Generally speaking, I don’t have any complaints about my hair. Thanks to genetics, I was blessed with a full head of thick, healthy strands that grow at supernatural speed. However, one persistent issue I haven’t cracked is my unruly frizz. (I also live in Miami, which is great for vibes but not so much for my hair.)
Despite my troublesome halo of flyaways, I try to keep products and styling to a minimum. While I do use things like hair oil, dry oil mists, and serums occasionally, frizz always seems to strike without fail. For that reason, I was majorly excited when Dyson unveiled a brand-new attachment in 2021 for the Supersonic hair-dryer — made exactly for people like me. Fast-forward to August 2023, and the brand has unveiled a 2.0 version that takes flyaway-smoothing technology to a whole new level. Ahead, peep the see-it-to-believe-it before-and-after pics — and learn more about the science behind this new wonder tool straight from a Dyson engineering lead.
DashDividers_1_500x100First Impressions: A Story Of Confusion
I genuinely love my Supersonic (I’ve owned my current one for years) and knew that Dyson would never do me dirty with anything it put its name on. That said, I was pretty perplexed when I first saw the Flyaway attachment, which was giving Captain Hook. But again, trust Dyson, amirite? I waited for my (gifted) attachment to arrive in the mail and, when it did, wasted no time popping it onto my beloved purple hair-dryer. I usually use the Gentle Air attachment (the one that looks like a wavy doughnut) to rough-dry my hair and break up the powerful airflow, which I still recommend whether you’re using the original Flyaway attachment or the new Flyaway Smoother. I make sure my freshly washed hair is about 80% dry in order for the attachment to most effectively “catch” and smooth my frizz.
The Specs
“Early prototypes of the Flyaway Attachment featured brush-style bristles, directly mimicking a stylist’s brush and blow-dryer technique,” Veronica Alanis, engineering lead at Dyson, tells Refinery29. “However, without the skill and steerage of a stylist adopting the original technique, the bristles were found to hinder more than help.” By utilizing the power of airflow, the team settled on an “optimum curve” design for the Flyaway attachment to guide the airflow to effectively harness the Coanda effect. (In short, it’s the same technology that the Dyson Airwrap styler uses to “attract and lift longer hairs to the front, whilst pushing flyaways through the tresses and out of sight,” explains Alanis. By essentially hiding flyaways, the attachment leaves hair looking shinier and straighter. “The new Flyaway Smoother is engineered to provide fast, smooth styles from wet to dry, all in one attachment,” explains John McGarva, head of hair care design engineering at Dyson, via press release. “Taking advantage of the Coanda effect, the attachment is also able to tuck in and hide flyaways, replicating the techniques used by professionals in salons.”
DashDividers_1_500x100The Results
After watching the how-to video on Dyson’s website (twice, actually), the time came to see if all the techy graphics and impressive science actually resulted in smoother, less frizzy hair. After the first few passes, I was convinced I was doing something wrong because you don’t feel much happening as you run the tool (hook side facing down) along small sections of hair. However, if you look closely at the image above, you can see the small vent is angled so it actually guides the airflow to leave smooth strands in its path. The main difference between the original flyaway attachment and the new one is the addition of smoothing bristles, which allow you to smooth and dry at the same time. By turning the switch on the side of the attachment, you can change the attachment to a flyaway smoother that works pretty similarly to the OG one.
As you can see in the “before” selfie to the left, I more or less always have a moderate amount of flyaways around the top of my head. (FYI, that is second-day hair with zero product and styling.) I spent about five minutes doing my full head before snapping the right-side pic, and you can already notice that almost all of the stray hairs have been tamed. Had I spent more time and used additional product (plus an actual straightener), I’m totally confident that I could’ve easily achieved a completely sleek ‘do.
TBH, I’m really impressed at how well Dyson’s flyaway attachment worked and equally pleased with the 2-in-1 Flyaway Smoother. There’s no real way to mess it up because the attachment truly does all the work for you, and as I said earlier, it took all of five minutes to get a mostly frizz-free look. Obviously, the upfront cost of a Supersonic ($399) is a lot of money, but the various attachments basically transform your fancy dryer into a whole different hair tool.
All in all, both attachments have definitely earned their spot in my hair routine. Bot have my stamp of approval for anyone looking to truly trick out their Supersonic. Dyson: 1, Florida: 0.
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