How old is your hairdryer?

Mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer, caused by breathing asbestos fibers. Many shipyard workers, factory workers, and military members, depending on their job, may have contracted this disease. But nobody would ever have believed that something as innocuous as a hairdryer could have also caused the same deadly disease.

Brand names that commonly contained asbestos before 1980 are: Conair, General Electric, Gillette, Korvettes, Montgomery Ward, North American Phillips (Norelco), J.C. Penney, Scovill Manufacturing (Hamilton-Beach and Dominion), Sears-Roebuck & Co., Sunbeam, and Schick. Possibly there are other lesser known brands if manufactured in the late 70s. If you own and use a dryer from before 1980, contact the company and see if they will still honor the recall after all this time. In any event, you should immediately purchase a new one as soon as possible.

We tend to get attached to our hairdryers. They can be old and funny colored, but as long as they work we hang on to 'em. Sometimes we hang on too long. Here are a few stories and comments from my friends about their hairdryers.

Peggy Gillespie Hazelwood: "Oh boy, at least 10 years old. It's a hideous green color, hand held, and I use it about 4 times a week. I would get a new one but it just keeps on working." (Authors note: The photo in this module is of Peggy's dryer that was photographed especially for this lens. Thanks Peggy!)

Emma Riley Sutton: "I left my old (LOL) hair dryer at a hotel when I drove to college so I bought my new one - my first purchase as an on-my-own-college-woman. That was in the summer of 1988 (Author's note: Emma states that she was only 4 years old when she went to college). It was a great purchase because it's still going! Why can't my cars last that long? I'm Emma Riley Sutton, from Oklahoma, and you are more than welcome to use my comments."

Jerrie Dean: "I had my hairdryer for over 15 years. I used it everyday before work and every Friday night before I went out on a date. Like a dutiful servant, it straightened my curly, fuzzy hair into a straight style over a decade. Even after I got married and my husband bought me a shiny new red hair dryer, I couldn't abandon my old friend and kept using her, until one day her heart stopped with a zap and a small vapor of smoke floated into the air. A trash can did not seem like a fitting end, so she lays under the bathroom sink, as an embodiment of my youth."

Virginia Allain: "Mine was passed along by my mother-in-law as she wasn't using it. That was 1994, so I worry that it might have that asbestos in it." (Author's note: Virginia, all my research has indicated that manufacturers stopped using asbestos in the late 70s to early 80s. If I find facts to the contrary I will be sure to let you know.)

Kathryn Yount Aqua: "As old as time. I air dry my hair." Then she goes on, "I have a handheld dryer I use maybe once a year. It is about 15 years old I think. I believe I bought it in 1996 or 1997. Can't really remember."

Chriss Jones: "Mine's about 5 or 6 years old. I only got it because I lost the one I had been using since high school (mid-90s). I recently found the old one and donated it as it still worked like new and I had no need for two."

Christine Gauvreau: "I use a hair dryer at least 6 days a week. Mine is between 2-3 years old. And ready to be replaced. It is silver and red and yesterday it smelled like burned wires when I used it. I have a backup somewhere in case it dies on me. My hair is curly and frizzes badly when not dried properly."

Sherry Fraser Snider: "My hairdryer is about 7 years old. I distinctly remember replacing my previous hairdryer (that still worked) because I started to smell something like a suspicious "burning" odor when I used it...no smoke...just an odor. After examining the dust in the old grooves, I decided replacing it was much safer than trying to clean the innards of an old electrical device. :-)"

Candy Dorsey: "My hair dryer is about 10 years old. I brought it with me when I relocated from Las Vegas to New Jersey. I use it ever day."

Lynn Winters: "I usually let my hair air dry but there are times I use a blow dryer. I'm not sure exactly how old mine is. My husband brought it into our marriage and we will be married for 10 years next month. It is a clunky, big blow dryer with a long nozzle. I think it has 4 settings. It probably has adapters but I have no idea where they are."

And finally from my friend TomCom: "My hair dryer is a towel."

The very first blowdryer was invented by Alexander Godefroy and used in his hair salon in France in 1890. When the first in-home version came out, it was cumbersome and weighed more than two pounds. It was also dangerous with instances of overheating and electrocution. Since it was only capable of using 100 watts of power, it took a very long time to dry hair.

Most hair dryers manufactured today have ceramic heating elements, which heat faster, can use up to 2,000 watts of power and make drying your hair faster and easier. Many of these dryers have what is known as a "cold shot," button which turns off the heater and blows room temperature air while the button is pressed. This helps a lot in controlling frizz and boosts shine in the hair.

An "ionic"operation, which many hairdryers now feature, reduces the amount of static electricity build-up in the hair, which is supposed to give the hair a smoother quality. There are different attachments for a hairdryer; a diffuser, an airflow concentrator and a comb nozzle attachment. The diffuser helps to keep hair from frizzing and is mainly used on hair that is fine, colored, permed or naturally curly. An airflow concentrator has the opposite effect, concentrating the heat into one spot in order to dry it more rapidly. The comb nozzle attachment works in much the same way as the airflow concentrator, but it ends with comb-like teeth so that you can dry your hair without a brush or comb.