Dyson Supersonic Nural Hair Dryer Review: 3 Editors Tried It

Leave it to Dyson to completely revolutionize the hair dryer, and then one-up their original launch in ways we could have never imagined. That’s right: The iconic brand dropped a brand new hair dryer today—the Supersonic Nural—and in preparation for the drop, myself and two other Byrdie editors have been quietly testing it for two weeks. TL;DR? If you can afford it, it’s a great investment.

We understand that spending $500 on a hair dryer is a commitment, so to ensure that you’re making a sound choice, we really put the Supersonic Nural to work. Us editors—all with different hair types—sat down with the Dyson team to understand the science behind the technology, a scalp health expert to learn more about how to best care for your skin and hair, and a Dyson hairstylist to really understand how each setting and attachment works. Then we took the Nural home and put it to work. After two weeks of use, all three of us unanimously love it—here’s why.

Dyson’s Supersonic Nural Hair Dryer

Before we dive into our reviews, let’s discuss what makes this a unique buy: the device’s “smart and automatic Nural sensor technology.” Designed with scalp and hair health in mind, this technology enables three incredible, automated features that we didn’t realize we needed until we had them.

When in “scalp protect mode” the dryer tracks how close or far it is from your hair or scalp and adjusts the heat automatically to ensure no damage is done (131°F is the exact reduced temperature for safe styling). Different-colored lights indicate how hot the dryer is as you use it, changing as you move the dryer closer and farther from the head and hair. (P.S. if you’re doing a blowout or just prefer it, you can turn this feature off and set to your heat preferences.)

The next feature is called “attachment learning,” where the technology remembers your preferred heat and airflow settings per styling attachment. You can pop on a new attachment mid-blow dry and keep it moving—no button pressing needed—and the dryer will instinctively adjust your settings for you.

What might be the most universally helpful feature is called “pause detect.” When you place your dryer down on the counter, the device deactivates the heater and decreases airflow and noise, so nothing melts, gets blown away, or is consistently (and annoyingly) loud for no reason. Genius. 

Each purchase comes with five new attachments: the wave and curl diffuser, gentle air attachment, styling concentrator, wide-tooth comb, and flyaway attachment. These accessories make for a salon-grade styling session in the comfort of your home. Below, read our reviews and see the results for yourself.

Lauren Pardee, Hair Type 1b/2a 

First off, I love how the super strong airflow cuts my drying time in half and doesn’t require high heat to get the job done. And if you have long hair like me, you’ll appreciate that the motor is built into the handle rather than the back of the barrel, so no more strands getting sucked in and ripped out.

Out of all the attachments, I’m really impressed by the bowl. After drying my hair almost all the way, I attach the bowl and twirl my front layers with my finger. One by one, I place those twirled pieces into the bowl and allow them to dry the rest of the way. The result is a bouncy blowout that looks professional—and it was so easy to accomplish.

Shannon Bauer, Hair Type 2b

“There is no dryer on the market comparable to this one, and it is the best that I’ve tried in the last two years (I have tested over 10!),” Shannon Bauer, Byrdie associate editorial director, says. “If you are willing to spend the money, it is absolutely worth the investment because of its features.” 

“The auto-adjust heat setting has already saved by scalp (and myself) from overheating while I style. I went from sopping wet to dry in less than 10 minutes and had far less frizz and dryness than I expected. The higher air flow, lower heat is great for my overly heat-styled hair, somewhat fine hair.”

FYI, Shannon owns the original Dyson hair dryer, and while it has been her top choice for nearly 10 years, she claims this iteration has taken the crown. “The brand innovated on top of innovation to make a superior machine.”

Olivia Hancock, Hair Type 3b/c

“Watching scalp protect technology adjust in real-time is just as incredible as you’d think it would be—it makes drying your hair a more intuitive, irritation-free process. In other words, you don’t have to worry about frying your hair,” says Byrdie editor Olivia Hancock.

Since Olivia wears her hair curly 90% of the time, she’s very excited about the wave and curl diffuser attachment, too. “It can be used in dome or diffuse mode. In dome mode, the attachment’s dome shape draws airflow away from the scalp, making it ideal for wavy hair or drying braids or twists,” she shares. “In diffuse mode, the pronged insert pushes air into your roots, allowing it to define and volumize curls and coils.”