It’s a simple truth: where there’s a Dyson product, there’s a dupe. When the brand’s Supersonic hair dryer first released in 2016, it hit the market with a promise to reinvent what a blow dryer could be.
Seven years later, it’s clear that Dyson‘s beauty tech bet was more than a success. While it’s an impressive product, you might not need to pay upwards of $400 to get the home hair dry experience you’re looking for — especially during the Black Friday season.
What makes the Dyson Supersonic special?
The Supersonic first made waves because in typical Dyson fashion, of its upgraded, futuristic design to an everyday product.
Dyson is known for this aesthetic, but the sleek look also has a function. The ring-shaped head ditches the vented and coiled model of the traditional hair dryer and houses the tiny V9 motor in the handle. The combination of the V9 motor and the Air Multiplier technology makes for a dryer that clocks in at only 1.8 pounds, yet still delivers a powerful airflow that’s notably quieter than the roar of a traditional dryer.
To minimize damage, the Supersonic also measures the air temp up to 20 times per second and uses a built-in ionizer to minimize static and give the hair a sleek finish, which brings us to a quick ionizer science lesson. Ionizers are pretty common in higher-end air dryers. Why? Most work by blowing negative ions at wet hair to reduce static electricity by sealing the hair cuticle and taking down the power of that positive ionic charge (aka what’s causing that annoying frizz). As negative ions make contact with hair, they’re also dispersing the positive ions of water, therefore cutting down on your drying time and reducing damage in the process. Basically, it’s a good part of the reason the Dyson provides such quick and excellent results, and why ionizers will run you some more money — they do more than simply dry the hair.
Magnetic attachments designed to easily snap onto the blow dryer round out the futuristic feel of the Supersonic, with five included — a styling concentrator, a flyaway attachment, a diffuser, a gentle air attachment, and a wide tooth comb. It’s a nice array of included nozzles even for high-end dryers, which might typically include three to four attachments at the most.
Why is the Dyson Supersonic so expensive?
At $429, the overall package of the Supersonic is definitely an investment. However, you’re paying for a high-end motor that’s built to last, multiple heat settings to protect hair, an innovative design, and of course, the ionic tech. Other dryers from popular hot tool brands like T3, ghd, and Harry Josh boasting some similar features will run you anywhere from $150 to $350, but none quite capture the complete offerings of the Supersonic.
When we tested out the Supersonic ourselves, we found that it had a luxe feel that still makes it stand out from other hair dryers. Dyson also released an “affordable” version of the Supersonic, called the Supersonic Origin, earlier this year that retails for $399.99. At only about $30 cheaper, we think the price-to-feature ratio is actually a much worse value than just going for the regular Supersonic, unless you can grab the Origin on sale.
These Dyson vacuums, hair tools, and air purifiers are already on sale ahead of Black Friday
At the same time, there are definitely dupes out there that deliver incredibly similar features and elements of the performance at a much lower price.
What is the best dupe for the Dyson Supersonic?
There are a lot of options for luxury blow dryers out there and a lot of dupes that attempt to look like the Dyson but skimp out on quality.
While it’s not entirely feasible to find an exact one-to-one Supersonic experience for a fraction of the price, it is possible to find a dupe you’re more than satisfied with. The trick is to identify what exactly draws you to the Supersonic in the first place.
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If you’re into ring design, and the appeal of something lightweight, the Laifen Swift is a near replica, even in how the airflow sounds.
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If you like the idea of having a lot of attachments to customize your styling session, and still get a similar compact look, the Shark HyperAIR gets the job done.
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If money isn’t your biggest concern and you’re into a dryer that puts the tech in beauty tech, the Zuvi Halo is a strong choice.
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If what’s most appealing about getting a dupe is the whole saving a ton of money aspect, there are respectable hair dryers to be had under $100. We’re particular fans of the BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium dryer.
For a deeper dive on how each of these blow dryers performed and info on where to buy them, read on.
How we tested
I started the Supersonic dupe search by wading through the sea of listings with fake-sounding brand names and looked at hair dryers from established brands to select a pool of front runners that consumers seem to be interested in as Dyson dupes.
As of Nov. 2023, I’m hands-on testing the Zuvi Halo and will be updating my recommendations accordingly after I’ve spent more time with it. I’ll also be testing the new Shark SpeedStyle dryer for a future update of this story.
To determine the finalists, here’s what I considered:
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Design: Did the dupe look like the Supersonic, and if so, did that serve a function in being a lighter, more streamlined product? If the look seemed to be emulation for the sake of emulation, or seemed to outright sacrifice functionality, I passed.
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Reviews: I looked at how popular the product seemed to be, and how many legit reviews it seemed to have. If a product had 3.5 stars among 18 ratings, I skipped it for this round of testing. I was looking for what dryers people seemed to be flocking to as Supersonic alternatives, and what products were getting a lot of hype, so I could determine if the hype was worth it.
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Damage minimizing: One of the Supersonic’s biggest claims is getting you a better dry while providing less damage to your hair. It’s no secret that if you blast your hair with super high temperatures, it’s going to dry faster, but it’s terrible for your hair’s health. That’s why I kept my eye out for claims of damage-minimizing techniques — like automatic temperature regulating, customizable temperature controls, and ionic technology — to make my selections on what dryers to test.
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Other stand-out features: Though I didn’t hands-on test it for this round, the infrared light of the Zuvi Halo is what earned it a place on this list, as it was such a unique feature that I couldn’t ignore it. It captured the same innovative spirit of the Dyson.
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Potential product life: There’s not really a point in spending less on a dupe if you’re going to have to replace it way more often. I chose the product pool based on the idea that you would spend less on an alternative to the Supersonic and actually save money in the long run, rather than delaying the inevitable of dropping the cash on the quality product.
After picking my finalists, I got to testing. As mentioned in the article, I owned the BaBylissPRO prior to the testing period, so I used it a few more times to refresh my memory and affirm what my overall impressions of the dryer already were. As for the Laifen and Shark hair dryers, I used both regularly over the course of a month, allowing me to get a strong sense of what daily use felt like. I paid extra attention to how comfortable they were to use, which I personally wanted to reach for day to day, if they seemed to make good on their claims, and how my hair health felt after the course of the month.
The Zuvi Halo hair dryer was the only dryer I didn’t hands-on test, but based on extensive research of customer reviews, YouTube videos, and a look into how legit the tech behind it was, I decided it earned a spot on the list (as I mentioned above, I’m in the process of testing it to update our recommendations).
For a quick sense of what my hair is like: I have long, wavy hair that sits somewhere between a 2A and 2B pattern. I typically prefer to air dry as my hair is prone to dryness at the ends that can be exacerbated with regular heat styling. Though it’s wavy, it typically straightens easily and can hold a straight style for one to two days.