Dyson’s Most Intelligent Hair Dryer Has Arrived

Is there anything more fun than being let in on a secret? As I toured Dyson’s massive Research, Design and Development (RDD) campus in Malmesbury, England earlier this year, I was struck (and a little overwhelmed) by the amount of security and confidentiality everywhere. I was scanned in through one door that allowed me to walk exactly ten steps before needing to be scanned in through the next door, and so on and so forth. Had I entered the future? Nearly everything on campus was labelled “CONFIDENTIAL” — including garbage bins. (Seriously!)

So what’s the big secret? Well, it’s not a secret anymore. Dyson just launched its latest hair tool, the Supersonic Nural (plus the super-sleek Dyson Supersonic r™ hair dryer, though the latter is exclusively for professional stylists). The available-to-consumers Supersonic Nural is an updated version of Dyson’s first foray into hair back in 2016, the Supersonic. You read that right: an even more advanced version of what was already the most technologically advanced hair dryer on the market.

The updates include new sensor technology that protects scalp health by automatically reducing heat as it gets closer to your head. It also has a motion-sensing feature that deactivates the heater and decreases airflow when you’re in between styling passes (like when you set the dryer down to section your hair). This allows Supersonic Nural to cut way back on its energy use.

“We started working on Nural back in 2021, five years after Supersonic launched,” says Steve Williamson, Hair Care Category Manager, Commercial Engineering RDD Haircare. “Our mission when developing, from an engineering point of view, is ‘all hair types, all hairstyles, less damage’.” Talk about ticking all the boxes. “We always start with [addressing] a problem,” adds Dyson Beauty’s Global President, Kathleen Pierce. “We’re constantly on a journey to understand how our tech can improve experiences.”

A major part of that journey involves watching how people use the products, both through in-lab testing prior to launch, and on social media post-launch. #Dyson currently has 7.7 billion views on TikTok, most of which are videos of users posting GRWM or how-to videos using their Dyson hair tools. “I think I’ve watched every single video. There’s just no shortage of people we can learn from,” says Pierce.

Not long ago, a friend of Pierce’s sent her a video where she was using one of Dyson’s hair tools. “My friend’s hand was coming up higher [than],” says Pierce. “So I immediately showed the video to our engineers, and they were like, ‘Interesting; if she’s holding it there, maybe the tension is different. Maybe we move the silicon strip. And then the next thing I know, they’re ideating solutions for the problem. That’s what’s so brilliant about working with passionate engineers. I think if we’d set out to target consumers, or we’d set out to [follow] a trend, we’d probably end up being behind the curve. When you set out to solve a problem, you’re going to unlock things you would never have anticipated.”

A version of this article appears in FASHION’s Summer 2024 issue. Find out more here.