Tool
Heat setting guide
Pick your hair type. The guide shows the heat band and airflow most stylists and makers suggest, as typical guidance rather than a rule.
Short answer
Use the lowest heat that still dries your hair well: low to medium for fine and curly hair, medium for most hair, and medium to high only for rough drying thick hair. Go one band lower if your hair is color-treated or lightened, and finish each section with the cool shot.
Your heat setting
Typical heat
medium
Airflow
Medium to high
Most hair of medium thickness styles well on the middle heat step.
On the dial
- Dyson Supersonic: 80 C (176 F) (Dyson lists 60, 80 and 100 C, plus a constant 28 C cold shot)
- Other 3-step dryers: setting 2 of 3. Most makers publish dial positions, not degrees.
For every hair type
- Rough dry to about 80 percent dry first, then style section by section.
- Keep the dryer moving, with the nozzle a few inches (about 6 in) from the hair.
- Lower the heat as the hair gets close to dry.
- Finish each section with the cool shot for several seconds, so the shape sets as the hair cools.
Typical guidance, not a rule. Your tool's manual comes first.
Heat bands by hair type
- Finelow to medium
- Mediummedium
- Thickmedium to high
- Curlylow to medium
- Coilymedium
At the end of every section, for every hair type. Color-treated hair: one band lower.
Fine or thin
- Heat
- Low to medium
- Airflow
- Low to medium
Medium
- Heat
- Medium
- Airflow
- Medium to high
Thick or coarse
- Heat
- Medium to high for rough drying, medium for styling
- Airflow
- High for rough drying
Curly
- Heat
- Low to medium, with a diffuser
- Airflow
- Low
Coily
- Heat
- Medium, comb attachment to stretch
- Airflow
- Low to medium
| Hair type | Heat | Airflow |
|---|---|---|
| Fine or thin | Low to medium | Low to medium |
| Medium | Medium | Medium to high |
| Thick or coarse | Medium to high for rough drying, medium for styling | High for rough drying |
| Curly | Low to medium, with a diffuser | Low |
| Coily | Medium, comb attachment to stretch | Low to medium |
Why the cool shot matters
Hair holds the shape it has as it cools. A few seconds of cool air on each finished section sets a blowout or a curl, which is why most dryers and multi-stylers put the cool shot on its own button.
Dyson publishes the Supersonic's air temperatures: 100 C (212 F) fast drying, 80 C (176 F) regular and 60 C (140 F) gentle, plus a constant cold shot of 28 C (82 F). Most other makers list only the number of heat steps, so the guide gives dial positions for them. More on technique in heat and technique.