The $400 Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer Is Maddeningly Expensive But My Hair Loves It. Reviews by Wirecutter

Table Of Content

• Air Multiplier Technology
• Dyson's Supersonic hairdryer promises your most deluxe blow-dry ever -- for a price
• The $400 Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer Is Maddeningly Expensive. But My Hair Loves It.
• Digital Motor VP
• All the Best Dyson Products We Recommend, From Vacuums to Hair Dryers
• How Long Does It Take To Dry Hair With The Dyson Supersonic?

I either took my time and went with low heat to take better care of my hair, only to get impatient with the lengthy process and stopping, or I just blasted my hair with high heat and ended up with a flat and frizzy mess. According to Dyson, the Supersonic measures airflow temperature over 40 times per second to ensure your hair is never exposed to extremely high heat and prevent damage. This proprietary technology amplifies airflow to create a concentrated, high-speed stream of air, which helps hair dry even faster.

Air Multiplier Technology

The Dyson Supersonic should feel heavier than it does, due to its 1.5 lb / 659g weight, but this repositioning of parts means its weight is spread out more evenly than with traditional dryers. We were also able to hold the dryer closer to our hair, which made blow-drying the roots fair easier than with bulkier hair dryers. One of the most attractive claims of the Dyson Supersonic is that it’s quieter than other hair dryers thanks to the more efficient motor. It registered 74db on our decibel meter, which is around 8db quieter than the Remington Hydraluxe Pro EC9001, which is one of the noisiest hair dryers we’ve tested. That said, while it’s a level we can live with for a few minutes at a time, using it in the morning beside a sleeping partner was still not welcomed.

Dyson's Supersonic hairdryer promises your most deluxe blow-dry ever -- for a price

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The $400 Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer Is Maddeningly Expensive. But My Hair Loves It.

With my hair at its longest, the Dyson hair dryer blows it out in four minutes flat. If I let it air dry a bit before before using it, it’s an even speedier three minutes. I'm someone with the type of curly hair that can take up to two days to fully air dry, and on a humid day (without the right hair products), my aesthetic falls somewhere between Standard Poodle and Bob Ross. My blowouts take twice as long as my friends', and my hair stylists need to have saint-like patience.

We used the Supersonic with a barrel brush on the remainder of the hair, while the flyaway attachment was used to blow dry the crown only, and resulted in a drying time of three minutes and 58 seconds - which we think is an acceptable compromise. The attachments connect to the barrel of the hair dryer magnetically, which is a simple design change, but it makes fitting and removing them a much smoother process. They also have solid lips on their edges through which the hot air doesn’t blow, and as a result remain cool, which makes changing the attachment a more comfortable process.

Digital Motor VP

If you want an entire set of hair styling products, however, we are expecting Dyson Airwrap Black Friday deals soon. Yes — all attachments from the original and the new versions are compatible, interchangeable and can be mixed and matched to use on either base. Our guide writers report that no dryer will make someone’s hair more glossy or voluminous than any other dryer; these are results they attribute to technique, products, and the hair’s natural characteristics. Perhaps my hair, which is already straight, is more prone to reflecting light. This variant of the same luxury dryer comes with just one concentrator attachment for precision styling.

So you’re drying your hair faster with less potential for damaging it and, thus, diminishing its shine over time. I’m not blow-drying eight clients a day, but I’ve always awkwardly struggled to wield a brush and dryer at the same time, and the Supersonic’s ergonomics make it so much easier to maneuver. Paired with its zippy dry times, blow-drying my hair is no longer a chore so mind-numbingly bothersome that it makes me question my adherence to heteronormative beauty standards. The Supersonic weighs less than a pound and heats past 245 °F, and its airflow reaches 88 mph—just like the DeLorean Time Machine in Back to the Future.

That's when I go to the Dyson Supersonic for a low-maintenance, rough dry that helps enhance my natural waves. No matter the attachment I use or how long I spend styling, my hair always looks shiny and soft. To gauge damage over time, I looked more closely at the crown of my head for flyaways or any breakage. While I always have a few rogue strands, I’m quite satisfied with how healthy my hair looks even with regular use, and over time. The well-balanced Supersonic’s short nozzle does make it much easier for an amateur to consistently hold at a diagonal above a section of hair. So even a klutz like me can direct the air down the shaft, instead of fumbling around, which may make it easier to smooth down the cuticles, or the scale-like, protective layers on the hair shaft.

Read All Our Dyson Hair Tool Reviews

If you have fine mid-length hair like mine, it should take approximately three to five minutes. As a grooming tool minimalist, I can confidently say that the Supersonic is a worthwhile investment. I no longer have to lean on styling creams, hair sprays and a straightening iron to tame my frizz and errant strands. This takes care of everything for me with a three minute blowout and a quick once-over with the Flyaway attachment.

And though the motor might be powerful, it’s quiet, clocking in at 79 decibels, according to my Decibel X app (to test, I hovered the phone about ten inches from the hair dryer). That’s about as loud as the pleasant sloshing sounds of a washing machine. Other models can clock in as loud as 90 decibels, according to Hearing Science. For reference, this is about the same amount of noise generated by a leaf blower.

I keep a portion of the cord wrapped in a figure eight loop to lessen any drag and make the styling ... The Supersonic’s 13-blade motor is small enough (about the size of a quarter) to fit inside the handle, rather than the nozzle, so it isn’t top-heavy. “Maybe this sounds crazy, but does the dyson make your hair shinier?

It's worth investing in if heat damage is a concern when it comes to blow drying your hair. While we’re on the topic of temperature regulation, the Supersonic features four precise heat settings, three speed settings and a cold shot to set hair after styling. You can vary the heat settings in step with the speed ones (i.e., use the highest heat setting for fast drying and styling and the lowest heat option for diffusing). I’m a blow drying speed demon, but if your hair is finer, damaged or color-treated, there are plenty of options for a more custom styling session.

“I challenged Dyson engineers to really understand the science of hair and develop our version of a hair dryer, which we think solves these problems.” That being said, after four years of development, Supersonic was the result of their research. You want a hanging loopWe know we’re being really picky with this one, but we were disappointed there’s no hanging loop on the Dyson Supersonic. If you're someone that wants to create a salon-style environment for your home blow dry session, then the lack of a hanging loop may mean it’s not the hair dryer for you. With the Supersonic, I have mastered the quick and easy at-home blowout, which takes less than 15 minutes. I use the styling concentrator (set to high speed and cool drying temperature) and a regular nylon bristle brush to get the results I want. If you’re investing in this styling tool, you’ll want to protect it from unsightly scratches when storing.

The lower decibel level is especially welcome for sound-sensitive types (myself included), but I’m sure everyone could benefit from a quieter hair dryer. Some of our testers found the buttons at the top of the Supersonic dryer harder to reach, while one thought the cord was too heavy. I started blow-drying my hair so much more often that I found I needed to use a heat protectant (which you should be using with any blow dryer—oops!). At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we couldn't wait to put the Dyson Supersonic through our Beauty Lab tests for speed of drying, air volume flow, weight, noise, air and surface temperatures, and cord length.

Understandably, the promise of shiny, smooth, frizz-free hair is basically a siren song to me. But as a product reviewer by trade, these hefty claims also make me arch an eyebrow. Yes, $400 can buy a lot of things, but should a hair dryer be one of them? The Supersonic hair dryer, plus the seven attachments, are what you get for about $430 year-round; however, in an effort to simplify its offering—this year Dyson unveiled the Supersonic Origin. Say you don’t want all the frills of the traditional set or would like another dryer for travel, you can get the dryer with just the styling concentrator at a fraction of the cost. “Hair dryers can be heavy, inefficient, and make a racket…they can also cause extreme heat damage to hair,” James Dyson, the British inventor and founder of the brand, said in a press release.

Though the Supersonic is eons more sleek and futuristic looking than other options out there, the chicness of the design is slightly offset by its weight (at 1.8 pounds, it’s not the heaviest, but it’s not the lightest you can buy either). As someone with relatively long hair, my hand is often this close to cramping from holding such a weighty hair dryer. And if your hair is thicker or even longer, and requires a slightly longer dry time, this could potentially be a deal breaker.