Expert claims we're all using our hairdryer wrong - and it can easily break

03 September 2023 , 13:07

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One common hairdryer mistake could be shortening the life of your appliance (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images/Westend61)

Hairdryers are a staple in most beauty appliance kits and make tasks like drying hair and styling easier. A necessity for many, living without a hairdryer can be a pain, so it is important to keep them in the best working order possible. Much like a lot of our everyday appliances, it is easy to neglect them and according to a popular hair expert, too many people are making a big mistake when they use their hairdryers - and it's leading to the devices having a shorter lifespan.

Hairdresser Rachel Valentine said the key to getting the most out of your hairdryer is to make sure the filter at the back of the appliance is regularly cleaned. If you don't, dust and debris can build up between the fibres of the filter and can cause your hairdryer to overheat - eventually causing it to break.

In a video shared to her @rachelvalentinehair account on TikTok, she said: "There is a really simple thing that you need to do to look after your hairdryer, otherwise you could literally be killing it - this filter at the back of your hairdryer actually comes off and it needs to be cleaned."

Showing her followers the build-up of dust, product residue and dirt, Rachel explained: "All of that dust and residue on the back of the hairdryer here and in this filter will cause it to clog up. This will stop it from working properly and it can even overheat."

Rachel then shared a "two-second" method for cleaning the filter, where she ran the filter under a tap and then used an old toothbrush to clear away any stubborn residue. "It's actually amazing how much dust comes off and look how dirty that toothbrush is as well", she said.

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"Afterwards, making sure the toothbrush is dry, gently brush away any other dust that's left on the hairdryer. Then you're just going to pop that back onto the back of your hairdryer and look at the difference in that."

As Rachel showed the hairdryer to the camera, viewers could clearly see the huge difference that the quick hack makes. And commenters on the video were eager to clean their own hairdryers after watching the simple hack, as many other hair experts backed Rachel's video.

One comment read: "When I was a junior before qualifying, it was one of the weekly jobs to clean the dryer filters! Stops fires and keeps the lifespan!", while another added: "I have the Dyson hairdryer and its performance drops when the filter needs cleaning ... so many forget!", and a third posted: "What!? I've had that hair dryer for 8 years and didn't know that. I'm off to clean it now."

Naimah Archibald-Powell