The Dyson Hair Dryer, Four Years of Engineering and One Very Quiet Handle

The Dyson Hair Dryer, Four Years of Engineering and One Very Quiet Handle

A Dyson hair dryer arrived in 2016 after four years of development, and it changed what people expect a blow-dryer to sound and feel like. Here are the Supersonic Nural colors, the other dryers people line up beside it, and the sprays I put on damp hair first.

Sir James Dyson unveiled the company's first hair dryer, the Supersonic, on April 27, 2016. It came after roughly four years of development, launched first in Japan, and Dyson said it had been tested on 1,010 miles of real human hair. I love that number, because it tells you the brand approached a blow-dryer the way it approached vacuums and bladeless fans: as an engineering problem first and a beauty problem second.

The clever part is where the motor lives. A Dyson hair dryer keeps its digital motor, the V9, in the handle rather than up in the head, and it borrows Air Multiplier technology from those fans. Move the weight down and the head can be slim, and a slim head is easier to hold at the roots and to steer around the back of your neck. That is the practical reason people talk about how it feels in the hand before they talk about anything else.

The four dryers in the grid are all the Supersonic Nural, and the difference between them is mostly the color. There is the standard colorway, then Red Velvet, Prussian Blue and Strawberry Bronze. I would pick by the vanity, honestly. If it will live on a bathroom counter where you see it every morning, choose the shade you would not mind looking at. If it travels, choose the plain one and stop overthinking it.

A small test before you commit: hold it at arm's length for a full minute, the way you would while working on the back of your head. Your wrist tells you more than any spec sheet.

Collage of Dyson dryers, other blow-dryers and heat protectant sprays beside a photo of two blush-pink jars and a black-capped tube floating in a tall glass of fizzy water with a bent straw.
The Supersonic Nural in four colors, four rival dryers and the heat sprays that go on first.

Supersonic dryers

The dryers people hold up next to it

Nobody buys a dryer in a vacuum, so here are the ones that keep showing up in the same conversations. Each does something a little different, and I would rather describe them than rank them.

ghd's Helios is the salon-leaning one. It is sold as an advanced professional hair dryer, and it suits anyone who blow-dries in sections with a round brush. T3's Afar is the opposite temperament: a lightweight travel dryer with automatic dual voltage, which means it copes with different outlets abroad without an adapter dance. If your hair routine has to fit in a carry-on, that is the one to look at.

Bio Ionic's Smart-X comes with a diffuser, so it is the sensible choice if your natural texture is wavy or curly and you like to dry it with as little disturbance as possible. BondiBoost's Everlast Airstyler is a ceramic blow-dryer and multi-styler in one, made for people who want to dry and shape in a single pass rather than juggle three tools.

How I would choose between them comes down to your hair and your bathroom. Fine, straight hair mostly wants a dryer that is light and steady. Thick or curly hair wants a diffuser and patience. And if you share a small space with someone who sleeps later than you, think about noise, because a quieter dryer is a real kindness at seven in the morning.

Other dryers people compare it with

What goes on before the heat

Whatever dryer you own, the step that protects your hair happens before you switch it on. Heat protectants make a film or a conditioning layer so that the hot air meets something other than bare strands. I apply them to damp hair, comb them through, and only then reach for the dryer.

Bumble and bumble's Hairdresser's Invisible Oil is a heat protectant primer with the feel of a conditioner, and it is the one I like on days I want softness rather than hold. Pureology's Color Fanatic is a leave-in conditioner with heat protection, made with color-treated hair in mind. Oribe's Gold Lust is a dry spray, so it is the pick for fine hair that goes flat under anything heavier. Color Wow's Dream Coat is a blow-dry treatment spray aimed at frizz, and it is the one I reach for when humidity is winning.

Moroccanoil's Protect & Prevent is a spray, which is exactly the format you want when you are late. Kérastase's Genesis is a leave-in treatment made for weakened hair, and it earns its place for anyone who has been coloring, bleaching or simply blow-drying daily for years.

What I would skip: spraying a protectant on soaking wet hair and then drying on the hottest setting for as long as it takes. Towel-dry first, use a medium heat, and keep the nozzle moving. No spray replaces that habit, and a little patience is kinder to your ends than any label.

Blowout creams and heat sprays

How I would choose

Choose the dryer that fits how you actually dry your hair, not how you imagine doing it on a Sunday. Then pair it with a protectant you enjoy applying, because you will only use what feels pleasant.

Start with the sensible settings. Rough-dry with the fast, warm air until your hair is about eighty percent dry, then switch to a lower heat and finish with a concentrator pointed down the hair shaft. A cool blast at the end helps set the shape. If your ends feel straw-like or brittle for weeks, or your scalp burns, it is worth talking to a stylist or a doctor rather than buying another tool.