First off, let me say that if you have untroublesome hair,
I don’t think it’s worth spending a fortune on the newest
possible technology. Save your money (I recommend
BaByliss). If you have tricky hair, though — too much, too
little, too frizzy, too coarse, too thin, too fragile, too brittle,
coloured-for-decades, strawy, sparse — and can afford the
frankly astronomical prices at the upper end of the hairdryer
market, then there are developments you should be aware of.
So, a quick recap. Hairdryers dry your hair. That is the
whole hair, all the way through. That concept hasn’t changed
since they were invented: blast your hair with hot air and it
dries. The manner of the blasting goes, depending on what you use, from very basic all the
way to pretty sophisticated, so that the cheap and ancient hairdryer in the bedside drawer of
a bad hotel will give you worse hair (unless, as I say, your hair is completely normal and
unproblematic) than a hairdryer costing several hundred pounds. But the principle remains
the same: each hair is dried with hot air, all the way through.
Now, if you let your hair air-dry, what happens is that the air dries the outside of your hair,
but not the middle bit. The core of the hair stays nice and humid, ie hydrated. This is why so
many of us prefer air-drying: your hair is softer, more manageable, feels nicer and in better
condition, and is less likely to frizz. The problem with doing this is, obviously, that you can’t
style your hair while it’s air-drying: no blow-dries for you.
So now there’s a new hairdryer, called the Zuvi Halo, which does exactly the same thing. It
uses light technology to basically air-dry your hair via a hairdryer. You get all the benefits of
air-drying as listed above, but because it’s a hairdryer you can also whip out your round
brush and give yourself a proper blow-dry — add volume, smooth things out and so on.
I should mention that the Zuvi is extremely light (just over 500g), which makes this a lot
easier, though having four to six arms would be better still. The light-technology business
also means that the hair is not at any point blasted: the dryer manages to dry it at lower
temperatures than any other hairdryer. You know how sometimes a hairdresser will give you
a cold blast at the end to add a bit of shine and smoothness? This hairdryer does a low-level
version of that throughout the drying process. You are left with much softer, smoother, more
malleable hair that feels in significantly better nick.
Does it work? I was sceptical but, yes, it does. My tricky hair was smoother, shinier (like, a lot
— happier cuticles, I guess) and more controllable than I’ve ever managed to get it at home.
For the most part I wasn’t even fiddling with it, just pointing the nozzle in the general direction
of my head. The bad news is that the Zuvi Halo costs £329. I wouldn’t recommend something
so expensive if I didn’t feel it was worth it, but in this instance I really think it is if, as I say, your
hair is generally a pain and blow-drying at home always feels like it could go either way
(although at this price it really should come with a case for itself and its accessories). I should
mention that it works in five modes, including Soft for sensitive scalps and children, and
comes with a nozzle, diffuser and gentle air attachment. The manufacturer says using it also
preserves colour but I can’t vouch for that. Seriously impressive. ■ @indiaknightIndia Knight
INDIA LOVES
READ Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday £14.99) is the most charming,
life-enhancing novel I’ve read in ages. It’s funny, clever, slightly whimsical without being in
any way cutesy, and a perfect delight. It’s about Elizabeth Zott, a scientist who accidentally
becomes a TV cook in the early 1960s. Very strongly recommend.Would you spend £330 on a hairdryer? I would – this one
gives you that ‘just stepped out of a salon’ look
It uses light
technology
to basically
air-dry your
hair via a
Victoria Adamson hairdryer
The Sunday Times Style • 49