Aurea, Libra or Nova: which SkinVibe hair dryer to choose?

“Which SkinVibe hair dryer should I choose?” is the question I get most often: in messages, under videos and from friends who know that I founded this brand. We have three hair dryers, and none of them is “the worse one”. They are simply made for different hair, different bathrooms and different mornings. Below, I put them side by side: Aurea Family x Plasma, Libra AirLoom and Nova PlasmaGo.

First, one table and a one-sentence answer for each of the three, then the details: which one for which hair, which one for the family, which one for the suitcase, and when plasma is really worth paying extra for. If you’d rather click than read, our short quiz at the end chooses for you.

How do the three SkinVibe hair dryers differ?

Aurea, Libra and Nova have the same brushless motor running at 110,000 revolutions per minute and the same 2.7-meter cable; they differ in hair care technology (plasma in Aurea and Nova, ionization in Libra), the number of modes and nozzles, noise level (59, 67 and 59 dB), and weight and size (410, 420 and 310 g). Nova is the only one without a diffuser, and Aurea the only one with a child mode and seven operating modes.

Feature	Aurea Family x Plasma	Libra AirLoom	Nova PlasmaGo
Technology	plasma: 1 billion positive and negative ions per cm³	ionization: 200 million negative ions per cm³	plasma: 1 billion positive and negative ions per cm³
Motor	brushless, 110,000 rpm	brushless, 110,000 rpm	brushless, 110,000 rpm
Power	1600 W	1500 W	1100 W
Noise level	up to 59 dB	up to 67 dB	up to 59 dB
Weight	410 g	420 g	310 g
Dimensions	140 × 69 × 256 mm	145 × 68 × 254 mm	80 × 63 × 224 mm
Temperatures	3 temperatures (cold, warm 55°C, hot 80°C) in constant temperature mode; each of the 7 modes has its own range (child mode: max. 65°C)	4 settings: cold, 50, 70 and 90°C + cold air at the push of a button	4 modes: warm 55°C, hot 70°C, cold, alternating
Temperature control	sensor measures the temperature 100 times per second, overheating protection	smart temperature control system, overheating protection	smart temperature control (NTC sensor), overheating protection
Airflow speeds	2	3	2
Nozzles included	3 magnetic, 360°: primary concentrator, professional concentrator, wavy diffuser	3 magnetic, 360°: primary concentrator, professional concentrator, classic diffuser	1 magnetic: primary concentrator (no diffuser)
Display and sensors	round color LCD, touch sensor (stops when you put it down, starts when you pick it up)	touch LCD with temperature and speed	LCD, touch sensor
Special modes	7 modes: constant temperature with setting memory, 2 alternating (warm-cold, hot-cold), long hair, short hair, child (lower temperature and motor speed), pet	none, cold air at the push of a button	alternating hot-cold mode
Cable	2.7 m	2.7 m	2.7 m
Colors	Silver, Mocha Mousse	Black, White (with gold accents)	Blue Fog, Eggplant, Graphite
Best for	thick, curly and frizz-prone hair, families, sensitivity to noise	normal and straight hair, a sensible budget, SkinVibe quality without the family features	travel, small bathrooms, a second hair dryer, straight and medium-length hair

You’ll also find a full overview with drying times and all the specifications side by side on our SkinVibe hair dryer comparison page. Here I focus on what the table can’t tell you: which one is for whom.

Aurea Family x Plasma: who is it for?

Aurea is for those of you who dry your hair every day, have a lot of it or have curls, and for homes where more than one person uses the hair dryer. It’s our flagship hair dryer: plasma, seven operating modes, a wavy diffuser and a touch sensor in one device; it runs at 59 dB and weighs 410 g.

Plasma saturates the air with a billion positive and negative ions per cubic centimeter, which neutralize the charges on the surface of the hair as you dry; in practice, hair frizzes less and gets less static, and the cuticle closes instead of sticking out. I explain how it works and how it differs from ionization in a separate article about plasma in hair dryers. Seven modes mean you don’t have to set the temperature from scratch every time: there’s a constant temperature mode that remembers your last setting, a child mode in which hot air reaches a maximum of 65°C and the motor runs slower, and a pet mode, quiet and with gentle warmth. The touch sensor switches the dryer off when you put it down and back on when you pick it up; if you prefer classic controls, you can simply leave it off. One thing customers write about and that’s worth knowing before you buy: the cable is 2.7 m long and has some weight of its own, so the dryer feels light in your hand, but you notice the cord when you carry it around.

Aurea’s diffuser is wavy, with distinct inner prongs; I worked on it personally with waves and curls that frizz easily in mind. If you have curly hair, this is the most important reason to choose Aurea, and I show how to use it in my guide to the hair dryer with a diffuser. On top of that, there are two concentrators: the primary one for everyday drying and the professional one for styling strand by strand and lifting hair at the roots. All of them attach magnetically and rotate 360°.

Who Aurea is the best choice for: thick, long hair, because the airflow and 1600 W cut drying time (on short hair, our measurements came to 29 seconds, and one customer wrote that “drying my thick, long hair takes 4 minutes”); curls and waves, because of the wavy diffuser; families with children, because the child mode has a hard temperature limit (“a great option when the kids were scared of the hair dryer”, as another mom put it); people sensitive to noise, because 59 dB is the volume of a conversation; and those of you who simply want the best hair dryer we’ve made. Available in silver and Mocha Mousse. If, besides drying, you want one device that also curls and styles your hair, see whether to choose Aurea or the Nuvia hot air styler.

The video is in Polish. After you click, YouTube (Google) plays the video.

Libra AirLoom: who is it for?

Libra is for those of you who have normal or straight hair, dry it a few times a week and want a SkinVibe hair dryer at a more affordable price. It has the same 110,000 rpm brushless motor as Aurea, ionization with 200 million negative ions per cm³, three magnetic nozzles with a classic diffuser, and four temperatures and three speeds on a touch screen; it weighs 420 g and runs at 67 dB. Lightness is the feature Libra customers mention most often (“light, which was my priority because of the bad joints in my hands”); the most common remark, on the other hand, is about noise, because 67 dB is audibly more than Aurea’s 59 dB, and I write about that openly below.

Ionization tackles the same problem as plasma, namely frizz and static: negative ions neutralize the positive charge that builds up on hair as you dry it, so strands are smoother and fall into place without a fight. Aurea goes a step further, because plasma emits both kinds of ions, and in larger numbers; Libra does what most hair needs day to day. In my article on how to choose a hair dryer with ionization, I describe who benefits from ionization and who is fine with good technique. If you battle static in winter, also read why hair gets static and what to do about it.

What I like about Libra is its simplicity: temperature and speed are on the touch screen, and the cold air button right under your finger sets your style without any fuss. Four temperatures (cold, 50, 70 and 90°C) range from gently finishing fine hair to quickly drying thick hair. Three nozzles are included: the primary concentrator, the professional concentrator and a round classic diffuser, which is all you need for waves and loose curls.

Who Libra is the best choice for: normal and straight hair that mainly needs good airflow, a low temperature and a cool finish; waves and loose curls with the classic diffuser; people who don’t need family modes or a touch sensor and prefer to spend less without compromising on motor quality. Available in black and white, both with gold accents.

The video is in Polish. After you click, YouTube (Google) plays the video.

Nova PlasmaGo: who is it for?

Nova is for those of you who travel a lot, have a small bathroom or want a second hair dryer for the gym, the office or your handbag. It’s a mini hair dryer weighing 310 g and measuring 80 × 63 × 224 mm, with plasma, the same motor speed as Aurea and 59 dB; it comes with the primary concentrator and no diffuser.

When I was designing Nova, I didn’t want a typical “travel” hair dryer that has a folding handle but barely dries your hair. That’s why it got a full-size-class motor, plasma and four temperature modes, including cold air and alternating, plus a touch sensor. There is one compromise, and I say it openly: there is only one nozzle, and it’s a concentrator. Nova has no diffuser, and Aurea’s attachments don’t fit it (the head has a different diameter), so if you dry your curls with a diffuser, this isn’t your everyday hair dryer. It is, however, the perfect second hair dryer alongside Aurea or Libra, and the first one if you have straight or medium-length hair and count every gram in your suitcase. That’s actually how our first customers describe it: “it’s small, light, just right for trips, but I use it every day”, and one of them, who owns Aurea, wrote: “I have your regular plasma one, and this one is perfect to take with me on vacation”.

In my guide to travel hair dryers, I explain when a small hair dryer makes sense and when it’s better to take a full-size one; I write about the launch itself and the three colors, Blue Fog, Eggplant and Graphite, in the launch news. The nozzle is always the same color as the dryer, so Nova looks like a single piece, not like a device with a random attachment.

Which SkinVibe hair dryer for which hair type?

For curly and wavy hair, choose Aurea (wavy diffuser) or Libra (classic diffuser); for thick, long hair, Aurea, because it dries faster and is quieter; for fine and color-treated hair, any of the three at a low temperature setting, preferably with plasma or ionization; for straight and medium-length hair, Libra or Nova. Hair type matters more than budget.

Curly and wavy hair. A diffuser isn’t an extra, it’s a must. Aurea has a wavy diffuser with prongs that separates strands better and reduces frizz; Libra has a classic round bowl, which is all you need for waves and loose curls. Nova is out, because it has no diffuser. Our Nuvia hot air styler also comes with a diffuser; you can see Aurea, Libra and Nuvia side by side among our hair dryers with a diffuser for curls. With very long, tightly curled hair, dry in smaller sections than usual. And one remark, because it keeps coming up in reviews: if you have curls and hope that ionization or plasma will “smooth” them, it doesn’t work that way. Ionization and plasma reduce frizz, but a curl stays a curl; for smoothing, you need a straightener, not a hair dryer.

Thick, long hair. Here, time and your arm are what count. Aurea, with 1600 W and strong airflow, dried short hair in 29 seconds, Libra in 36; long hair takes about five and six minutes respectively. Aurea weighs 410 g and Libra 420 g, so your arm gets noticeably less tired than with heavier hair dryers. Nova can handle it, but it will take longer to dry long, thick hair; it’s a hair dryer for your handbag, not for marathons.

Fine, delicate, color-treated and bleached hair. What matters most is a low temperature and a cool finish: Aurea’s warm mode is 55°C, Libra’s 50°C, Nova’s 55°C; all of them have cold air. Plasma or ionization closes the cuticle, so hair is smoother and frizzes less, and color-treated hair looks fresh for longer. If your hair is very damaged, I’d choose Aurea for its temperature sensor and lowest noise level, or Libra if budget matters more. People with very fine hair sometimes write that even the lowest airflow setting feels strong to them; in that case, hold the dryer 20-30 cm away, put on the professional concentrator or the diffuser, dry for a shorter time and save the cold air for the finish.

Straight and normal hair. It needs a good concentrator, a sensible temperature and cold air, which all three have. Libra is the most sensible choice here; Nova if space matters; Aurea if you want plasma and quiet.

Children. Only Aurea has a child mode: hot air limited to 65°C and a lower motor speed. If you dry your child’s hair, that settles it.

Which SkinVibe hair dryer is the quietest, lightest and fastest?

The quietest are Aurea and Nova (up to 59 dB), while Libra runs at 67 dB; the lightest is Nova (310 g), while Aurea weighs 410 g and Libra 420 g; Aurea dries fastest (29 seconds on short hair), then Libra (36 seconds), while Nova needs about 40 seconds. Each of these differences is real, but none of them is dramatic.

Decibels sound abstract, so let me translate: 59 dB is the volume of a conversation, 67 dB a louder conversation or a quiet café. Both are far from classic hair dryers, which can exceed 80 dB, but if you dry your hair at six in the morning while the house is asleep, or you have sensitive hearing, you will hear those eight decibels in favor of Aurea and Nova. Weight, on the other hand, only becomes noticeable after the tenth minute: 410-420 g is the weight of a small book, and 310 g is really very little, although with a full head of curls and a diffuser you’ll choose Aurea or Libra anyway.

Aurea or Libra: when is it worth paying more?

Aurea is worth paying more for if you have curls (wavy diffuser), children (child mode), sensitive hearing (59 instead of 67 dB) or thick hair (1600 W and faster airflow), or if you simply want plasma and a touch sensor; Libra is enough if you have normal hair and need a good motor, ionization and three nozzles without features you won’t use.

The most honest way I can put it: Aurea is a level up, and you feel it in the details, from plasma to switching off automatically when you put it down. Libra does what matters most in a hair dryer, namely it dries quickly, gently and with ionization, on the same motor. If you’re torn between them and don’t have curls or children, start with the question of noise and whether two speeds are enough: Libra has three, Aurea two, but Aurea has seven ready-made modes. You’ll find a feature-by-feature comparison on our comparison page, and I write more broadly about choosing a hair dryer in general in my guide to choosing a hair dryer.

Nova or Aurea: mini or full-size?

Nova instead of Aurea makes sense when the hair dryer is going to live in a suitcase, a gym bag or a bathroom with nowhere to put it down, and when you have straight or medium-length hair; Aurea instead of Nova when you dry your hair at home every day, or have curls, thick hair or children. Some of you buy both: Aurea for home, Nova for the road.

Nova isn’t a “worse Aurea”. It has the same motor speed and plasma, is just as quiet and has a touch sensor. But it’s clearly smaller (80 × 63 × 224 mm versus Aurea’s 140 × 69 × 256 mm), 100 g lighter and has one nozzle. It’s a deliberate division of roles: Aurea and Libra take care of the diffuser and curls, Nova takes care of the rest of life that happens outside your own bathroom.

How do you choose a SkinVibe hair dryer in a minute?

Answer three questions: do you have curls or waves (yes: Aurea or Libra), will the hair dryer travel or be used by more people than just you (travel: Nova; family with children: Aurea), and are noise and plasma worth paying more for (yes: Aurea; no: Libra). If you’d rather have someone else ask the questions, take our hair tool quiz: a few questions about your hair and habits, and a specific model at the end. And if you want to see all SkinVibe hair dryers with plasma and ionization side by side, they’re in one collection.

And if, besides drying, you want to create curls and waves with the same device, take a look at our hot air styler Nuvia AirPlasma with seven attachments. In my article hot air styler: rotating or with attachments, I explain how it differs from a regular hair dryer and how to use it.

And one final remark, because you often ask about it: none of the three will replace technique. Distance, airflow directed down the cuticle, a cool finish and a diffuser held still do more than the difference between 1500 and 1600 W. A hair dryer should make it easier for you, not do it for you. I cover the whole technique in my guide how to dry your hair properly.

Frequently asked questions about choosing a SkinVibe hair dryer

Which SkinVibe hair dryer is the best?

The most advanced is Aurea Family x Plasma: plasma, seven modes, a wavy diffuser, a touch sensor, 59 dB. But “the best” depends on your hair: for normal, straight hair, Libra is just as good a choice, and for travel, Nova is the best.

What is the difference between Aurea and Libra?

The same 110,000 rpm motor and three nozzles, but Aurea has plasma (a billion positive and negative ions per cm³) instead of ionization (200 million negative ions per cm³), seven modes including child and pet modes, a wavy diffuser, a touch sensor and 59 dB instead of 67 dB. Libra has three speeds instead of two, a touch screen and a more affordable price.

Does Nova PlasmaGo have a diffuser?

No. It comes with one primary concentrator, and Aurea’s attachments don’t fit Nova because the head has a different diameter. For curls and waves, choose Aurea or Libra.

Which SkinVibe hair dryer for a child?

Aurea, as the only one with a child mode: in this mode, hot air reaches a maximum of 65°C and the motor runs slower. With Libra and Nova, simply set the lowest temperature and a lower speed.

Does Libra have plasma?

No, Libra has ionization with 200 million negative ions per cm³. Plasma, meaning negative and positive ions in larger numbers, is in Aurea and Nova.

Can I have Aurea at home and Nova for travel?

It’s a duo I recommend myself: Aurea with three nozzles for everyday drying, the 310 g Nova for your suitcase, gym bag and business trips. Both have plasma and run at 59 dB, so the difference is in size, power and the number of nozzles, not in the technology.

Will Libra smooth curly hair?

Not in the sense of straightening. Libra’s ionization (and Aurea’s plasma) reduces frizz and static, so curls are smoother and more defined, but the curl stays. To smooth curls, you need a straightener; to enhance them without frizz, a diffuser, which is classic in Libra and wavy in Aurea.

Is Aurea heavy because of the cable?

The hair dryer itself weighs 410 g and feels light in your hand. The cable is 2.7 m long because it needs to reach from the outlet to the mirror without any fuss, and that cord has some weight of its own, which you mainly feel when carrying and packing it. While you’re drying, it lies on the floor or the countertop and doesn’t weigh on your arm.

Three hair dryers, three different mornings. If you’re still unsure after reading this, write to us, and if you already have one of them, let me know how it’s working for you; I took half of the questions I answered above from your messages.

Anna Nowak-Ibisz, co-founder of SkinVibe