We Tried That Famous Dyson Hairdryer, And Here’s What We Think

When Dyson announced to the world that they were to add a hairdryer to their product range, that sure was unexpected news. But upon further consideration, it really made perfect sense: who else but the purveyors of those fancy bladeless fans to get in on the hairdryer game, since they’ve already mastered high-tech air flow technology? And when the Dyson Supersonic was unveiled, it sure looked set to blow the other hairdryers out of the water. Quietly, of course.

The Dyson Supersonic is quite something to look at. As a hairdryer, it looks nothing like one, with a hollow cylindrical body and longer handle, which means the proportions have been reversed as compared to traditional hairdryer models.

That’s very good news for our arm muscles, as with the weight of the Supersonic being a lot better balanced between the two ends, drying and styling our hair each time becomes a lot less of a muscle-straining feat. This is possible because Dyson’s engineers have made the motor so much smaller and more compact than the ones in other hairdryers that it could fit in the handle, leaving the body to be designed as a short hollow ring that frankly makes the Supersonic look like it came right out of a sci-fi movie – which made our daily hair drying routines that much more fun.

Then, there’s the quiet air flow technology that has made Dyson’s bladeless fans so famous. The Supersonic isn’t entirely quiet, though; but it’s significantly more so than any other hairdryer we’ve tried, such that a decent conversation is still possible while this is on. But to us, what was more impressive was the sheer power of the Supersonic, courtesy of the Air Multiplier™ technology that multiplies the volume of air that enters the motor by three times. That meant our hair usually got dried under 10 minutes, definitely a great help for all those mornings when time was not on our side.

We also appreciate that Dyson has taken care to ensure hair isn’t subject to heat damage, with an intelligent heat control mechanism that measures the temperature 20 times a second, so it doesn’t go beyond the 100 degrees Celsius temperature of the highest heat setting. That number might sound intimidating, but the Supersonic’s highest heat setting (out of three levels) was definitely more tolerable than the equivalent of many other hairdryers — we’ve encountered a good number that positively seared our scalps.

In terms of air flow power, there are three settings as well, and like the heat setting, it’s controlled by the simple press of one button. We do wish it was possible to go even lower that the current lowest setting, however, just so there’s the option of having a bit more control when styling our hair; but the handy attachments that come with the Supersonic set, especially the Styling concentrator, do help with more precise styling needs. And they’re magnetic attachments, so they just snap on to the body of the Supersonic.

The 3 attachments that come with each Dyson Supersonic. From top to bottom: the smoothing nozzle, styling concentrator, and diffuser.

All these snazzy things that make the Dyson Supersonic do come as an admittedly very premium price, but we guess that’s the price you pay to get your hair drying experience completely revolutionised. It’s like the bladeless fans — once you’ve tried it, the other regular stuff just won’t cut it anymore.

Dyson Supersonic in Iron/Fuchsia, $599. Available online at dyson.com.sg at selected electronics retailers including TANGS, Robinsons and Best Denki.