Despite knowing full well that Dyson can clean my house wonderfully, I wasn't convinced that a tiny wind turbine for my head would give me perfect hair.
Any time a new hype-worthy hair product like the Dyson Supersonic comes out, I have the same thought: "that won't work for me."
Like many curly-haired people, I've tried just about everything to be at peace with my hair's natural texture. As much as I love my curls now, our relationship has been complicated. Many products have come and gone. Many tools have claimed to be perfect for curls. Many have failed. Dyson might be the first beauty tool that has actually delivered.
Over the years, I've straightened my hair, colored it, bleached it, cut it far too short, went far too long between trims, air dried, plopped, pineappled -- all for the chance at having perfect, effortless-looking hair that always took more time than it was worth.
At the center of my routine, I was at war with a not-terrible-but-not-professional hair dryer that I usually bought at a drugstore. First mistake. A good tool is the key difference between Ilana Glazer curl perfection and feeling like I'm wearing a clown wig.
There are plenty of women out there with coarser and curlier hair than mine, but here's the run down. If I were to describe my curls, they would lie between a wavy 2C and a curly 3A, depending on how well I'm taking care of it. If you're not familiar with this terminology, see this handy chart:
I am also blessed/cursed with extra thick, mix-textured hair, according to my stylist. That means I am one of those lucky people who has super coarse hairs and soft, fine hairs that turn into a lovely halo of frizz at the slightest whisper of moisture in the air.
So heavenly.
Because of these tiny hairs, I used to blow my hair straight and flat iron my hair every day throughout high school and part of college, giving me a very basic, mall-girl look that I'm sure a lot of us had in the early 2000's.
It look at least 45 minutes to an hour to do my hair back then. Not only because I couldn't get the curl out, but because I also had to separate my thick hair into many sections. When I get my hair cut, I used to pay extra to get my hair blow dried because my stylist had to spend at least an additional 30 minutes on it.
It was only recently that I put down the dryer in favor of light diffusing and air drying, if only to straighten my bangs and occasionally my roots to avoid a distinct "90's Kathy Griffin" look. Also a term my stylist coined about my hair. She's delightful and I refuse to go to anyone else.
In short, I gave up on the hair dryer for the most part. But I might be returning to the fold.
The Big Test
The first time I used the Supersonic, I put it to the ultimate test. I washed and deep conditioned my hair in the morning and squeezed out the extra water, then added some mousse to help tame frizz. Normally I'd do this and allow my hair to air dry.
I was prepared to spend a good half-hour sitting with the hair dryer. It looked so tiny and delicate. I clicked on the small styling attachment. It was like a magnet. I'm living in the future.
I decided to time myself and started the dryer and while straightening my bangs. I had to turn down the air speed to medium (there are three settings for both air and heat) because it was so powerful and I didn't want to get too much air on my curls.
Air is bad for curls. That's why we use a diffuser.
I quickly clicked on the diffuser and started to work on the rest of my head. My curls quickly jumped up, looking smooth and bouncy. To my surprise, it only look five minutes to get my entire head dry. Even with the air speed at the highest setting, the Supersonic's diffuser cuts out a lot of "wind." It's definitely the best I've ever used.
Granted, there were a few spots that looked frizzy. Don't expect miracles to happen. It's just a hair dryer.
I smoothed out a few areas with my curling iron, did my makeup, and I was ready to go with 15 minutes to spare. I didn't even know what to do with this kind of time. It was almost cruel that I couldn't go back to sleep.
Clearly, my hubris had gotten the better of me. I normally don't try Pinterest-worthy hair tutorials because of my hair's tendency to fluff and frizz the more I mess with it.
But this day, I tried out a tutorial that swore to give me effortless, relaxed waves using the Dyson dryer -- practically going so far as promising to replace my curling iron forever.
The process was to first divide your hair into small sections, twist together, pin into small buns around your head and dry with the diffuser.
This did not give me the results I desired.
As I probably could have guessed, my hair did not let loose into smooth waves as the model's did in the tutorial (for your reference, she did not have curly hair, either). I was left with a partially dry, fluffy mess.
I had already spent a good 15 minutes just trying to get these waves to work for me, so in my time crunch, I decided to blow out my hair.
I didn't time myself using a timer, but by glancing at my clock, the blowout took slightly longer than drying curly with the diffuser, but still less than 10 minutes.
Once I was done, I reminded myself why I don't straighten my hair regularly.
Since I was not comfortable leaving the house with the mediocre blow out I gave myself, I busted out the curling iron and gave myself loose waves the old fashioned way. I was happy with the results, but it took 45 minutes to do my hair.
It's not Supersonic's fault my hair is uncooperative, but if you have anything other than soft, straight, manageable hair, this won't be replacing all your styling tools. You might have to use a curling or flat iron once in a while.
Final Thoughts
The Good Stuff: Given my unpredictable, difficult, yet pretty pliable hair texture, this dryer is a gift. If your hair is curlier, thicker or coarser than mine, you might still be skeptical -- I know. But the air and heat settings let you control how you want to dry your hair so you can cut back on air and use mostly heat. Frizz-free hair is, in fact, possible. However, if you did want to build a mini wind tunnel, you definitely could. It is small but mighty.
In addition, if you're the type of person who always feels like you're in a time crunch, you don't need to sacrifice looking polished and disrupt your sleep schedule. I've never dried my hair so quickly with such satisfying results. Just the extra time this dryer gave me in the morning was enough to make me start thinking about what I can sell to afford one. Who needs winter boots or a TV or a second kidney, anyway?
The Bad Stuff: Here's the real catch: it's expensive. A heartbreaking $399, in fact. After all, it is from Dyson, which makes incredibly beautiful, well-made and also costly home goods, so there's no reason the Supersonic would be any different.
At first, I thought, "there's no way I will ever buy this hair dryer at that price." But after using it and then considering some of my other hair expenses, here is the conclusion I came to:
I spend about $150 every three months on a haircut (without a blow out). Roughly $600 per year.
I spend anywhere between $150 and $175 on color services (no haircut or blow out) every other month. Over $1,000 a year. Writing that was painful.
I still haven't found a good, low-maintenance hair drying routine that works for me and I'm constantly buying products that don't work.
I have had the same hair dryer that I bought for $30 for about two years ago. I replace it about that often (one broke within six months). Between $60 and $80 over the last five years. My current hair dryer is broken and has melted edges. I actually had to duct tape my attachment to it. It's very unsafe and I use it as rarely as possible.
I'm perfectly aware that going from being too cheap and lazy to replace my $30 hair dryer to contemplating buying a $400 hair dryer is like refusing to jump into a cold swimming pool and opting to jump off a cliff instead.
In context, $400 for a dryer that will 1.) probably not turn into a piece of trash after two years and 2.) will be something I use and be satisfied with every day, may not be the worst purchase I ever made. Dyson's warranty covers parts and labor for at least two years, for your reference.
That said, the common, millennial working woman (such as myself) probably can't afford it without some major life adjustments or serious saving.
So, that is most likely the road I will take. I won't drop a big chunk of my paycheck on it right away, but perhaps after some saving (or maybe a tax return), it could be worth a splurge.
Verdict: The Supersonic is great for curls. Ease and convenience add a lot of value to its hefty price tag -- so save up.
Set yourselves free, curly people.
