Dyson has made its first beauty product: the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer. The new tool is designed to protect hair from heat damage and is said to be quieter than standard designs.
Inventor James Dyson explained the innovation: “Hair dryers can be heavy, inefficient and make a racket. By looking at them further we realised that they can also cause extreme heat damage to hair. 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."
Developing the hair dryer was said to cost Dyson £50m, which includes the cost of a state-of-the-art laboratory dedicated to the science of hair. The company’s team of 103 engineers spent four years testing the hair dryer on different types of hair, using 1010 miles of human hair. Dyson also built testing rigs to mechanically simulated drying techniques – which differ from person to person and has been through more than 600 prototypes.
The Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer uses a patented digital motor equipped with 13 blades rather than the usual 11. This ensures that the noise of the hair dryer is pushed beyond the range usually audible for humans. The motor is also said to be Dyson’s smallest and lightest.
Positioning the motor within the device’s handle creates a more balanced feeling in the hand and allows for further sound insulation. “Air multiplier” technology creates a high velocity jet of air angled at 20º for more precise and controlled styling.
The styling tool has four heat settings, three airflow settings and a cold option. Three magnetic attachments are also included and are all said to be “precisely engineered” for further styling control. The attachments all stay cool to the touch and can easily be switched.
A further 16 patents are pending on more attachments for the device, in addition to the 100 already associated with the hair dryer.
The Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer will launch in June at a cost of £299. Each device is guaranteed for the next two years.