In 2016, Dyson without end modified the at-home hair care recreation when it introduced its very first magnificence tech software: the Dyson Supersonic(opens in a brand new tab). It was a hair dryer that regarded and promised a efficiency like no different, granted you had been prepared to shell out $400 (nowadays, it is $429).

Most early critiques sang the blow dryer’s praises, marveling at its capacity to dry hair quicker whereas damaging it much less. The one flaw that might deter consumers? The worth. But since then, the Supersonic has 1000’s of constructive critiques and stays one of many best-selling hair dryers at Sephora(opens in a brand new tab). It is a widespread fixture of magnificence YouTube movies and TikToks (#dysonsupersonic has 91.5 million views on the time of writing), the place each commenters with no followers and creators with hundreds of thousands laud the hair software. Naturally, it is also impressed loads of dupes.

Following the Supersonic’s success, Dyson has gone on to create different high-priced hair instruments just like the Airwrap(opens in a brand new tab), a $600 scorching air styler that nonetheless goes out and in of inventory 5 years after its launch (although we nonetheless do not solely get the hype).

Hype is why we’re right here at present, testing a hair dryer that got here out seven years in the past. If there’s something that Dyson’s magnificence tech ventures have taught us, it is that hype can carry a model for years, but when there’s one thing to discourage the on a regular basis individual from shopping for in, it is how the worth tag really compares to the efficiency.

A product just like the Supersonic is definitely worth the hype, and due to this fact price the associated fee, if it really delivers on one thing completely distinctive or subsequent to perfection. So now that point has handed, the dupes have been made, and the Supersonic’s tech is not model new — is it nonetheless price $429? We investigated.

Why is the Dyson Supersonic standard? 

To reply whether or not or not the Supersonic deserves its devoted following, it is price understanding what began that following within the first place.

When it was launched in 2016, the basic blow dryer design nonetheless reigned supreme. In that design, a fan sits within the head of the blow dryer, which sucks in air from the again, passes it over heating coils, and pushes it out the entrance. The result’s that echoey, wind tunnel sound, however this was the one option to dry hair quicker — till the Supersonic.

The Dyson Supersonic is just not like the opposite ladies (hair dryers).
Credit score: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Even from simply taking a look at it, it is clear Dyson’s hair dryer is constructed completely different. As a substitute of the basic fan, Dyson’s magnet-powered V9 digital motor sits within the deal with of the dryer. The highest of the dryer is a real ring form you possibly can look straight by means of, bearing a resemblance to model’s discontinued Air Multiplier fan(opens in a brand new tab).

That is no coincidence — the Supersonic makes use of Air Multiplier expertise, which gives a strong airflow. The results of these deviations from the usual hair dryer design are the Supersonic options you may see praised again and again, together with:

1. It isn’t noisy. There is not any denying that the Supersonic is quieter than most blow dryers. Not precisely quiet (I nonetheless avoided utilizing it late at night time or tremendous early within the morning in order to not disturb my roommate or neighbors), however positively much less in-your-face loud than what you would possibly count on from a blow dryer.

2. It is light-weight. This motor within the deal with is tiny, permitting for the Supersonic to be noticeably light-weight, and fewer weirdly top-heavy than most dryers. Clocking in at just below two kilos, it is likely one of the lighter high-powered excessive dryers in the marketplace.

3. It really works shortly, with out damaging your hair. Most of all, that high-powered motor is what actually shot the Supersonic to hair-care fame. Per Dyson’s web site, the V9 motor generates 1,600 watts of energy and shoots out 13 liters of air per second. Whereas that is not the very best wattage on the market, paired with the Air Multiplier, you get an airflow that is severely robust, and reliably dried my complete head of hair in quarter-hour or much less. Nonetheless, the dryer by no means exceeds a temperature of 212 levels Fahrenheit, maintaining the warmth injury to a minimal.

How the Dyson Supersonic works 

The Supersonic actually does set you up for fulfillment. Along with the above three factors, it comes with 5 simply attachable but sturdy magnetic attachments, together with the styling concentrator, large tooth comb, mild air attachment, diffuser, and most up-to-date addition to the road(opens in a brand new tab) — the flyaway attachment.

The attachments

I haven’t got tremendous curly hair, so I did not even attempt to take a look at out the large tooth comb. As for the remainder of the attachments, the flyaway one was the particular stand out. It really made a distinction across the ever-present halo of frizz my hair will get, and grabbed the hair equally to the Airwrap’s Coanda smoothing dryer.

The attachments, from left to proper: the diffuser, the mild air attachment, the large tooth comb, the flyaway attachment, the styling concentrator.
Credit score: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Between the remaining three attachments, nothing felt revolutionary — the mild air attachment did assist tone the air circulation down, and I think about could be well-loved by somebody with hair finer than mine. I believed the diffuser labored effectively, however I missed the adjustable prongs of the Shark FlexStyle diffuser. The styling concentrator was probably the most easy of the bunch, and it did what it was presupposed to do. Greater than something, with this attachment I appreciated that the magnetic connection stored the concentrator firmly in place, however was versatile sufficient that I might transfer the concentrator and alter the angle whereas styling.

By the way in which, if you happen to’re eager about having a chosen place to place all these attachments, we suggest going for the particular version Supersonic that comes with a storage case(opens in a brand new tab). It is the identical worth as the conventional Supersonic, which surprisingly, comes with no storage choices apart from the field it is available in.

The place it would be good to see extra innovation from Dyson is not within the precise tech of the attachments, however in how they’re provided with the dryer. Truthfully, I can not think about the one who’d have the use for each single attachment usually. If Dyson took a web page out of the Shark FlexStyle playbook and allowed consumers to bundle collectively two or three attachments for much less cash, I might see that going a good distance for the individuals attempting to justify the worth. (As a facet observe, Shark would not provide custom-made bundles with its HyperAir dryer, however it solely comes with two attachments.)

The warmth and air settings

As for the settings, you may have your selection between three completely different heats at 140 levels, 176 levels, and 212 levels, in addition to an 82-degree chilly shot button. You can even swap between three air speeds, with the bottom designed for diffusing, the center for normal drying, and the very best for quick drying and styling.

Alter the warmth and air settings with the 2 buttons on the again of the ring.
Credit score: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Out of private desire, I gravitated towards the low or medium warmth paired with the low or medium airflow. Despite the fact that I wasn’t maxing out the settings, it was nonetheless lots achievable to go from very evenly towel-dried hair to fully dry hair in lower than quarter-hour. On the very best settings, this was nearer to 10 minutes.

The way it performs on different claims

The opposite claims you may see from the Supersonic are that it may “assist improve smoothness by 75 p.c, improve shine by as much as 132 p.c and reduce frizz and flyaways by as much as 61 p.c,” as in comparison with naturally dried hair.

I did discover a distinction from my naturally dried hair, however not one which felt all that completely different from another blow dryer I’ve used. Once more, the flyaway attachment made probably the most impression on my frizz, however even then I nonetheless tamed it with some styling merchandise. Total, it did make my hair look good, and the benefit of utilizing it’s a plus — however for many individuals, it would simply be price paying lower than half the worth, and getting by means of the educational curve of a extra basic blow dryer.

Are Supersonic alternate options price it?

There are many options of the Supersonic you possibly can simply discover in different blow dryers — unfavourable ionic tech to cut back frizz, a number of warmth and and air settings, and light-weight fashions are mainly requirements for blow dryers nowadays, even for extra budget-friendly ones.

Even the power to measure the air temperature when you’re blow drying, and adjusting to forestall injury, is just not distinctive to the Supersonic — the Shark HyperAir(opens in a brand new tab) and a number of T3 dryers(opens in a brand new tab) do the very same factor.

Nonetheless, we get you are probably most eager about getting a close to equivalent Supersonic expertise with out paying Supersonic {dollars} — and as we talked about up high, dupe tradition has delivered. Whereas now we have a superb collection of dupes we have researched and examined, the Laifen Swift(opens in a brand new tab) is by far the closest you may get to the actual factor.

The Laifen Swift is as near the Supersonic because it will get, looks-wise.
Credit score: Bethany Allard / Mashable

It is $200, however that is nonetheless lower than half of the worth of the Dyson (and it is often on sale). It seems to be a lot just like the Dyson (minus the hollowed-out ring head), has the identical Dyson whir, the same magnetic attachments that maintain firmly in place, and it has a strong airflow that dries your hair in about the identical time because the Dyson.

The largest drawbacks are that it would not have as many warmth settings, with the most popular setting generally feeling hotter than the 176 levels that it claims to high out at, and it would not use the very same Air Multiplier tech that made the Supersonic stand out within the first place. For $200, you additionally solely obtain one styling attachment, and should pay $40 extra to get the 2 different accessible ones(opens in a brand new tab).

I have been utilizing the Laifen Swift usually for practically three months at this level, and up to now it performs precisely the identical because the day I first unboxed it. In different phrases, there aren’t any obvious high quality points.

If worth is much less of an impediment for you and also you’re extra into the concept of a blow dryer that makes use of the most recent tech, the $349 Zuvi Halo(opens in a brand new tab) is likely one of the most modern dryers on the market, utilizing low temps and light-weight to get your hair dry.

Who can purchase the Dyson Supersonic? 

I am not going to attempt to play it cool — the Dyson Supersonic(opens in a brand new tab) remains to be a powerful hair dryer. Nevertheless it’s $429, and much from the one spectacular hair dryer in the marketplace.

Although the Supersonic actually made my hair drying expertise really feel elevated, it did not make it really feel drastically completely different than different hair dryers, and for this drastically completely different worth to be price it, it ought to.

For most individuals into the concept of a fast dry or a quieter dryer, on the very least, it is best to store round earlier than committing to the acquisition. We’re greater than prepared to guess you may be glad along with your buy, however you do not essentially need to throw funds consciousness out the window.

The one who’ll get probably the most out of the Supersonic is somebody who’s blow drying their hair most days of the week, and who has hair that, left to air dry, in all probability would not be capable of get fully dry over the course of the day. The Dyson will certainly pace issues up, and make making use of loads of warmth styling kinder to your hair. Once more, it is a actually good blow dryer.

We’re simply saying that the costliest dryer is not essentially the very best dryer for everyone.