At Paris Fashion Week in the autumn of 2024, stylist Eugene Souleiman and his team worked backstage at Stella McCartney's show in the Parc André Citroën with a dryer most people had never held. Afterwards he described it like this: "The hair dryer is very quiet and very light, it's very precise as well." Quiet, light, precise. Three words you never hear about a hair dryer, and all three are really about the hand holding it.

That is the story of the Dyson Supersonic r hair dryer. Dyson unveiled it in February 2024 backstage at New York Fashion Week, for professional stylists only, and Harper's Bazaar reported that it came out of stylists saying the original Supersonic was hard to keep clean. So it was not built to be louder or more powerful. The brand says it is 30% smaller and 20% lighter than the original, with a curved shape that gives the r its name, at 325 grams. I read it as an ergonomics story: the best dryer is the one your shoulder can hold for twenty minutes.

The trick is to see where the r sits in the family before you choose. The Supersonic r is the first tile here. The Supersonic Nural is the newer sibling, and the Supersonic Travel Hair Dryer is the one to pack. The Airwrap Co-anda2x Multi-Styler and Dryer curls and smooths, and the Airstrait Wet-to-Dry Straightener in Ceramic Pink goes from damp to flat. The Airsmooth Styling Dryer Brush combines dryer and brush, and Dyson's Omega Hydrating Hair Oil and Chitosan Post-Styling Hair Serum finish the look.

If you already own one Dyson tool, add the dryer. If you own none, this is the gentlest place to start.

Pick up a dryer with the nozzle off and hold it the way you would in a real blowout, arm raised, for a full minute. Weight and balance show up fast, and no spec sheet tells you that.

The Supersonic r is a stylist's tool reshaped for everyone, so the fair comparison is the salon brands. ghd's Speed Ionic is the sleek one, and the ghd Helios 1875W Advanced Professional is the classic salon shape with real power behind it. Elchim's Dynamos is the salon-brand name to know. T3's Featherweight StyleMax Professional Hair Dryer with Automated Heat is aimed at people who care about lightness and like the heat to manage itself.

BaBylissPRO has two on the grid: the AirSquare, with a squared-off shape, and the Falco High-Speed Ionic. Drybar's Reserve Blow-Dryer is for anyone who wants that blowout bar look at home. Shark's SpeedStyle Pro Flex Professional Performance High-Velocity Hair Dryer is the flexible one, going by its name, and the newest name on this list to compare.

X with Y is less obvious and very good: a lighter dryer for daily drying and a stronger salon dryer for the once-a-week blowout. Not everyone needs both, but many of us would like to.

What I would skip: any dryer you have not held, if you have a sore wrist or shoulder. Weight is a real difference over a whole head of hair.

Spray the heat protectant on towel-dried hair, then comb it through from mid-length to ends, where the dryer does the most work. The roots dry quickly and do not need much.

A fast, powerful dryer deserves a good shield. Color Wow's Dream Coat Supernatural Anti-Frizz Blow Dry Treatment Spray is the smoothing one, and its Extra Strength version is for hair that frizzes even in a mild breeze. Oribe's Royal Blowout Heat Styling Spray is the polished option for a blowout that should look salon-finished. Kenra Professional's Blow-Dry Mist is written for fine hair, so it is the one to check if heavy sprays flatten you.

Verb's Ghost Heat Defense Spray is made for high heat protection, which suits anyone using the hottest setting. Chris McMillan's The Glassy Smooth Blowdry Spray for Frizz is a good match for thick, wavy hair. Moroccanoil's Protect & Prevent Spray and dae's Agave Dry Heat Protection Spray are the two lighter takes, for days when you want protection without a coated feel.

A pairing I like: a smoothing spray at the roots-to-mid, and the Dyson Chitosan serum from the first grid on the ends once you are dry.

What I would skip: spraying on dripping wet hair. It dilutes the spray and weighs the hair down, so towel dry first.

Tension makes a blowout, and the brush holds the tension. Pull the section taut, follow the brush with the dryer and let the hair cool on the brush before you release it.

The size of the barrel sets the result. Drybar's Half Pint Small Round Brush and Mane's BRB 1.3" Ceramic Round are for short lengths, fringes and tight curl at the ends. Drybar's Full Pint 2.25" Medium Ceramic Brush is the everyday one for shoulder-length hair. Oribe's Large Resin Round Brush is the largest, for long hair and a big, bouncy finish at the ends.

Paddle brushes are for straight, smooth lengths. Moroccanoil's Ceramic Paddle Brush, ghd's Paddle Brush and PATTERN by Tracee Ellis Ross's Paddle Brush are the three I would compare. PATTERN's is the one to look at if you want a brush from a hair-care line built by Tracee Ellis Ross. Drybar's The Lemon Bar Paddle Brush is the fun one, a brush with a name that cheers up a morning.

A lighter dryer makes the brush easier to use too. When the arm is not working as hard, the wrist can do the detail.

What I would skip: a large round brush on very short hair. The hair just slips off the barrel, and a small one holds it far better.

For most people who blow-dry several times a week, the most useful upgrade is the dryer you can hold without thinking. My pick for a first buy is the Supersonic r, a good heat protectant and one round brush in the size that matches your length. If it feels too light to be serious, give it two weeks, because that is when you notice your shoulder has stopped complaining.

The Dyson team built the r after stylists had trouble cleaning the original, and a stylist said it was quiet, light and precise. You do not need to be backstage for any of that to matter. Every morning is a small show, and the dryer is now allowed to be the quiet one. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Dyson Airsmooth and The T3 Hair Dryer, From the 2004 Featherweight to Aire IQ.