Once synonymous with vacuum cleaners, Dyson became the unlikely brand to dominate the beauty space when it launched its supersonic hair dryer in 2016. In the decade since, Dyson has expanded its roster to include the airwrap, corrale straighteners and airstrait.
Fast becoming a hero tool for hair styling at home, the supersonic was designed to streamline your routine by styling and drying simultaneously. The tool’s innovative design revolutionised the industry thanks to its intelligent heat control, quiet motor and super fast speed (you’ve got no excuse for being late when using the supersonic).
Owing to constant innovation, the hair dryer has only grown in popularity – and price. The nural – my favourite hair dryer, and one of the latest models – costs £400, for example. But thanks to our exclusive code below, you can save a rare £120 on the sleek hair tool, which brings the price down to £280.
Since its original inception, Dyson has upgraded the supersonic with various attachments to add styling versatility – from a smoothing nozzle and styling concentrator to a diffuser. The supersonic nural is touted as its most intelligent dryer yet, with a focus on scalp and hair care using sensor technology.
At a time when scalp care is booming (tutorials have been viewed more than 3 billion times on TikTok), Dyson is arguably once again revolutionising the hair tool world. And I’m on board – since getting my hands on a nural upon its launch last year, I’ve relegated all other tools to the cupboard in favour of the speedy and scalp-friendly hair dryer.
How I tested
Granted, it’s still not cheap – even with the generous £120 discount. So, should you invest? I’ve put the supersonic nural through its paces for more than a year, assessing everything from frizz management to drying capability. For context, I’ve got fine hair but a lot of it, which is prone to frizz – especially when heat styling.
- Speed – My lazy-girl hair routine requires a speedy hair tool. So, I’ve weighed up how Dyson’s nural fared against my other tools and whether it cuts down my daily routine.
- Temperature – There are four heat settings on the nural – 100 celsius for fast drying, 80 for regular drying, 60 for gentle drying and a cold shot to set your style. Interestingly, you can put it into scalp mode which adjusts the temperature depending on how close to your head the tool is. I mostly use it on this mode to protect my scalp without having to fiddle with buttons.
- Frizz taming – Not only did I assess how frizz-free my hair was after rough drying, but I used the smoothing nozzle to tame fly-aways.
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Dyson supersonic nural hair dryer
Attachments : Five
Colourways: Patina/topaz, blue/topaz
Airflow settings: Three
Heat settings: Four
Why we love it
- Speedy
- Scalp care sensors
- Intuitive technology
- Adapts settings to your hair routine
- Light
Dyson supersonic nural design
As with all of Dyson’s hair tools (and its vacuums), the design of the supersonic nural dryer is super sleek. The hair dryer is available in two pastel and playful colourways and is presented in a sturdy cardboard box that doubles up as storage thanks to the inserts for each attachment. As for the five attachments, you’ll find a gentle air attachment, a styling concentrator, a wide-tooth comb, a flyaway attachment and a wave and curl diffuser.
At just 680g, the nural is more lightweight than the original supersonic and means there’s no risk of arm ache during styling. Despite being a compact design, the dryer features three airflow and four heat settings (100C for fast drying, 80C for regular, 60C for gentle and 28C for a cool shot of air to set your hair after styling).
Dyson supersonic nural performance
The most impressive difference between the nural and the older supersonic is the tool’s intuition. With scalp care quickly becoming a big beauty trend, Dyson’s hair dryer attempts to prevent heat-related damage thanks to the “scalp protect” mode. It uses sensor technology to constantly measure the distance the hair dryer is from your scalp and automatically adjusts the heat accordingly. It does this using a flight sensor that projects an invisible infrared beam to measure the distance between the machine and your hair – this means the dryer never heats your scalp above 55C. I was surprised how much I noticed the difference, with no burning sensations leading to a much nicer drying session.
Another upgrade is the capsule illumination which changes the colour between cool blue or yellow (low heat) to orange (medium heat) and red (high heat) depending on the distance from the scalp. It’s a fun touch that helps you monitor the heat setting.
Read more: Best heat protection sprays to keep hair healthy
The innovation doesn’t stop there. Firstly, the tool automatically switches to a low-power “pause mode” when you put it on a surface during styling. Secondly, it uses attachment learning to automatically adjust the last-used heat and airflow settings for each styling attachment, without manually changing modes – creating a seamless transition between tools and simplifying your routine. A rough dry is a breeze using the gentle attachment while a smoother and more defined look is super quick thanks to the precision nozzle. I was also really impressed with the flyaway attachment (it’s much better than the one on the airwrap as it’s able to capture more hair at one time), while the diffuser and comb attachments help to cater for a wide range of hair types.
It’s also just as quiet as Dyson’s previous tools, so you can use it in the morning without causing a racket.
All in all, it took around 10 minutes to dry my hair – saving me seven minutes on my usual routine. The results were impressive. My hair looked shinier and felt far softer than it does after using other hair dryers. My hair continued to look fresh on days two and three, with the flyaway attachment helping to smarten up my look.
Buy now £399.99, Dyson.co.uk
The verdict: Dyson supersonic nural hair dryer
At £399.99, Dyson’s nural hair dryer is certainly not cheap (though it’s far more affordable with The Independent’s exclusive Dyson discount code) and those who already own a supersonic might struggle to justify upgrading. But if you’re new to the supersonic range or in the market for a new hair dryer that will speed up styling time while keeping your scalp and hair healthier, Dyson’s nural is well worth the investment.
We’ve also reviewed the new Dyson airwrap to see if it’s as good as the original
