Friday, January 5, 2018

The £300 Hair Dryer - Is It Worth It?



Of all the tech products we own at home, the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer seems the most extravagant. After all, my eyes bulge at the thought of spending even £80 on a curling iron, let alone £300 (the Dyson Supersonic currently retails at £299.99 at John Lewis) for a hair dryer.

But one year on, what do I really think about it?

We were driving up to my father-in-law's last weekend, when I mentioned that I'd "packed the Dyson". John frowned. "What do you mean?" He thought I meant our vacuum cleaner (that's "hoover" to you Brits), which would have been funny - showing up at his dad's house with a vacuum in hand. "I mean the hair dryer," I said.

Because really, if we're travelling within the UK, I take it with me everywhere (I even took it with us to Lime Wood). As luxe as any hotel may be, I know the hair dryers in the rooms and spa just won't cut it against the Dyson Supersonic.

Just to give you a bit of context, I have short/shoulder-length thick, straight hair. It takes quite a while to dry, but I use one of those quick-dry turban towel things as soon as I step out of the shower to absorb most of the moisture.


I also wash my hair most days, so that's something to consider as well as you read my review. John hated the sound of my Babyliss hair dryer and the length of time it took me to dry my hair, particularly as I shower in the evenings and it would often drag bed time into the late hours, despite him having to get up for work at 5:30 a.m.

So, one day, he marched us over to John Lewis and demanded (more like, asked politely, because it's John) to try the Dyson Supersonic. The funny thing was, their display model wasn't working that day, but we were so insistent about trying it that the John Lewis staff ended up calling an electrician to fix the electrical outlet so we could give it a test run!

A few minutes later, John headed to the till, Dyson Supersonic tucked under his arm.

So, here are some facts about this pricey gadget:

- 3 precise settings for fast drying, regular drying, and styling
- 4 precise heat settings 
- Airflow of 41 litres per second
- Weight of 618 grams
- Negative ions to reduce static

The Dyson Supersonic comes with a non-slip mat and a storage hanger, plus three diffusers (one for curly hair).



Pros:

- Significantly reduces drying time. While it previously took me about 10 - 15 minutes to thoroughly dry my hair, it now takes approximately 4 - 5 minutes (I've timed it!).

- Comfortable to hold. As the motor's in the handle, the dryer has a nice balance to it - my arm doesn't get tired holding it up!

- Relatively compact and stylish in design. It's easy to pack because it's not long or heavy.

- Magnetic nozzles/diffusers. I love the magnetic nozzles that are easy to pop on/off. On most days, I don't bother using the narrow diffuser (because I'm lazy), so I keep the wider nozzle on (though John takes it off every time he uses it, grr!). But when I want my hair to be shiny, sleek, and pin straight, the narrow nozzle really does the trick.

- Quieter than most hair dryers. The noise is definitely more pleasant than the roar of my previous hair dryer.

Cons:

- Chips easily. If you're clumsy like me, then you'll need to be careful - I've dropped this twice by my dressing table and a bit of the paint has chipped off (don't tell John!).

- It's not that quiet. I think one of the earlier claims (though I'm too lazy to Google the quote/article to support this claim) about the Dyson Supersonic was that you could hold a conversation with someone at a "normal" volume while using it. You can certainly do that at the lowest setting, though you do need to raise your voice on the middle setting (which I use most) and you'd certainly be shouting if you were chatting on the highest setting. Still, it's much quieter compared to the previous hair dryers I've owned (plus, because the drying time is significantly reduced, you're using it for less time).

So, would I recommend the Dyson Supersonic? Yes, yes, yes - a thousand times yes. Especially if you have thick hair like me and you spend a lot of your time washing, drying, and styling it. Is it worth the price point? If you use it to the extent that I do, then yes, but if not, then maybe stick with a Babyliss or GHD model.

Do you own a Dyson Supersonic hair dryer? What do you think of it? If not, would you think about buying it? I'm curious to know!
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