Hairdryers

A hair-drier has an electric fan, like a vacuum cleaner. But it’s less powerful – and it works in the opposite way. It sucks air in at the back of the drier and blows it out through the nozzle at the front. A heater element inside warms the air as it passes through.

Before electric hairdryers were available women would have to dry their hair naturally and, as it was fashionable to have long hair this could often take hours.

Women with straight hair would often wrap their hair up in rags or rollers until it was dry. When they took the rollers out their hair would be curly. Some women preferred their hair straight and would use straightening irons heated up in the fire to iron out any natural waves. Now a days electric curling brushes and hair straighteners do the same job but are much quicker and safer.