From the history of the invention of the electric hair dryer — the first portable hair dryers

The first electric hair dryer appeared in France in 1890 in the salon of its creator, Alexandre Godefroy. It was actually a vacuum cleaner converted to dry your hair. Godefroy removed the tube from the vacuum cleaner inlet and placed it on the hot air outlet. The electric dryer was born.

It is believed that the first portable hair dryers were developed in 1920 by the Universal Motor Company and Hamilton Beach in Racine (Wisconsin, USA). These early dryers were bulky, heavy (about 1 kg) and produced little air, but the results quickly gained popularity among consumers.

“Since the 1920s, the drying process has focused mainly on improving power and changing appearance and materials. In fact, the mechanism of the dryer has not changed significantly since its inception.

One of the most important changes to the hair dryer is to make it out of plastic to make it lighter. It really caught on in the 1960s with the advent of better electric motors and better plastics.Another big change came in 1954 when General Electric redesigned the dryer by moving the motor into the housing... «.

This is the classic hair dryer story. But it turns out that the first portable electric hair dryers were invented much earlier (at the beginning of the 20th century) and already in the 1910s they were widespread not only in Europe but also in Russia. Confirmation that — article in the pre-revolutionary magazine "Elektrotehnika" in 1911.

This magazine is published by the Moscow entrepreneur S. Trinkovski, who trades in Moscow with various electrical products and is engaged in its promotion and advertising in his magazine.

In addition to a portable electric hair dryer, the article advertises the Sanax vibrating massage device.

On January 22, 1909, the German company Sanitas registered the trademark Fон in the register of trademarks. The first hair dryer was produced by this company around 1900 (in 1957 Sanitas was taken over by AEG).

You can find hair dryer brochures in German from 1914-1915 on the Internet:

The Russian magazine "Electrotechnical Business" by S. Trinkovski talked about hair dryers 3 years earlier - in 1911.

So, let's see what they wrote about portable hair dryers in the pre-revolutionary Russian edition.

Two new electrical household appliances

“The adaptability of electricity to all the needs of domestic use is so great, that there is not a positive thing in the household that cannot be heated, turned, or lighted by electricity.

Electric heating, both for heating and for cooking food, became widespread, and at that time, in a luxuriously arranged apartment, the housewife could even take a bath and take a bath, in which the water was heated by electricity.

However, what has been an extremely inconvenient process so far is drying the hair after a bath, as well as after washing the head with shampoo, etc. Here again, electricity had to come to the rescue. An electric air dryer has been invented which, at the simple turn of a switch, produces a strong stream of cold or hot air as desired.

Hot dry air can dry even the thickest hair with incredible speed, and in addition, its effect on the hair is completely harmless, which cannot be said about drying hair with various heated plates, clips and similar tools.

Moreover, using an air shower is beneficial for hair growth, as the warm air has an extremely beneficial effect on the skin and strengthens the roots of the hair. Due to its excellent effect on the skin, it is also an excellent product for keeping the skin fresh, and therefore the shower «Fen» is successfully used for thermal air massage of the face.

However, this still does not exhaust the wide activity of this extremely useful device — it is successfully used wherever you need to dry or warm something, for example, to warm underwear after bathing, to warm bed linen, to treat various diseases, to dry and refreshing wet feathers, velvet, fabric and moss, for drying gasoline-soaked gloves, etc., for pet care, for drying photographic plates, drawings, etc., for blowing away dust (from a piano) and more other purposes.

In a word, a house in which this universal device has been used at least once can no longer do without it. If we add to this that the apparatus is masterfully made — that it is unusually durable, light and simple, requires no maintenance at all, poses no danger in any way, and, on top of that, that the price is very low — 25 rubles — then it becomes it is understandable why this apparatus in a short time found distribution abroad in the amount of many thousands of pieces.

Another device that serves as a direct complement to the air shower "Sanax" is the electric vibrating massager "Sanax". What thermal massage cannot give, is given through vibrations…

... Both devices, in addition to their direct use at home, are excellent items for sideline income in hair salons, hospitals, for doctors, massage therapists and in resorts. For electrical NS offices, In stores, these devices represent a very profitable and easy trade, because they are really good and everyone needs them. «

"Elektrotechnika" magazine, No. 5 (August 2011)

Electric hair dryer and vibrator Flyers:

The danger of a portable electric hair dryer in the picture from Stefan Jelinek's book "Electrical Protection in 132 Pictures" (1931, pictured is a Sanitas hair dryer).

Stefan Jelinek — one of the founders of the science of electrical safety

Advertisements in a 1911 electrical engineering magazine: Examples of pre-revolutionary advertising of electrical products