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I bought my Harry Josh Pro Tools Ultra Light Pro Dryer in 2021 after having the same hair dryer for about eight years. I never bought the cheapest hair dryer, but I also had never been in a position where spending $349 on one seemed particularly reasonable.
Then I started looking.
My hair is my favorite part of me, and I knew I didn’t want something that could essentially just boil and evaporate the water off my head. I somehow ended up looking at the Harry Josh Ultra Light Pro Dryer and saw that it was a favorite of Karlie Kloss. It’s not that I’m a fan of Karlie Kloss. I’m actually pretty ambivalent about her. But she was on the revamped Bill Nye the Science Guy, so apparently 2021 me decided she knew what’s up.
More importantly, the dryer itself started making sense to me.
At the time, it cost $349. But my previous hair dryer had lasted me eight years. If this one lasted that long, that worked out to about $44 a year.
That I could do.
It’s now 2026. I still have it.
What Made Me Spend $349 on a Hair Dryer
In 2021, that hair dryer felt like a lot of money, especially during the pandemic when a lot of things were up in the air. I had also decided, for some reason, that I was going to start YouTube and thought I might actually get somewhere with it. I quickly realized YouTube wasn’t quite a fit for me, although I still like posting videos from time to time. One of my first reviews was on the Harry Josh Ultra Light Pro.
Now that I have this blog, I actually have content to use instead of manufacture. I may be late to the party, but the party I’m bringing is legit and lived in.
I never thought buying the dryer was stupid. Expensive, yes. I had just never spent that much money on a beauty tool before.
My previous dryer was a Hot Tools hair dryer. It wasn’t super cheap, but it also wasn’t a car payment. It still worked, but I could tell it was taking a long time to dry my hair and the velvet matte finish was starting to feel sticky. What I hadn’t realized was that there was something out there that could get the job done significantly faster.
That was incredibly appealing.
Now that I’m trying to spread my joy of being Medium Maintenance, I can see that I was already thinking this way back then. I did the cost calculation before I bought the dryer because if I was going to spend that kind of cheddar, I wanted to know whether the purchase made sense over time.
The Ultra Light Pro also had a few things going for it that I hadn’t really thought about before buying it.
For one, it weighed less than a pound. I’d never considered the weight of my hair dryer before. Then I was thinking, why am I holding this heavier thing over my head?
It was also supposed to be quieter and, most importantly, it had 94 mph airflow. That specification has stuck in my brain because when I first turned it on next to my old dryer, the difference was ridiculous.
The Ultra Light Pro felt like a hurricane, in a good way.
I also liked that it was mint green. Partially because I like green and partially because I figured I’d know if someone stole my hair dryer. Not that I hang out with people who steal hair dryers. The color was distinctive
There were also little details I didn’t appreciate until I had the dryer in my hands. The balance was good. The controls stayed where I put them. The cold-shot button was incredibly easy to find without looking for it.
A friend had once very specifically told me she wanted a hair dryer with a concentrator that attached securely instead of one that slid over the outside because those could eventually crack. I’d never paid attention to something like that before. Suddenly I was examining hair dryer concentrators like this was information I’d always needed.
Then I Actually Timed How Long It Took to Dry My Hair
My hair was already long in 2021, and I had a lot of it. The first time I used the Ultra Light, I didn’t style my hair. I didn’t even use a concentrator. I just wanted to see how long it would take to get my hair dry.
Six minutes. I know, Right?
I probably would have stopped drying my hair at the four or five minute mark with my old dryer because I was usually running late and eventually it became, well, this is what you’re going to get.
Instead, my hair was actually dry.
I tried again while styling it with a concentrator and a brush. That took about 15 minutes, although I spent part of that time figuring out how to use a dryer that suddenly had substantially more airflow than I was accustomed to.
Another time, I started with wetter hair than I normally would.
Nine minutes.
When I checked in again about eight or nine months after buying it, I timed a regular dry again.
Six minutes.
At that point, I knew the first time wasn’t a fluke.
The Power Is Still the Thing
There were other things I liked about the dryer during those first months. It was lightweight. The balance made it comfortable to hold. The attachments were easy to put on and remove. The controls didn’t gradually slide into another position while I was using it.
I also noticed that I wasn’t getting ridiculously hot while drying my hair.
There’s nothing worse than taking a shower and then immediately sweating, especially around your neck, because you’ve spent forever standing in a bathroom with a hot hair dryer. Even on the highest heat setting, the Ultra Light didn’t make me feel like I was roasting myself just to get my hair dry.
But five years later, the thing I still notice is the power.
I take this hair dryer with me when I travel because I don’t trust hotel hair dryers. I don’t particularly trust other people’s hair dryers either. They mean well. Their hair dryers mean well.
I have regretted leaving my own dryer at home. A lot of the hotel hair dryers I’ve encountered are like old-school phones. They’re mounted to the wall with a curly cord, and using one after getting accustomed to the Ultra Light is pretty annoying.
The bathroom gets steamy because it feels like I’m essentially boiling the water off my head. I get sweaty. The dryer itself starts getting hot, and sometimes I can smell something burning. Without a concentrator, I also have to hold the dryer farther away when I’m trying to dry or style my hair.
I notice the difference immediately.
What still surprises me is that the Ultra Light’s airflow doesn’t come with an equally ridiculous amount of noise. It’s not really louder than the average hair dryer. If anything, I think it’s quieter.
The Ultra Light has completely screwed up my expectations for what a hair dryer should be able to do.
Why Was This Thing Made in France?
There was one detail on the packaging that bothered me when I originally bought it.
It very specifically said Made in France.
Okay. Why?
I tried looking it up and couldn’t find a satisfying answer, so eventually I just emailed Harry Josh Pro Tools and asked. They replied the same morning.
The explanation I received at the time was that Harry Josh wanted to create tools that would last for years rather than a year or two, while also making sure the people involved in producing them were fairly compensated and treated. They told me the original prototypes of the hair tools were still fully functional almost seven years later.
That actually mattered to me. I remember thinking they should have made a much bigger stink about it because I probably would have hesitated less over the price if I’d known that before buying it.
And now I have my own little data point.
My Ultra Light is five years old and still feels basically the same. The buttons aren’t worn out, the filter is easy to clean, and nothing about the dryer feels like it’s falling apart. There are a few nicks on the handle, but I honestly didn’t even notice them until I inspected it closely for this post.
Most importantly, it’s still working.
I hope I didn’t just jinx myself by writing that.
Was a $349 Hair Dryer Worth It?
The price was the only real “con” I could come up with when I made my original review.
I bought mine through Dermstore with a 15% discount, so after tax I paid $314.15. That was still a lot of money for a hair dryer.
But I didn’t buy it because I thought everyone needed a $349 hair dryer. I bought it because I wanted something I could keep for years, and I was willing to spend more if it actually made something I do regularly easier.
Very Medium Maintenance of me, apparently, although I didn’t have nearly as much to say about that yet.
Five years later, both my boyfriend and I still use this dryer. I’ve taken it all over with me. It still dries my hair ridiculously fast. I haven’t replaced it because I don’t need to.
I would happily buy this exact hair dryer again. Now that I’ve had this much time with it, I think it was worth the price.
It also changed how I think about expensive hair tools. I’m willing to spend more after doing a decent amount of research if I think a tool could genuinely make dealing with my long, thick hair easier. Honestly, some of the hair tools I’m testing and using for future posts probably wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t taken the leap on the Harry Josh Ultra Light Pro Dryer first.
If mine died tomorrow, I’d buy another one.
Unfortunately, that presents a problem. . .
Unfortunately, They Don’t Make My Hair Dryer Anymore
The Ultra Light Pro Dryer has since been discontinued.
Harry Josh Pro currently sells the Pro Dryer 2000. The current model is also made in France, weighs 1.16 pounds, and is rated at 80 mph airflow. On paper, it’s actually less powerful than my Ultra Light and yet I am tempted by it.
Not because my dryer is broken. Because I like the looks of the new concentrator.
I originally found myself looking at hair dryers because I wanted to see if there was anything more powerful than what I already have. When I checked Harry Josh, the Pro Dryer 2000 was the only hair dryer they were selling, so naturally I clicked on it to see how it compared to my now discontinued model.
The new concentrator is skinnier and looks more concentrated. Unfortunately, those attachments aren’t compatible with my Ultra Light, so I can’t just buy the new nozzle and stick it on my perfectly functional old dryer.
At the same time, I hesitate to spend $280 on the Pro Dryer 2000. Mine works beautifully, and 80 mph isn’t 94 mph. I know what 94 mph does for my hair, and I honestly don’t want to spend that much money only to be disappointed.
If the fairy hair mother dropped a Pro Dryer 2000 on my stoop, I’d definitely tear it open. But I’m not willing to make the $280 investment while my Ultra Light is still working perfectly. I could use that money to investigate other tools that work for long, thick Asian hair instead.
I’m not saying I’ll never buy it. I’m just saying I’ve looked.
Five Years Later
When I originally reviewed the Harry Josh Ultra Light Pro Dryer, I said that if it lasted as long as the company suggested it could, I didn’t see why the price wouldn’t be worth it.
Well, here we are.
Five years isn’t forever, and I don’t know how long this dryer will ultimately last. But I do know I’ve been using the same one since 2021, my boyfriend uses it too, it’s traveled with me, and it still makes other hair dryers feel weak by comparison.
The funny thing is that I don’t think about the fact that it weighs less than a pound anymore. I don’t think very much about the mint green or the number of settings either.
I think about the six minutes. I have a lot of hair. This thing gets it dry. That’s ultimately what I paid for.
This weird hot tool also saves me a lot of time.
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