Engineering Story

A 1,010-mile journey.
To understand the science of hair.

Damage can be invisible. But not to us.

“With our digital motor, we changed vacuuming, and then hand drying. Now we’re changing haircare.”

James Dyson Inventor

James Dyson comparing large, conventional motor with smaller Dyson digital motor V9

Five years. 103 engineers. 1,010 miles of hair.

To truly challenge conventional hair dryers, we needed to understand everything about hair, from cortex to cuticle and root to tip. Straight, wavy, coiled and curly, 1,010 miles of real hair went through our in-house labs. Only then could we understand the stresses of drying, the impact of brushing and effects of colours and chemicals.

The root of the problem.

We found that damaged hair doesn’t always look it. The effects of thermal, mechanical or chemical damage can take months to appear, whether it’s split ends, breakage, less shine or diminished style retention. Using extreme heat to style, like some conventional technology, can cause irreversible damage. Drying without it was key.

Powerful airflow.
Controlled heat.

Effective drying requires a combination of heat and air. The combination of Intelligent Heat Control and the powerful Dyson digital motor V9 enabled us to dry hair fast without exposing hair to extreme heat.

Fail. Fail again. Fail better.

Over the five years of development, we built 600 prototypes. 599 of them were failures. But each one taught us something: how we could make it better. At times, we had to go back to the drawing board. But every iteration was an improvement. Every prototype was closer to being an invention.

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Engineering Story

A 1,010-mile journey.
To understand the science of hair.

Damage can be invisible. But not to us.

“With our digital motor, we changed vacuuming, and then hand drying. Now we’re changing haircare.”