about inconsistency, lack of performance, and breaking down altogether. If you want a good ionic dryer, be prepared to spend a little. If the cheapies were the answer, they would be in use in the salons.
Bottom line: Your hearing matters; protect it. Proven technology matters; ignore the hype about "trapping" moisture in the hair you are trying to dry. Ergonomics matter; "pack-ability", weight, and hand comfort might make or break you on how you feel about your hair dryer. My wife's arrived in all black...so what. She never paraded one around in the past, and I don't expect her to anytime soon. They only make black, white, red, and red-black, no neon or orange surprises. There is no substitute for quality and durability. While you may not always get what you pay for, if you buy cheap things, the adage holds true.
I researched these things thoroughly before I bought it and read several reviews where people were using their Elchim hair dryers for 10+ years. I have no doubt that this will follow those lines. Salons around the world use them several hours per day. Ours should last for years. Well worth the $60-ish I paid.
*** Update Feb 20, 2010 ***
After about two years and NO abuse, the cord on my wife's hairdryer crapped the bed. What is weird is that it broke about three inches down from the rubber protector that goes into the handle. I expected any break would be at a bend where the protector ends or inside of the hairdryer where it is internally clamped. It broke where it should have never been an issue. I cut the cord about two inches from the solder points, where I thought the break would be, intending to solder back on. As it turned out, the intermittent wiring was about three to four inches further down from my original cut. When I dissected the failed portion, it looked like it had been accidentally crimped or kinked in the manufacturing process. I still hold that the hairdryer is top-notch. I will repair the cord on the next one I get, if I get the same model. Why do I need another one? Read on.
For the guys out there saying "no biggy, I can fix a cord," beware. For the record, this thing is a BEAST to disassemble and reassemble. I work with all sorts of electronics. When it originally failed, I opened up the hairdryer thinking the electrical problem was internal. Once I was inside, I saw the problem was not there. However, there were two wires in there that broke with little maneuvering and prove near impossible to repair. After reassembling the hairdryer, I could not get the screws seated well enough to feel safe when in the hands of my wife or daughter. I threw it out after MUCH frustration and solder. It did work when I got it back together, but the exposed screws in a wet environment caused me concern.
I regret doing this because I was the person that posted the pictures of the cord and how it would never break. Alas, I was wrong. I think I will look for a newer/different model by the same manufacturer. I DID NOT contact Elchim to see how much a repair was. After shipping both ways, I'm sure it would have been up there with the cost of the dryer itself. I did email them a detailed description of the failure though. Nobody has replied to that letter. My wife hates the replacement dryer(tourmaline) and wants her Elchim back.
For all those that I doubted: "I'm stupid. You're smart. I was wrong. You were right. You're the best. I'm the worst. You're very good looking. I'm not attractive." (from Happy Gilmore) I thought about posting pictures of my failure, but what's the point. I edited a picture previously posted noting where the item eventually broke. Good electrician, possibly a good deal. I would change my star rating, but it would remove my review from the most helpful spot. If you read this far, you must have felt it was helpful too....or at least amusing?
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My nickname for this hairdryer is "Old Sparky." More on that later. I purchased this dryer because I have extremely thick hair. It is fine in texture, but there is a LOT of it and it always took me literally hours to dry it. Add to that a tendency to wave and frizz at the slightest hint of humidity, and you get the picture. I have tried all sorts of dryers from the very cheap to the very expensive, and none seemed to make an appreciable difference in drying time. Then, I moved to a new city and found a wonderful stylist who recommended Elchim.
Here is what I love about the dryer: it dries my hair quickly! Yup, I never thought I'd find one that could but this baby sizzles. It gets VERY hot, so hot that my husband calls it the "Heat Gun" and threatens to carry it off and put it to some kind of industrial use in his workshop. It is actually a very simple machine: two buttons only (one controls heat, one controls force) but has a cool, sports-car kind of design (it IS from Italy, after all). This dryer is substantial, even heavy, and the cord is smooth & thick and will resist getting twisted up.
So, why did I give this hairdryer 4 instead of 5 stars? Let us revisit the nickname: every time I change the setting on one of the buttons (say, if I want to go from gale-force drying to gentle breeze) a spark lights up INSIDE the casing. I was naturally alarmed the first few times this happened, but then it didn't seem to be affecting performance and it hasn't proven to be dangerous (the dryer is now about a year old) so I accepted it as a quirk -again, it is from Italy, not Germany. But still, it is a bit disconcerting when Old Sparky lights up.
In addition, the designer in his or her infinite wisdom placed the buttons on the part of the handle where your fingers grip (you can see this in the photo), so occasionally I inadvertently change the setting. This is mildly irritating, but it bears mentioning.
Overall I have great fondness for this dryer since it has helped me to get ready a LOT faster in the morning, and it seems to be pretty durable (I travel a lot and even though it is large, I honestly would not go on a trip without it). Perhaps mine is the only one that sparks, and I should have probably contacted the manufacturer about it, but I just couldn't be bothered. Even with its flaws, the bottom line is: it works!
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When my Elchim dryer finally died after something like six years of daily service, I researched what to get. Pretty much every beauty magazine and website was touting the benefits of the new generation of nano tourmaline ionic dryers, which were supposed to dry your hair more quickly and with less damage than dryers like my old Elchim.
Don't believe it.
I've tried two of the new-fangled dryers since then. It took my super fine hair forever to dry with them whereas this dryer dries my hair in one-tenth of the time. Literally. And my hair comes out much smoother. I have a ceramic flat iron that I used to use for special occasions. With those nano tourmaline dryers I was using my flat iron every day. When I dry my hair with my Elchim, I don't need to iron it, maybe because my hair dries so quickly, it doesn't have time to frizz, wave or otherwise go crazy.
And finally there's the noise factor. You might be fooled into thinking this dryer isn't very powerful because it's so relatively quiet. My ionic tourmaline dryers sounded like a 747 revving up and one of them vibrated like crazy. This one feels very low key, and yet it actually dries my hair really quickly and makes my hair feel soft. All that flat ironing was damaging it.
I am so happy to have another Elchim I'm kicking myself for having waited this long to get another one. It's worth every penny. As for whether this one will last six years, only time will tell, but I'm betting it will last longer than my first nano tourmaline dryer, which conked out after about half a year.
Honest reviews on Elchim Professional 2001 2000 Watt Classic Hair Dryer (Colors May
While my wife was using the Elchim Professional Type 2001 1500/1800W hair dryer to dry her hair, FLAMES yes that's right flames, not sparks shot out of the base of the handle at the point where the power cord enters.
This was totally unexpected since the wire and handle showed no visible signs of damage. Thankfully, my wife was not injured. However, please be aware that this may occur with this dryer and could cause serious injury to someone. My wife has had the dryer for 3 or 4 years and has not abused it.
I emailed Elchim to advise them of the problem and asked if they would like to test the dryer to see what may have caused it. I told them I would be happy to send it to them if they sent me a prepaid shipping label. After receiving no response, I sent a follow up email. Still no response.
My only intention is to alert buyers/users of this potential danger so that no one gets hurt.
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I've been using hair dryers since 1975, and this is by far the best I've ever owned. It reminds me of the way hair dryers used to be designed: moderate heat but high air flow. That's the correct way to do it. (The cheap mass-market hair dryers started getting this backwards around the time they all transitioned from squirrel-cage fans to radial fans. Heating-element wire is cheaper than decent fans motors, I guess; and if that turns a hair dryer into a blowtorch, so what -people who don't know any better will buy them anyway.)
This particular unit has a very long round cord. I can't vouch for the cord's durability, but I see no reason it wouldn't hold up. Even if it were fragile, though, I'd still want to own this hair dryer. Cords are easy to replace. I've put two on my massive GE steam iron, an old-timer from the 1960s.
In summary, then, this dryer is tough, heavy, quiet, comfortable, extraordinarily effective, and obviously built for the long haul. It is far, far above anything I've seen in the stores since squirrel-cage motors disappeared some years ago.
