This essay first appeared Wednesday, December 6, in The Strategist Beauty Brief, a weekly newsletter in which our beauty writers share their must-tries, can-skips, and can’t-live-withouts. But we liked it so much we wanted to share it with all of our readers. If you want more first impressions of buzzy launches, quick takes on what’s trending on TikTok and Instagram, and deep dives into the week’s best beauty launches, sign up here. The Strategist Beauty Brief is delivered every Wednesday.
Even as a beauty aficionado, I have little experience in hair. Usually, I shower in the early evening and let my hair air-dry before bed, and given my hair’s texture — fine, straight, and fairly fragile, so prone to breakage and shedding — I never got into the habit of hot tools. But recently, my schedule’s been more unpredictable, and early evening showers have turned to late-late nights, so I’ve been questioning my air-dry routine and looking at hair dryers.
The obvious choice for a gentle hair dryer is the Dyson Supersonic. Unlike blow-dryers with two settings — generally, hot and hotter — the Dyson is much less harsh on my fine hair and sensitive scalp. I’ve used it in spa locker rooms and very much enjoyed it; it made relatively little noise and dried my hair quickly, leaving it smooth and shiny. But I wasn’t going to cough up $500 for a hair dryer, especially since I’d only be reaching for it as a last resort rather than daily staple.
Then my colleague Lauren Ro dropped a link to the Zuvi Halo onto Slack, asking if anyone on our team had tried it. At first glance, it had the same streamlined, doughnut silhouette as the Dyson. But the Zuvi had a “LightCare” technology that caught my attention. Apparently, the Zuvi concentrates (invisible) infrared light into heat that gently dries just the outside of hair strands. Traditional dryers, like the Dyson and well-known Dyson dupe from Shark, use heated, high-speed air to dry out the strand; this, of course, is the goal, but if it’s too hot, it can cause damage. The energy from the Zuvi’s light source is absorbed by the water, which causes it to evaporate, rather than nuking the hair strand. The whole process is, according to the company, much gentler on hair than a traditional dryer — a crucial point for me and my fragile locks. No one on the team had even heard of the Zuvi before, so I gamely stepped up and called in a sample.
It arrived packaged in a sleek, Apple-esque box, along with three attachments: a styling concentrator, a diffuser, and a gentle air attachment that disperses the air to create a softer stream, all of which snap on magnetically with a satisfying click. Given my concerns about breakage and heat, but still wanting to see what this hair dryer could do, I started with that last attachment, paired with the “fast” drying setting — the strongest of the five settings. When I turned it on, the noise and airflow were about on par with the Dyson, but it was definitely quieter and less intense than other hair dryers I’ve encountered before.
In less than five minutes, my hair was almost all dry; just the ends were slightly damp. And I was struck that throughout the process, I never saw water steaming off my head and my hair never actually felt hot. And even though I didn’t use a drop of product, my hair had a smooth, sleek look to it — one that I’ve never achieved with simple air-drying.
I’ve continued using the Zuvi Halo for the last few weeks, and I haven’t noticed any breakage or frying of my ends, and my scalp hasn’t been irritated. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to the hair-dryer-phobes out there. I was you once, and I promise, this one’s different. I’ll likely continue to air-dry my hair the majority of the time, but sometimes you just need your hair to be dry in ten minutes rather than two hours so you can get to bed before midnight. This will do just that.
This article originally appeared in The Strategist Beauty Brief, a weekly newsletter from our beauty writers on their must-tries, can-skips, and can’t-live-withouts. Sign up here.
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