Search
Close this search box.

Sign in/Register

Put to the test: Dyson’s new Flyaway hair dryer attachment for a salon-smooth finish

By MiNDFOOD

Put to the test: Dyson’s new Flyaway hair dryer attachment for a salon-smooth finish

Beauty Editor Megan Bedford tries the new Dyson Flyaway attachment and give her verdict.

In terms of big beauty announcements, a development from Dyson is up there in excitement factor. 

Except, when I attended the press launch via Zoom a couple of months ago I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointment at what I’d seen. The impending arrival introduced under cover of world-wide embargoes direct from Dyson’s research labs in the UK and Singapore didn’t seem as instantly covetable or game changing as its previous launches, the Corrale straightener, the Supersonic hair dryer and the Air Wrap curler and styler. 

That is, until I actually tried it. 

The new launch? The Flyaway attachment – a scoop shaped smoothing attachment for the brand’s super popular Supersonic hair dryer. It means to mimic the way a professional stylist achieves a sleek blowout by directing a dryer’s airflow onto hair being pulled taut with a round brush. It’s intended to give the home user a super-smooth finish with no visible flyaways, even if they aren’t very proficient in doing their own blow dry. (That’s me!)

Despite the slight deflation that it wasn’t a tool itself, once the attachment arrived and I actually gave it a try, I fairly swiftly became a convert.


Above: The traditional way hair stylists smooth flyaways. 

Like it’s predecessors, the Flyaway attachment is the result of months and months of development by Dyson’s scientists and researchers. They began by studying the way hairstylists use a focused nozzle on a dryer to direct the airflow onto hair while simultaneously pulling strands straight with a densely-bristled round hair brush (above). If you’ve ever tried to DIY you’ll know stylists are far more adept at an all-around perfect finish, not least because they can see the back of your head! That and the arm-strength and dexterity required.

Experts in airflow, Dyson have also utilised something called the Coanda effect, an aerodynamic phenomenon also used in the brand’s Air Wrap styler. Air, when propelled at the right speed and pressure, naturally follows a curved surface. It all gets quite complex when the experts speak about the options they initially tried and the resulting attachment, and it’s hard to see what’s happening with your own eyes when you see the attachment in action, but the results speak for themselves. 


The Flyaway uses airflow to attract and lift longer hairs to the front, or top of each section, whilst pushing flyaways through the strands and out of sight beneath (above). 

“Our engineers are driven to rethink convention and our obsession with airflow led us to push the potential of Coanda after observing how stylists use a ‘brush and blow dryer’ technique to smooth flyaways,” explains Emma Sheldon, Dyson’s Hair Care Category Director. 

“Dyson engineers gathered in excess of 1.14 billion individual pieces of professional styling data, captured from over 10,000 hours of professional stylist trials, observing more than 420 stylists across 80 salons around the world. Whilst stylists were observed using a round brush and blow dryer to smooth stray hairs, self-stylers seeking that same salon standard sleek finish were found to turn to high heat solutions after styling, such as straighteners with fixed plates. This final pass exposes the hair to unnecessary additional heat, increasing the risk of preventable damage – damaged hair is weaker and more prone to breakage, thus perpetuating the prevalence of further flyaways. “

The flyaway attachment is intended to be used on dry hair as the final step of your styling routine by popping onto the barrel of the Supersonic with it’s easy-to-swap magnetised base after you’ve finished the majority of your style. You run it curve-to-hair down the lengths from the root to tip and it instantly smooths the surface of the hair.

Speaking for all of us, LA stylist Jen Atkin says that smooth finish has long been a hard-to-reach goal for us novices, and a straightener just doesn’t nix those pesky short, sticky-up strands.

“I think we can all agree that flyaway frustration is real,” confirms Atkin. “Nothing feels as good as that salon blow dry finish. The trick to tame annoying flyaways is a core skill for a stylist. However, we want our clients to now be able to get that same glossy finish at home. Dyson’s latest attachment does exactly that – it allows smooth-seekers to get a super sleek finish, on their own, not just from the salon.”


I have fine, naturally straight, bleached-blonde locks that, while relatively healthy, does have a degree of breakage. It means I always have shorter strands around the crown and the front area. 

To try the flyaway attachment, I rough dried my hair as usual with my Dyson Supersonic, without adding any styling products. 

Side note – I’ve owned Dyson’s Supersonic hairdryer for two years and I regularly extol its abilities to all who will listen. I often liken it buying the latest iPhone vs a mid-range phone: Sure there are other dryers that can do a similar job for cheaper, but this has the latest tech like a super-fast-but-light motor, looks cool and works brilliantly. I’m also certain it’s protected the health of my technically-fragile heavily processed hair. Now I have the Flyaway attachment, which can be purchased separately if you already have the dryer but now comes within the box when you  purchase a new dryer, I’m even more certain it’s a category leader. 

After finishing my rough-dry I ran the Flyway attachment over my lengths on a medium airflow and cold air setting, doing my entire head in around 30 seconds. I was so surprised at how easy it is to use and how well it works, the section of hair sort-of gently vacuums on to the attachment. The result of one pass from root to tip was that my hair looked like it had been straightened with an iron, only with a little more life. I have also tried it just around my hairline when my hair is tied back and that also improves the look of the hairline. 

I like the way it looks so smooth without having to add any serum or styling products as many quickly weigh down my hair. 

While I can only speak on this worked on my own hair type, Dyson says it’s intended for use on  dry and straight hair or hair that’s been straightened.

If you already own a Dyson Supersonic, the single attachment itself costs NZ$109 and works with all existing Supersonic dryers.  It also now comes with the purchase of a new Dyson Supersonic dryer, as well as a number of other styling attachments for NZ$649.

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe.