The hair is one's crown of beauty and identity. No wonder than through the ages, people have invented, developed, and improved all kinds of ways, techniques, and products to beautify and maintain their hair.

Style? You can, for example, choose Mohawks, undercuts, or bobcats. Color? You can select blond, black, or brown and even more unusual ones, such as, yellow or red. Setting products? There are an endless variety of waxes, oils, and other chemicals that can actually change hair structure.

One of the more advanced developments for hairstyling is the invention of electric hairstyling appliances. With these appliances, one can dry, curl, or straighten hair more easily, more conveniently, and more fun than having to go to a salon and spend a significant amount of money.

One of most common hairstyling appliances is the hair dryer. A hair dryer blows a jet of air that is heated by a set of nichrome wires. The hot air then assists in drying and styling one's hair.

There are many kinds of hair dryers in the market today. Aside from conventional dryers, there are new ones such as a ceramic hair dryer.

One of the more advanced types, a ceramic hair dryer works like a conventional one wherein a standard rope heater heats the perimeter of the airflow. But with the addition of a ceramic heater, this advanced type of dryer allows a more even distribution of heat. This even distribution help prevent hot spots and hair damage while using the blower to dry or style one's hair.

The ceramic heater is also self-regulating, that is, it turns down when the surrounding temperature becomes too hot. Because the dryer automatically regulates the temperature, most of these types do not have multiple temperature controls although they do have a high and low setting.

It is also alleged that ceramic hair dryer help prevent bacteria formation, which results in a much healthier scalp. Using a ceramic hair dryer also helps the hair resist the effects of adverse weather conditions (e.g., extreme sunlight, rain, wind, and dust), helps create a radiant texture and surface on one's hair.

For women who regularly blow dry their hair, a ceramic dryer is probably their best choice. Here are some of the best hair dryers in the market today:

1. Chi Turbo Driver - This ceramic dryer uses high-grade ceramic coils. It is also famous in the market because of its low electromagnetic field, an unusual feature since dryers usually have considerably high levels of electromagnetism. It runs on 1500 watts of power, but despite being a little bit low in that aspect, it can compete favorably against higher powered ceramic hair dryer.

2. Twin Turbo Ceramic Ionic 3200 - With a tag of $200, this dryer combines the effects of ceramic and negative-ion technology, allowing the heat inside the hair shaft to radiate without drying the shaft out. The dryer also features four temperature settings, cold-air switch, two speed settings, and an anti-overheating safety device.

3. Conair Ceramic Smooth - This very affordable ceramic dryer (only around $30) has both a conventional and ceramic heater. It is a good travel companion since it can fold up and can run on either 110 or 220 volts. It is quite powerful for its small size; it runs at 1875 watts.