For those of us with fine, naturally quite flat hair, a good hair dryer is an essential tool. The right one doesn’t just dry your hair; it can lift, give shape and help to create volume where there wasn’t much to begin with. It needs to be powerful but not damaging, and ideally not so heavy that using it feels like a workout.
My go-to hair dryer for years now has been the Dyson Supersonic. I still remember how light it felt the first time I used it. My arm almost didn’t know what to do, being so used to the weight of more traditional dryers. But once I got used to it, both the weight and the excellent blow-dry it delivered, there was no going back.
Before that, I used a LanaiBlo hairdryer. It delivered a really powerful blow-dry, and I loved the extra-long cord that allowed me to move around the room, but it wasn’t compact enough for travel – and although not heavy, there was no comparison once I got my hands on the Supersonic.
There’s no denying that Dyson hair tools are expensive (the Supersonic retails at around €400). But for me, quality hair tools are worth spending on. We use them all the time, and they make such a difference to how your hair looks day to day. If I can use a tool that protects my hair while also giving me the closest thing to a salon-like result at home, then I will stretch my budget for it.
READ MORE
One of the big selling points of the Supersonic is the intelligent heat control, which constantly measures the temperature and prevents heat damage, combined with a blow-dry so fast and powerful (using airflow instead of extreme heat) that your hair dries rapidly.
And yet, despite how much I love my Supersonic, I’ve seldom brought it with me when travelling overseas. Mainly because of the size – it’s not huge, but again, it’s not exactly compact. I also worry about it getting damaged in transit, especially because of how expensive it is to replace, and then there’s the whole voltage issue once you go outside Europe.
I was in New York recently and had to rely on the hotel hair dryer. It was a miserable experience. A weak stream of air, and heat that went from not enough to far too much in seconds. After a few halfhearted attempts, I gave up and let my hair air dry.
This week, Dyson announced the Supersonic Travel. It’s essentially a compact version of the original – although, at €299.99, it’s still not exactly an impulse purchase – just reworked for the exact scenario I have been complaining about. As they put it themselves, it’s “32 per cent smaller. 25 per cent lighter. Still mighty”.
As attached as I am to my Supersonic, I was excited to try the travel version. I suspected it wouldn’t give me quite as good a blow-dry, but somehow it does. Yes, it’s quite a bit smaller and even lighter, but the powerful blast remains, along with the protective properties we’ve come to expect from Dyson. Better again, the voltage automatically adapts to the country you’re in – so you can bring it anywhere.
At €299.99 it’s undeniably an investment, but at €100 less than the full-size Supersonic it will potentially appeal to those who have yet to try the original.
If you rarely travel, it’s not an essential – but if you do, it makes a lot of sense.
This week I’m loving ... Issey Miyake Lumière d’Issey Eau de Parfum
One of the most beautiful fragrances I’ve come across in recent memory, Lumière d’Issey (€116 for 50ml from Brown Thomas) is a new scent from Japanese label Issey Miyake. Creamy, sweet and entirely refreshing – and housed in a showstopping bottle designed to radiate light – it contains notes of green mandarin, neroli, white musk and pistachio.
