I tend to use whatever is on-hand and available to dry hair for the kids and not think about it too much. Until of course my daughter came along and managing her hair became a challenge.
So when Dreame approached me about trying out their Pocket High-Speed Hair Dryer, I was definitely interested.
I have to say hair dryers generally are not high on my list of conscious thoughts. For most of my life I have kept pretty short hair because it’s so wiry it resists styling. The one time my hair grew long enough to actually be soft was during the 111 continuous days of COVID lockdown in 2020. At (then) 46 years old, I learned something new about myself.
First Impressions
We have been using an old but trusty Speedy 3800 hairdryer for years. It’s a big beast with a bit of weight to it, and truthfully not particularly amazing at anything including speed. But if you keep at it long enough it gets there at the end. I don’t know about you, but I feel that the hair drying experience is less about the journey and more about the destination.
In comparison the Dreame is featherweight and much more compact, particularly when folded up. It comes in a satin gold tone with silver buttons.
Whereas my previous aforementioned hairdryer is in a fixed position, the Dreame is far more versatile. The handle can be folded in to make it more compact for stowing away and travelling with. It can obviously open up to the standard “L” position for hair drying. It can also be folded back to be more like a wand to use with the curling attachment.
On the handle there is a three position switch for power and speed, and a toggle button for the heat setting with a colour LED feedback to tell you if it’s on cold or hot and in between.
There are four settings – cold, warm, hot, and warm / cold cycle – 7 seconds warm air followed by 5 seconds cool air.
In Use
It is an understatement to say that my daughter loves her hair. She never wants it cut, and loves it long, or braided, or styled, curled. You name it. She loves her hair.
At the same time totally opposite to me, her hair is very fine and very prone to knotting and tangling. It is always a task to brush out the knots, and drying her hair has always taken more time then she has patience.
The Dreame Pocket High-Speed Hair Dryer has a 110,000 rpm motor that can generate a wind speed of 70 m/s. That converts to 252 kph, or if you prefer, the low end of a Category 5 hurricane (252 kph or higher). That is some incredible speeds.
On the first night using the Dreame on my daughter after washing her hair, the difference with the old unit was like chalk and cheese. Using just the first speed setting, the Dreame was pushing at the root of the hair and separating them for a much quicker drying process.
The airspeed is sustained which allowed me to dry her hair in minutes rather than the 10 or more it would ordinarily take.
Dreame talks about 300,000,000 (300 million) negative ions per cubic centimeter. The science behind this is that negative ions reduces static electricity in the air and helps keep your hair smooth.
A second reason is that the negative ion charge in the airstream counters the water’s inherent positive ionic charge. The idea is that the negative ions will repel against the water and help the hair to dry quicker. So rather than brute force heating to evaporate the water molecules, the Dreame is also pushing it away from the air stream.
Arraiya was super keen to try the curling nozzle. There is no fiddling around with attaching it, it is a magnetic attachment that just works.
After struggling for a little bit (I’m just a guy) with the hair dryer in the traditional position and getting absolutely nowhere other than hair flying around her face, I busted out the manual.
This is where I discover you can pull the handle all the way back to turn it into a wand. And if you place the hair on the underside of the curling wand, the unit will automatically wrap it around the curling wand when turned on. It was rather magical actually.
The end result very chic lazy waves which Arraiya absolutely adores. I can already foresee that getting her ready to go out is going to take a lot longer. Oh boy.
Also of note is how much quieter the Dreame runs in comparison to what I am used to. Even Arraiya doesn’t feel the need to cover her ears.
Aside from the curling nozzle, the Dreame also comes with an unfrizz nozzle. Again this is just a simple magnetic attachment.
The instructions calls for paying attention to the airflow, hold the nozzle close to the hair so that the strands get picked up by the airflow then work your way down to the ends.
We gave this a go with Arraiya. Working in batches the nozzle certainly helped with untangling her hair. It worked better when we have mostly dried her hair as the nozzle does take out the direct airflow. It is actually quite a relief to have the unfrizz nozzle that works, because me brushing her hair is generally traumatic for both of us.
Other Features
The Dreame uses a NTC thermistor and microprocessor collaborate to maintain a safe temperature below 57C. The unit checks the heat level 300 times per second to maintain the heat level.
Cleaning the filter is simple, you just remove the airflow filter at the end and wipe both sides clean.
The Dreame also comes with a carry pouch that is just big enough to hold everything in it.
Gripes
There is very little to complain about, once I did the RTFM thing (reading the manual). That said, I did defer to my partner who is much more knowledgeable on these matters than yours truly.
The main complaint is that the curling wand does not quite have the suction to pull all the strands of hair around the wand. The outcome was that was couldn’t achieve tighter curls which would allow it to last longer during the day.
The power switch is a little awkward to work with in the curling mode, as I am used to using a rocker switch which trips way too easily. I found it hard to turn it on and off when curling Arraiya’s hair, but also it is new way of operating for me.
The 1.5m length power cord is a bit on the short side, Personally I would have preferred it to be 2m or longer.
The carry bag will fit everything in, but you won’t be able to just throw things in willy nilly and zip it up.
Fun General Knowledge
So apparently high levels of exposure to negative ions can cause people with chronic depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) to report lower scores on surveys of their depression symptoms. By high levels of exposure they are talking like several hours plus of continuous exposure.
However, shorter duration of negative ion exposure may positively affect seasonal depression.
Conclusions
The Dreame is a quantum leap in capacity for me. I love how light and compact it is. It comes with the key things that I never knew I needed to appease my daughter.
The Dreame Pocket High-Speed Hair Dryer has a RRP of $249 on Amazon (their website has it at a substantially higher price). Take advantage of the current Black Friday deal which brings it down to a very attractive $149.
DRN would like to thank Dreame for providing the review unit.
Specifications
Rated Voltage: 220-240V
Rated Power: 1300W
Rated Frequency: 50 / 60Hz
Dimensions: 50×145×201mm
Power Cord Length: 1.5m
Net Weight: 300g (excluding power cord)
Negative Ions/cm³: 300,000,000
High-Speed Motor: 110,000RPM
Noise Level: 60dB
Wind Speed: 70m/s
