Cologne  - Overusing a hair dryer can damage the hair.

This is exactly why companies that make hair dryers are introducing new models that are supposed to be gentler on the hair. Not that blowing the hair dry can be considered healthy, experts say. But a certain beauty effect can be realized at least in part.

The best thing for the hair is and remains not submitting it to hot air.

"Blowing the hair dry basically is not as gentle as simply letting the hair air dry," said Stefanie Koehn, a hair dresser from Wetzlar, Germany. But not everyone has the time to wait for that. While blowing the hair dry indeed doesn't help care for hair, it does make it look groomed, Koehn added.

"Beautiful, styled, shiny hair always looks more attractive than a headful of disorganized air-dried hair," she said. Hardly anyone can get live without a hair dryer. But how badly the hair has to suffer depends on how hot the air blowing out of the hair dryer is.

"If the temperature is too high, the structure of the hair is effectively damaged," said Jens Dagne of Worms, chairman of a German hair dresser association called Intercoiffure.

In order to reduce the heat and to shorten the time it takes to dry the hair, the industry has come up with new technologies. Many modern hair dryers work on an ion basis. This is a technology that enhances the air with negatively charged particles that split the water droplets in the hair into smaller molecules.

"This leads to the hair drying faster," said hair stylist Antonio Weinitschke of Aachen. "And less blow drying preserves the hair," said Weinitschke, who is also art director for women's fashion at a German central association for hair stylists.

The new ionic hair dryers also prevent infamous static electricity. Brushing and combing positively charges the hair, which at the same time repels the charge and the result is it stands up in all directions.

The ions dock on the hair and neutralize it. That's how the static charge is reduced.

"And the surface simply shines more," said Koehn. A further trick to more healthy blow drying is to increase the amount of air instead of the temperature. Strong air flow automatically ensures that the length of time it takes to dry the hair is clearly shorter. "Better more air than heat," said Dagne.

Some hair dryer makers are using ceramic coating on the nozzles, which are supposed to distribute the heat more evenly.

"These things aren't hair care, but they are things that treat the hair more gently," according to a spokeswoman for Philips in Hamburg. Targeted hair care is promised by models that have a built in nozzle out of which hot air and vitamin solutions can be sprayed.

These are bells and whistles, according to the hair dressers.

"A hair dryer doesn't have to be an expensive device," said Weinitschke. "It's a lot cheaper to buy a heat protecting product and put it on the hair before blow drying it."

A product that moisturizes the hair can be matched to the hair type, said Koehn. And Weinitschke said the modern hair dryers are of little use if they are used incorrectly. When using a hair dryer, the rule is technique is more important than technology, he said.

Hair stylists advise using a styling product that protects the hair from dryness before blowing the hair dry. For shine, a high- quality natural brush is important, but so is the right technique. "Hair is like shingles. If I blow the hair dry against the overlapping layers, they open and become rough," said Weinitschke.

Also, the stream of air should always be pointed at the ends of the hair, never at the roots. In order to avoid burning the hair, the hair dryer should not be held on the hair on high and should not be held directly on the hair.

"The hot air always must be able to escape," said Weinitschke. "If it's not able to flow through, both the hair and the hair dryer can go kaputt." (dpa)