Dyson’s Supersonic Nural is £400 – has luxury hair care gone too far?
The Supersonic Nural is Dyson’s “most intelligent hair dryer” yet, but you don’t have to spend this much
Dyson is infamous for releasing luxury hair care products with staggeringly high prices, and its latest launch, the Dyson Supersonic Nural hair dryer, is no different. It’s the company’s “most intelligent hair dryer” yet, thanks to new sensor technology that automatically reduces heat and airflow as the hair dryer gets closer to the head.
This idea is that this helps to protect the scalp from heat damage, providing a more comfortable styling experience while enhancing hair shine and health.
Sounds promising, and since its release in South Korea this March, it has garnered rave reviews. This morning, it was finally released in the UK with a price of £400. To state the obvious, that’s a lot of money – here are my thoughts about the dryer’s key features.
The Supersonic Nural has a similar size and shape to the existing Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, which was released in 2016 and retails for £300. It also has the same Dyson Hyperdymium motor and simple controls.
That’s where the similarities end. Instead of the two heat settings available on the original dryer, the Supersonic Nural comes with three heat settings, a continuous cool shot, and three airflow speeds. It also has a “scalp protect” button, which allows you to dry the hair at your scalp comfortably, no matter its sensitivity.
The dryer is also equipped with a pause-detect sensor, which stops the dryer from running three seconds after you put it down. The feature is also included in the Dyson Airstrait and I found it was highly effective in my testing – and mighty useful when I wanted to take a quick break.
Dyson includes five styling attachments with the Supersonic Nural: a concentrator nozzle, flyaway attachment, gentle air attachment, curl and wave diffuser, and a wide-tooth comb. This is a far more comprehensive and versatile set of attachments than those that come with the original Supersonic, making it a suitable option for all hair types and textures.
Furthermore, each attachment is fitted with an RFID tag that is recognised by a Hall sensor in the dryer. This sensor remembers and automatically sets the optimum dryer settings for that attachment so you’ll be able to use each attachment like a professional, without any guesswork.
It’s worth noting that the Dyson Supersonic Nural isn’t the first hair dryer to use smart heat sensors to adjust the temperature of the air. The Remington Proluxe You hair dryer, which was released in 2022, also uses sensors to automatically adjust the temperature of the air according to your hair type. While I found it to be effective at maintaining a comfortable temperature during my tests, at 897g the dryer was heavy and noisy compared with most hairdryers.
While I haven’t had a chance to get hands-on yet, the Dyson Supersonic Nural weighs 680g, which is far lighter than the Remington dryer and it has a far more compact design. That means it should less cumbersome to use for long periods. It’s heavier than the original Dyson Supersonic but only by 30g.
That begs the question: can the Supersonic Nural’s sleek lightweight design justify the massive £240 price hike over the first one? You may also wonder if you should upgrade to the Nural if you already own the Dyson Supersonic. I won’t have a definitive answer to this question until I test it for our full review, but looking at the specifications I’d advise sticking to your existing hair dryer for now.
£400 is a huge amount of cash to splash on a hair dryer, even with all its attachments. While the intelligent heat adjustments will help your hair health in theory, that feature alone can’t justify its high price point. That is especially true since using a good heat protection spray before drying your hair will protect your hair from excessive heat damage anyway.
A more affordable luxury alternative is the £200 mdlondon BLOW hair dryer. It doesn’t have intelligent heat monitoring, but it’s just as powerful as the Dyson Supersonic, almost half its weight, and is the quietest hair dryer I’ve ever tested.