Tell most hair-care lovers you need to improve your hair dryer, and I’d wager good cash you’ll be requested, “Will you purchase a Dyson?” That may have been a ridiculous query greater than a decade in the past when the model specialised in vacuum cleaners, however not because it took the luxurious hair-care market by storm in 2016 with its Supersonic hair dryer.
The Supersonic ripped up the hair-dryer rulebook, with its distinctive design, light-weight really feel and quiet operation. Eight years after the authentic, Dyson launched the Supersonic Nural: an upgraded model with new tips up its sleeve.
Upgrading to one among the best hair dryers is nonetheless one among my high magnificence ideas: they’re higher at controlling warmth ranges and dry hair quicker. All the identical, is there actually any want to spend up to £400?
Having put the Supersonic Nural hair dryer via its paces and in contrast it with 19 different hair dryers that I examined, I used to be largely impressed. Nonetheless, a couple of niggles guarantee it’s not a advice with out caveats.
How I examined
Over the month I examined the Supersonic Nural, I took notice of the look, really feel and end of my hair. I timed how lengthy it took to rough-dry hair and obtain a clean blow-dry, and judged the effectiveness of the scalp-protect mode, in addition to the versatility and intuitiveness of the controls for extra exact styling.
I additionally used all of the attachments. In every case, I hoped to dry my hair shortly, leaving it with minimal frizz and feeling wholesome. Consolation was additionally an element: I didn’t need my arms to ache or to really feel any wrist pressure in use.
For extra quantitative check outcomes, I used an anemometer to measure the Supersonic Nural’s high wind pace, plus a sound meter to assess noise ranges from 15cm away. I popped this knowledge into my comparability spreadsheet to see how the hair dryer measured up to the competitors.
What you want to know
Dyson hair dryers are notoriously costly. Costs begin at £219 for the original Supersonic with its concentrator nozzle attachment, and climb to £450 for the newest Supersonic R hair dryer – the smallest, lightest and strongest mannequin that Dyson affords.
Sitting barely beneath the Supersonic R is the £400 Supersonic Nural. As with its stablemates, it comes with clever warmth management to forestall the extreme temperatures that may injury hair, and makes use of Dyson’s patented Air Multiplier expertise to attract surrounding air via the ring form, for a claimed thrice extra airflow over fashions with a standard form.
The Nural makes use of the Dyson Digital Motor V9, the identical motor as the authentic Supersonic. This is marginally heavier and fewer highly effective than the Hyperdymium motor in the model’s Supersonic R hair dryer, however nonetheless spins at a whopping 110,000 RPM. That’s a lot quick sufficient for most individuals.
On a primary stage, the Nural has three pace ranges, three warmth settings and a steady cool shot. All these might be managed by small buttons on the rear of the dryer, alongside a button that turns scalp-protect mode on and off. On the deal with, there’s a devoted cool shot button and an influence swap. It has a 2.62m twine, which is excellent for dwelling use.
Essentially the most tangible distinction between the authentic and the Nural is its scalp-protect mode. This sees the gadget alter the temperature of the air primarily based on the dryer’s proximity to the scalp: the nearer it will get, the decrease the temperature goes. This means you by no means burn your scalp or frazzle any of the delicate new strands as they develop. Dyson claims this strengthens the scalp barrier, balances oils on the scalp, and reduces seen flakes and shedding.
One other intelligent addition is pause detect, which mechanically slows the dryer down when it’s positioned on a floor. This is ultimate for individuals who part their hair whereas drying, or place the dryer down throughout a round-brush blow-dry.
Dyson affords eight totally different magnetic attachments for the Nural. Whether or not you purchase the model for straight and wavy or for curly and coily hair, you’ll discover 5 attachments in the field, with others obtainable to purchase individually.
All the Nural’s attachments have RFID tags that are programmed with the ultimate warmth and pace settings, eliminating any guesswork on the consumer’s half. Should you want to tweak the settings, it’ll then bear in mind these the subsequent time you utilize that attachment.
That, alongside the high-end design, is one among the predominant causes to put money into a Dyson hair dryer over different high-end choices. Most of its rivals solely embody a concentrator nozzle and diffuser, with the closest equal in attachment vary being the £220 Shark SpeedStyle Pro. The Shark additionally contains a Scalp Defend mode, nevertheless it’s not computerized or proximity-based like the Nural’s. As a substitute it’s activated through a button on the deal with (so no totally different from merely lowering the temperature on any previous dryer).
Specs
Energy: 1,600W
Motor pace: 110,000 RPM
Temperature settings: three, plus a chilly shot
Pace settings: three
Attachments:
Straight + Wavy model: diffuser, flyaway smoother, smoothing nozzle, mild air attachment, concentrator nozzle
Curly + Coily model: mild air attachment, wave+curl diffuser, wide-tooth comb, flyaway attachment, concentrator nozzle
Weight: 485g (with out wire)
Most wind pace (examined): 29.2m/s
Quantity vary (examined): 75-81dB
What we love
There’s a lot to like about the Supersonic Nural. Its design is enticing – it’s made from a lightweight-but-sturdy plastic, with a metallic end that screams high-end. I examined the Nural in the limited-edition Amber Silk colour, nevertheless it’s additionally obtainable in blush pink, navy or darkish blue. There have been varied limited-edition colors, too, so it’s at all times price checking the Dyson web site before you purchase.
Its vegan leather-based presentation case – which is free in some restricted editions, however prices £60 separately – is one other luxurious. It homes all the attachments – bar one, which I’ll moan about momentarily. Should you want to ditch the case, the dryer is compact sufficient to slot in most self-importance drawers.
The Nural is staggeringly quiet, with quantity ranges ranging between 75 and 81dB in my assessments. That makes it the second quietest hair dryer I’ve examined, only a contact louder than the Cloud Nine Airshot Pro on its quickest settings.
I adored the scalp-protect mode, which made drying my hair comfy and allowed me to disengage throughout the course of. This isn’t a luxurious I get with most hair dryers, which require me to manually decrease the temperature at the scalp, or endure the penalties.
The dryer took about seven minutes to rough-dry my hair, which is a couple of minutes slower than the strongest hair dryers I’ve examined. Nonetheless, my hair was left feeling clean and wholesome, with the flyaway attachment shortly dealing with any rogue hairs for a simple end that lasted till my subsequent wash. The magnetic attachments have been simple to swap, and the computerized settings meant I may make the most of them with out faff.
I’m not a fan of doing round-brush blow-drys: I haven’t fairly acquired the knack of utilizing a spherical brush, so I’m typically left sweating profusely, with my arms feeling as if I’ve achieved 40 reps by the finish. However the Supersonic Nural’s light-weight, evenly weighted design made positive my arms and wrists didn’t really feel the pressure, even when tackling the tough spots on the high of my head. And when sectioning my hair, the pause detect was a useful little luxurious that I’ll miss once I’m utilizing a unique hair dryer.
The outcomes from the blow-dry have been fantastically clean, with loads of quantity the place I needed it. The Dyson’s pace settings offered further management when styling the shorter hairs that body my face, and the cool shot set the type shortly. My hair felt noticeably smoother than ordinary, thanks to having been dried with extra mild warmth.
What we don’t love
Let’s begin with the apparent: the Supersonic Nural is costly. At full value, you’ll be forking out about £400 (though you could possibly discover one for about £300 at the time of writing). There’s positively no want to spend that a lot, with loads of equally highly effective choices obtainable for much less in our check of the best hair dryers.
In case you have a delicate scalp and are uninterested in unintentionally scorching it, no different hair dryer affords the identical automation as Dyson’s scalp-protect mode. That mentioned, the sensor isn’t flawless. Throughout testing, it could typically decrease the temperature when there was no want to. Mercifully, it by no means incorrectly elevated the temperature in my assessments, however I discovered the random decrease temperatures barely irritating, since this added to general drying occasions. You’ll be able to simply disable scalp defend mode, in fact, however you’d be lacking out on one among the key promoting factors.
One other gripe was that the presentation case – as attractive because it seems – didn’t have sufficient area to retailer all the attachments. Irrespective of how a lot rejigging I did, I couldn’t get the diffuser attachment to match, which means I had to let it collect mud on high of the case. For a case this costly, that isn’t ok.
Lastly – and this is nitpicking – once I unboxed the hair dryer, I used to be prompted to obtain the MyDyson app. Now, I’m not a fan of getting random apps clogging up my telephone, however I will probably be joyful to accomplish that if helpful options are on supply. Sadly, all you get with the Supersonic Nural is styling and upkeep recommendation – which is obtainable on-line. Should you purchase the Nural, do your self a favour and skip the app.
Guarantee and repairs
All Dyson hair-care merchandise, together with the Supersonic Nural, are lined by a two-year guarantee. Throughout that point, Dyson will restore or substitute your hair dryer if it stops working. You too can purchase spare elements and alternative attachments from Dyson, which arrive with a one-year guarantee.
As with all Dyson hair stylers, the Nural has a filter that wants cleansing as soon as a month, or once you see the LED cleansing gentle swap on. This is simple to do: take away the filter cowl at the backside of the hair dryer’s deal with and gently filter out any mud with a small cleansing brush. If obligatory, you need to use soapy water, however you’ll want to look ahead to the filter to absolutely dry before reassembling. Full cleansing directions might be present in the instruction handbook or on Dyson’s YouTube channel.
You too can discover product-specific troubleshooting ideas on the Dyson support page, which is precisely the place you’ll be directed if you happen to obtain the app, so I like to recommend skipping the intermediary. Dyson additionally has a helpline (0800 298 0298) the place you may e book a restore in case your mannequin is beneath guarantee.
In case your Dyson kicks the bucket after its guarantee expires, all isn’t essentially misplaced. Secondhand websites corresponding to Sell My Dyson will purchase previous Dyson hair dryers, to cease all the elements from going to waste.
Ought to I purchase the Dyson Supersonic Nural?
There’s no getting previous it – the Supersonic Nural is a superb hair dryer that is effectively suited to folks with delicate scalps. Scalp burn and frazzled hair will probably be a factor of the previous; it’s staggeringly quiet with a horny design, a intelligent pause-detect characteristic and a superb vary of attachments. It’s a transparent minimize above hair dryers of previous. Whether or not that’s price £400 will, in fact, rely on your funds.
I’m not satisfied. In actual fact, you will get an excellent hair dryer for much much less. For lower than £150, you should buy the Head Jog Futaria hair dryer, which is lighter and quicker. Or you could possibly go for the dependable Hershesons hair dryer, which is my high choose for most individuals. Nonetheless, in order for you to splash out on a luxurious hair dryer and you’ve got a delicate scalp, you definitely received’t remorse shopping for the Supersonic Nural.
For extra:
The best hair dryers for smooth and speedy styling
The best hot brushes for a salon finish at home
The best hair straighteners for foolproof styling
Sarah Matthews is a shopper journalist who specialises in well being and wonder evaluations. In her 4 years of product testing, she’s labored her means via numerous hair styling, hair elimination, gentle remedy and skincare instruments. Outdoors work, you’ll discover her screaming from the rooftops about the significance of utilizing warmth-protection spray each time you dry your hair
Disclaimer: This article is sourced from external platforms. OverBeta has not independently verified the information. Readers are advised to verify details before relying on them.
