Having curly hair is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because a messy, curly hair style means never having to put in much effort in the morning. A curse because the world is not designed for you, and most hair products are made to style you out of existence. Enter the Dyson Flyaway Attachment.
After years of burnt hair and even more unpredictable results, I discovered the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer when it was first released and it was revolutionary. My hair curled more consistently, and it almost masked the fact that my hair has 25 years of colour damage baked in. But, while my flyaways were visibly reduced, there were still plenty there, giving off mild electrocution vibes. That’s why I was excited when Dyson announced that all the attachments in the box had evolved based on customer feedback, and there was a new Flyaway Attachment.
First up, the main difference between the original diffuser and the recently updated one is that the teeth are slightly longer, which makes a huge difference to the way the air moves through the hair. Diffusers work by, well, diffusing the hot air over a larger hair surface in a more controlled way. It keeps curls in their natural shape, and you touch the diffuser directly against the hair, so having longer teeth means it can better get to the roots.
To test the updated diffuser, I washed my hair as normal, applied my same usual four styling products (colour protection, a curl enhancer, frizz smoother, and a moisturising balm) and then proceeded to dry using the usual flinging and scrunching method curly-haired folks would be used to.
The results were good. I didn’t quite get my usual ringlets, but that’s not entirely unexpected, given I’m well overdue for a haircut (thanks, lockdown). The newer model Supersonic seems mildly different to my older one, so I think next time instead of my usual fan setting 3 and heat setting 1, I might try having both settings at 2. But it’s still the silkiest and shiniest my hair has been in a long time, even better than with the old dryer and diffuser.
The Dyson digital motor V9 can go up to 110,000 rpm, so it’s got a lot of power, and each hair type will require that power be utilised in different ways. These ways will be a mystery to you until you go through a bit of trial and error, but Dyson has some handy videos on their website to give hints and nudge you in the right direction. Just remember that things like greys, dryness and colour damage will make your needs slightly different.
Still, though, there were a few flyaways. So, I spritzed my hair and tried the new Flyaway Attachment.
The new attachment looks like a pirate hook hand, and the way it works is that it pulls all the hair together and pushes the lighter flyaway hair to the back, making it look more even. It’s designed for straight hair, but is also recommended for curly and wavy hair. You run it down each section of hair, and it picks up the whole tress like a gentle vacuum and sorts it out for you. The technology is based on what you can find in the Airwrap styler, with a different purpose.
It definitely got rid of my flyaways, but also flattened my hair and made it more wavy than curly. This is probably something that requires practice and technique, and I’m sure that over time Dyson will release more videos showing exactly how to use the Flyaways Attachment on curly hair. For now, though, I’m a little disappointed that this really cool new innovation wasn’t instantly the answer I’ve been waiting for since grade prep picture day.
All up, I wholeheartedly recommend the Dyson Supersonic and updated diffuser for curly hair. It’s always given me the best results and has burnt my hair less than dryers from other brands. Yes, it’s very expensive at an RRP of $599, but it’s the answer you’ve been looking for. Besides, if you’re anything like me when I used to constantly buy new hair dryers in the quest for The One, it’s cheaper in the long run.
The Flyaway Attachment seems great for straight, and wavy hair. But it’s either not quite right for my kind of curly hair, or there is a technique I’m missing that will hopefully be put in a tutorial soon.
The Flyaway Attachment and updated diffuser are available separately now for $49-$99 each, or you can the whole hair dryer with all five included attachments for $599.