product review

Style
your hair

This sleek hair dryer by T3 promises to cut down on drying time while boosting bounce and shine. But does the Featherweight 2 really deliver salon style at home? Sheknows puts it to the test!

Drying time

There is one thing that I dread in the morning: drying hair.

Some days I sport a wet pony tail just to avoid the 25 minute blow-dry session. On the hunt for a solution, I discovered a hair dryer that promises to deliver a wet-to-dry result in just a few minutes.

But would the T3 Featherweight hair dryer really dry my hair super-fast and leave it looking healthy and shiny?

What it promises

According to T3, the Featherweight 2 ($200) is clinically proven to be healthier than air drying and to dry your hair faster — retaining moisture for smooth, shiny, frizz-free results. Featherweight dryers work differently, drying hair in an average of just seven minutes while improving its health and appearance. T3’s advanced SoftAire Technology generates a greater volume of air and weaves it through the dryer at the ideal heat and speed. The ion-enriched air then exits the dryer in a wide cone shape that dries larger sections of hair at a time, faster and healthier. Some of the advertised benefits:

• T3 Tourmaline: A patented infusion process emits negative ions and infrared heat for faster, healthier drying.
• Ionic: Breaks down water molecules for faster drying and helps smooth the hair cuticle.
• T3 SoftAire: Delivers a large, perfectly even cone of heat that accelerates the drying process even further.
• Tourmaline Concentrator: Directs enriched airflow for faster, healthier, more precise drying.

How it held up

To really put the T3 to the test, I started my drying session while my hair was sopping wet. With an eye on the clock I turned it to its highest setting and got to work. My hair was dried in about six minutes or so.

The dryer has a sleek design, and is very light and easy to hold. It also comes with a super-long 9-foot-long cord, which helps when the mirror is a few feet away from the electrical socket. I thought it would be a bit louder for such a powerful hair dryer, but it was overall pretty average for noise.

The sleek design offered much more than just aesthetics. When I attempted to re-create a blowout effect done best in salons, I was surprised at how easily the nozzle would just glide along with the hairbrush.

I finished off my look with the T3 Bodywaver for a few beachy waves. I am usually too impatient to follow how-to videos, but the website had some good tips to help give a more professional touch. For example, it suggested lowering the heat setting so the wave cools and sets faster.

The bottom line

I loved the look the T3 gave me — and it led me to believe that maybe my hair wasn’t so difficult to style after all. I just needed to invest in some higher quality hair tools to help give my thin hair a boost. And by cutting down drying time I can spend some extra minutes styling.

The $200 price tag may deter some, but by using a better dryer at home you might skip pricey blowout sessions at the hair salon. This dryer also comes with a two-year warranty and customer service support.

The T3 hair care line is carried at popular beauty stores like Sephora and Ulta.

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