Parts of a Hair Dryer – Barrel, Concentrator and Inside

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Outside 8

Handle The grip. It holds the switch and the controls.
Cord Carries power from the wall outlet to the dryer.
Barrel The long tube that holds the heating element.
Switch Turns the dryer on and sets the heat and speed.
Air inlet Air is drawn in here through a fine screen.
Concentrator Narrows the end of the dryer to aim air at one spot.
Cool shot button Turns off the heater and blows room-temperature air while pressed.
Diffuser Spreads the jet of air so hair is not blown around.

Cut open 3

Heating element A coiled nichrome wire that heats the air passing over it.
Motor An electric motor that spins the fan.
Fan Blows air across the heating element and out of the barrel.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Hair dryer (heating element of coiled nichrome wire, fan, motor, cool shot button, airflow concentrator, diffuser), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_dryer. (2) How Products Are Made, volume 7, Hair Dryer (handle with the switch, barrel with the heating element, motor and fan, air inlet with its screen, cord), http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Hair-Dryer.html. (3) Five separate makers' instruction booklets, read in full text on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-fb51a6b5-8e60-4436-b2bd-197898809f82 (cool shot button, air filter, concentrator attachment, air diffuser, air inlets); https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-37c0ab1c-4b3d-491a-b05b-1afa2b5ee926 (barrel, handle, control switch, air inlets, air filter); https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-b883b9ef-e096-4169-8091-0882e2c87a85 (control switch, air inlets, removable lint screen, cord); https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-774156ff-c87d-40d5-a5b7-d87dc79f7abb (barrel, switch); https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-ffcef8c3-06bb-45c4-8974-9e2aaf7068d5 (concentrator, cool shot button). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's product, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A hair dryer's fan blows air over a heating coil. This drawing names eight parts on the outside of a hand-held dryer, then the three parts inside that move and heat the air.

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The outside

The handle holds the switch, which sets the heat and speed, and the cool shot button. The barrel is the long tube on top. Air goes in at the air inlet at the back and comes out at the front, where a concentrator or a diffuser can be fitted.

The path of the air

Inside, a small motor spins the fan. The fan pulls air in through the inlet and pushes it over the heating element, a coil of nichrome wire, and out of the barrel.

Concentrator and diffuser do opposite jobs: one narrows the air into a jet, the other spreads it out.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a hair dryer called?

Outside: the handle, switch, cool shot button, barrel, air inlet and cord, plus a concentrator or a diffuser on the front. Inside: the fan, the motor that spins it, and the heating element.

What is the nozzle on a hair dryer called?

The concentrator. It makes the end of the dryer narrower, so the air comes out as a jet aimed at one spot.

What is the back of a hair dryer called?

The air inlet, also called the air intake. Air is drawn in there through a fine screen, which some makers call the lint screen or the air filter.

What does the cool shot button do?

While it is pressed, the heater is turned off and the dryer blows room-temperature air.