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I tried Dyson's first ever hair dryer—and this is what I thought

At $400, is it worth buying?

Credit: Reviewed.com / Samantha Matt

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I have thin, straight hair that is pretty easy to manage. I don’t own a straightener. I used to straighten my hair to a crisp when I was a teenager, but that was only because everyone else was doing it. Once I grew up, I realized that my hair only required a blow dryer – and that device became the holy grail of my beauty regimen.

Every morning, I shower, blow dry my hair, put on some makeup, and head out the door to work. My blow dryer is an integral part of my daily routine. Even when I’m traveling, I always pack my blow dryer. That’s mostly because I’m neurotic and fear that the hotel I’m staying at won’t have a blow dryer that works as well as mine. But also because I care about the way I look.

That’s why when Dyson (yes, the vacuum company) announced they were coming out with a hair dryer, I was excited. But when I found out it was $399, I suddenly wasn't so sure about buying it.

Luckily, I got to test out the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer–and then I had two other people with thicker hair check it out.

The verdict: We all liked it. But did we like it enough to dish out a few weeks worth of grocery money to buy it? Let’s figure that out.

Does it dry hair faster than a regular hair dryer?

Product image of Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer

It does. I use a Conair blow dryer that I bought for $40 two years ago. It usually takes me about ten minutes to blow-dry my hair each day, but with the Dyson Supersonic, it took about seven minutes. Sure, it dried my hair faster. And yes, three minutes is a long time when it’s 8:30 am and I'm already 15 minutes late. But are three extra minutes each morning worth $360?

Pros

  • Powerful air stream

  • Variety of speed and heat settings

Cons

  • Awkward weight distribution makes it feel heavy

$429.00 from Amazon

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$429.99 from Best Buy

But you have thin and straight hair! How did this product work on the people with thick, curly hair?

I had my mom and a friend of a friend try out the dryer, and they were completely blown away (no pun intended) with how quickly and efficiently they were able to blow dry their hair. Again though, it only saved them each about ten minutes.

The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer in its box
Credit: Reviewed.com / Samantha Matt

The Dyson Supersonic comes with three attachments, including a diffuser, that attach to the hair dryer magnetically.

How loud is it?

Not loud at all. It's quiet, which is pretty revolutionary for a hair dryer, but it's not silent. It’s quiet enough though that you can have a conversation over it, which is great for salons. Stylists will be able to continue conversations with clients when using it. But while it’s not as loud as my every day hair dryer, I would still feel bad using it while my significant other was trying to sleep in other room.

Is it heavy?

No, and that's because the motor is actually in the handle of the dryer instead of the head. This fact is a selling point for me, as I have chronic back pain - and holding my semi-heavy hair dryer every day causes stress not only to my arm, but also my back.

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Did my hair look any different after I used it?

At the official launch event for the product, I got my hair blown out by a GLAMSQUAD stylist, and it looked fantastic! It had volume. It had shine. It looked like I walked right out of a shampoo commercial. I wanted to buy the hair dryer right there on the spot.

But when I tried the hair dryer myself the next day at home, it didn’t look quite as good. That’s not to say with a little bit of practice and mastery of the styling attachments that I couldn’t make my hair look like a stylist did it. But that mastery doesn’t come with the price point.

My hair did look shinier, smoother, and less frizzy after using it, and the other two women who tested it said the same.

So what makes this thing so special?

In other words, you’re probably wondering–why in the world does this hair dryer cost $399? While I can’t speak to why this product is priced the way it is, I can say that there are a few things that make it ‘special.’

1. The dryer won’t damage your hair. It has an ‘intelligent heat control system,’ meaning it doesn’t overheat and will not cause heat damage. That’s great, but when I put it on the highest heat setting at home, it did start to feel too hot on my scalp, forcing me to turn down the heat. This is a problem I have with my every day hair dryer, and for $399, I thought maybe it would be solved.

2. The design is unique and futuristic. It looks like a donut on a stick that blows air, and it comes with attachments that are magnetic. The dryer is also packaged very much like an Apple product, as suggested by multiple colleagues of mine who got a look at the presentation.

Finally, would I buy it.

Not for $399. The two other women who tried it agreed. The first said she paid around $100 for her Chi straightener, and would maybe consider paying the same price for the hair dryer. My mom said the same thing, except she claims she would pay up to $300 for the hair dryer.

Although I will not be investing in the Dyson Supersonic myself, it has certainly turned me on to other (less expensive) luxury blow dryers, like Drybar’s $195 Buttercup, which I might start saving up for. After all, I will always pay good money to look fabulous, but $400 is just too much, unless that price comes with a hair stylist. Then, I’m sold.

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