The heating element in most hair dryers is a bare, coiled nichrome wire that is wrapped around insulating mica boards. The heating element is comprised of coiled nichrome wire on an insulating board.
Nichrome wire is an alloy of two metals, nickel and chromium.
This alloy is used in heating elements in a number of household products, from curling irons to toasters . This gives the alloy enough resistance to get hot from all of the current flowing into it. Nichrome does not oxidize when heated. Other metals, like iron, rust pretty quickly at the temperatures used in toasters and hair dryers. The airflow generated by the fan is forced through the heating element by the shape of the hair dryer casing.