An overloaded circuit is one of the most common reasons that a hairdryer will trip a circuit breaker. A circuit overload means that there are too many high-powered devices running on the same circuit. Electrical circuits are designed to handle only a certain amount of electricity, and when too many devices are plugged in, it will cause the breaker to shut off to prevent overheating. To fix this, turn off other appliances that are running on the same circuit to decrease the load, then turn the breaker back on.

As a rule of thumb, it's safest to stick to a maximum load of 1,500 watts per outlet or circuit. The number of things you can plug into one outlet depends on the wattage of each device or appliance you want to plug in. You can determine the wattage by checking the plug label or manufacturer's instructions to calculate the total combined wattage per outlet.