Two Years With a Dyson Supersonic
Heavy, expensive, and still on the bathroom counter.
How this piece was assessed
- Format
- Long-term review
- Reviewed by
- Sasha Wren — Editor, Beauty
- Evaluation
- Real-world use over months or years. Hearthline does not lab-test or instrument-bench products. Read our methodology.
- Review date
- 8 March 2024
- Last reviewed
- 2026-04-18
Hair dryers do not look like a category that needed reinvention. They were due one.
Two years in our reviewer's bathroom, the Supersonic has held up.
We first published this piece in March 2024 and have revisited the recommendation through 2026-04-18. What follows reflects what survived that review window — the observations we still stand behind, the caveats worth knowing before purchase, and the small ways the piece has aged in ordinary use.
The summary
The Dyson Supersonic is overpriced relative to its category. It is also, after two years, the only hair dryer we don't regret recommending.
In its favour
- Heat regulation is genuinely gentler on fine hair.
- Magnetic attachments are intuitive after a week.
- Filter is user-cleanable.
Where it falls short
- Weight is real and present.
- Cord position is awkward for left-handed users.
- Price is offensive.
Who it's for
- — Households drying long or fine hair daily.
- — Anyone whose previous dryer overheated their hair.
Who should skip it
- — You dry hair occasionally and can afford to wait two years for the price to fall.
Buying guidance
- Buy refurbished where available — the warranty is essentially the same.
- Clean the filter monthly; performance falls noticeably with dust.
- Skip the third-party accessory market.
- Plan for the trade-off most new owners only notice in the second month: weight is real and present. It is workable, but it is easier to design around at the point of purchase than to discover afterwards.
- Take the second caveat above seriously when comparing across price tiers — cord position is awkward for left-handed users. The cheaper alternatives in the category usually share the same limitation, so paying more rarely solves it.
Alternatives we considered
Shark HyperAIR
Cheaper, lighter, slightly noisier.
Dyson Supersonic Refurbished
Same product, often half the price.
Reader questions
- Is it really that much gentler?
- Across our test panel, yes — particularly on bleached and chemically treated hair.
- How does Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer hold up over time?
- 2 years of ownership has produced no failures we would consider disqualifying. The wear patterns are visible — that is true of anything used daily — but the piece continues to do the work we bought it for. We last revisited the recommendation on 2026-04-18, and the verdict held.
- What maintenance does it actually need?
- Most of the upkeep is preventative rather than corrective. Follow the manufacturer's care notes for the first six months; after that, the routine you settle into matters more than the one printed on the box. The "Where it falls short" column above flags the specific points worth being attentive to.
- Is it worth the price compared with cheaper options?
- Sometimes. The alternatives section above lists the genuine contenders, not lookalikes. The cheaper options are not bad — they are different trade-offs. If the strengths in the "In its favour" column matter to your use, the price gap is usually justified; if they do not, the cheaper alternative is the right call.
Editorial verdict
Buy refurbished, treat it well, and it will outlast three regular dryers.
Update history
- 2026-04-18Reviewer revisited the recommendation against current alternatives; the verdict held with minor copy refinements.
- 2026-04-10Editorial maintenance pass: cross-checked alternatives for stock status, validated FAQ against current reader correspondence, and re-confirmed recommendation with the desk editor.
- 2025-03-28Short check-in revisit; no changes to the verdict, two minor copy corrections logged.
- 2024-03-08Initial publication after the reviewer's testing window concluded.
Written by
Sasha WrenEditor, Beauty
Sasha covered beauty for a national newspaper for nine years. She prefers formulations over branding and writes about skincare and haircare without the breathless tone.
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