Behind the Tech: Dyson Has Hair Health Wrapped Up in Air
Dyson engineers are never satisfied with the status quo. If there is a better way, a healthier way, a more efficient way to design a product, the failure-adverse team is going to find a way to make it a reality. In an exclusive interview with WWD to look behind the tech, Tori Clifford, senior insight analyst on Dyson’s engineering team, said it was exactly this mindset that led the Dyson team to enter the hair care space when it did.
While still considered a relative newcomer in the beauty market, Dyson’s expertise utilized to design its hair tools spans decades. First seen with its Supersonic hair dryer in 2016, the company looks to a vast history of engineering airflow and motors. Putting the technology to use again, Dyson released its revolutionary Airwrap just two years later, reporting an investment of more than $30 million in research and development resulting in more than 600 prototypes in its six years of development.
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The styler was — and continues to be — one of the most wanted and most awarded styling tools on the market, but the “relentlessly dissatisfied” Dyson engineering team challenged their own design to miniaturize and multiply the Coanda effect to pioneer a fully customizable styling tool and deliver a range of styles for different hair types, without extreme heat. In 2022, the reengineered Airwrap multistyler was released with new attachments powered by enhanced Coanda airflow, resulting in a better-performing and more efficient solution.
“The creation of Dyson Airwrap started with us never being satisfied with the technology that we have,” Clifford said. “We are always looking to improve upon it, and we did have research that we wanted to utilize that into another product, specifically a one-time use product that can style hair in multiple ways from curling to smoothing to waves.”
During the development process of the Airwrap, Dyson’s engineering team trialed and tested on different hair types and hair lengths to ensure the representation of all consumers’ needs. While most styling tools ignore that hair types are very different, Dyson’s attachments allow consumers to find what works best for them — what attachment may work for one, could be impractical to another. In addition to testing on mannequins and models, the team worked with consumers to trial it at home. Through feedback the engineering team was able to narrow in on what was wanted and intended use.
“The Airwrap was revolutionary because it allowed consumers to become their own stylists,” Clifford said. “They are able to curl their hair or get a salon-quality blowout in the comfort of their own home with the over 15 attachments that Dyson offers. And as many times as they use it, however they are using it, they also know that it isn’t creating damage.”
In its latest iteration, the Airwrap combined two attachments in one with the Coanda smoothing dryer that hides flyaways in a single pass and transforms into a powerful dryer with the flick of a switch. The wide-tooth comb attachment is engineered for curly and coily hair to help add shape, volume and length as it dries. Dyson’s comb teeth are designed with soft curved tips to glide through the hair, with no sharp edges to catch, pull or cause damage.
Providing a hair tool that creates less damage and encourages hair health is crucial to Dyson as it creates all its hair tools as something that must be improved. For the Airwrap, this means harnessing the power of the Coanda effect. The Coanda effect is an aerodynamic phenomenon created when air is at the right speed and pressure, following the surface that it is on to pull in the surrounding air.
“The Coanda effect is one of the technologies that makes the Airwrap so unique,” Clifford said. “On the Airwrap’s barrel attachment, specifically, the Coanda effect is included with six slots in the barrel that multiply the air, creating a vortex around the barrel. That allows the hair to wrap and attach around the barrel allowing it to curl. The Coanda effect is also seen in the brush attachments, pulling the hair into the brush and down to create a smoothing effect.”
In addition to its understanding of airflow, Dyson utilized its existing knowledge in motors to design the Airwrap. Notably, Clifford said, Dyson has been researching and developing motors since 1999, again starting with an effort to create better motors and a dissatisfaction of efficiency with what was being offered. One of the motors seen in the Airwrap is the Dyson digital motor V9.
“These digital motors are the heart of all Dyson products,” Clifford said. “And redesigned to fit into the handle of the Airwrap, the motor is small and light while powerful enough to propel enough air to dry and style hair.”
As consumers look to Dyson to practice better hair health, Clifford said it is important to understand that there is a bit of a learning curve for all of its attachments, with some working best for an individual’s hair type and styling goals. To provide support along the journey, Dyson has shared style guide videos online and on social media.
“The Airwrap has so many different uses,” Clifford said. “And that has been important to the consumer because it’s one tool that they’re able to use to create a multitude of styles, whether that’s smoothing their hair out, creating beach waves or curls or getting volume for a blowout. It really gives them the freedom to create a style that they’ve always wanted but with less damage than traditional products. If you think about traditional curling tools, the high heat can be very damaging to hair, but the Airwrap uses the Coanda effect to create a style without excessive heat.”
A tip that Clifford called out for consumers using the Airwrap is to utilize holding products such as hairspray before and after for the retention of a style. Using softening products such as oils, makes it harder to hold a style. At the same time, she explained it is important to use the tool’s cold shot button to lock in a style and provide shine.
See More From WWD’s Behind the Tech Series Here:
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