Abstract: A handheld hair drying appliance (10) has an inlet portion (22) at one end that receives incoming airflow which is pulled in by a vacuum effect created by the rotation of a first fan blade (24) and a second fan blade (26), each coaxially aligned to rotate about a common axis. A tube-shaped sleeve (38) having a smooth, cylindrical inner surface is mounted inside of a tube portion (14) of the appliance and surrounds the motor and blade assembly such that the blade diameters are slightly smaller than the inner surface of the sleeve (34), but closely fitting, thereby optimizing vacuum pressure and air velocity to produce high output air velocity in an efficient manner.