In a few months, the hum of hair dryers at your local salon might get a little lower if Dyson has its way. From vacuums to fans to hand dryers, Dyson certainly likes to focus on suction and airflow. It’s not really a surprise, then, that its first beauty product is a very pricey hair dryer. The company unveiled its $399 Dyson Supersonic hair dryer today.
Gray and purple, the blow dryer looks Dyson-made and resembles a handheld showe rhead or microphone more than a traditional hair-styling tool. It took Dyson four years and $71 million to develop the device, which includes its new V9 digital motor. In 2013, patents revealed the company was working on a “silent” hair dryer. While it’s not calling the Supersonic hair dryer soundless, Dyson does say the device’s pathway cuts down on agitation and its 13 motor impeller blades emit a tone that’s inaudible to the human ear.
It’s less noisy, but it also won’t scorch your hair, Dyson promises. The device contains a thermistor, which is a resistor that measures the temperature 20 times per second, so the microprocessor can adjust the amount of heat delivered, depending on which of the four settings you select. Air is delivered in a high-pressure stream at a 20-degree angle and there are three different strength settings. There’s also a setting to deliver a blast of cold air when hair is dry.
The three attachments — a concentrator for a “blade” of air, smoothing nozzle for a wider airflow, and diffuser for defrizzing — snap on magnetically to the hair dryer. Ultimately, the 1.82-pound Supersonic solves four problems often encountered with traditional hair dryers, company founder James Dyson said it a statement: They’re heavy, inefficient, loud, and damaging.
The Dyson Supersonic doesn’t go on sale until this fall and will only be available through Dyson or Sephora. We’ll have to wait until then to see if the nearly $400 dryer does all it promises.
