I was a teenager in the late-90s and 00s, when poker-straight locks were the look de rigueur. Despite relentless unkind comments about my ‘messy’ hair, I refused to straighten my curls into submission.
Besides, there was no way I was going to splash out on the first-wave of expensive straighteners and other hot styling gadgets, which would only damage and burn my hair and lead to even more frizziness.
However, thanks to advances in technology, in recent years there has been a focus on cutting-edge hairdryers and styling tools such as the Dyson Airwrap that promise to give salon results at home, while minimising damage to the tresses.
One of the newest gadgets in the lineup of 'swanky hair tech' is the Zuvi Halo hairdryer, which was released in 2022 and has already gained a rep as the ‘Tesla of hairdryers’.
The technology
The Zuvi Halo uses its patented LightCare technology, which combines infrared light with a gentle breeze to dry the hair. The company claims that it “mimics the natural evaporation of sunshine and wind”, which should dry the surface of the hair, leaving the inside of each strand more hydrated. More hydrated hair means less damage and frizziness, so the hair looks shinier and smoother.
According to the specs, all this tech means the hairdryer dries hair faster, operates at lower temperatures (43°C for the Zuvi Halo vs 60°C for standard dryers), and is more energy-efficient too (680W vs 1800W).
While we’re always looking for ways to save energy and money, in reality you’re unlikely to reap zillions of pounds of savings by using the Zuvi Halo. According to USwitch, a standard hairdryer costs a household around £23 a year to run, so you’d need to be using the Zuvi Halo for a long time for it to pay off its £329 price tag in energy savings.
So that’s the techy side out of the way, but how well does it work? And is it worth the eye-watering price?
What's in the box?
Straight out of the box, the Zuvi Halo is a stylish-looking device, with an elegant white finish and a faux leather textured handle, which makes it pleasantly grippy to hold. It comes with three attachments: a nozzle for styling and straightening, a gentle attachment for sensitive scalps and children, and a diffuser for curly hair. The attachments satisfyingly clip magnetically onto the hairdryer, so you don’t have to mess around with trying to screw them into place.
Using the Zuvi Halo
There are two buttons on the Zuvi Halo, a simple on/off switch, and then the mode selection. For the latter, you can choose between care (where a smart sensor controls the level of heat and air), fast (the strongest wind/heat level), soft (the lightest wind/heat level, great for children… or dogs) and style (to be used with the styling nozzle).
Once you’ve dried your hair, you can hold down the mode button to activate a cold burst of air to set your style. Helpfully, the attachments all come with a sticker telling you which mode to use them with.
When you switch it on, as well as the pleasant warm breeze, you get a green light illuminating from the hairdryer. It’s not too noisy – more whirry rather than growly – and as an aside, the sound didn’t annoy my dogs as much as my usual hairdryer!
It’s got a really long cable of 2.7 metres, which meant I could plug it in in my bedroom, and then dry my hair in the ensuite, where I had easy access to mirrors and styling products.
First off, I tried using the diffuser attachment to dry my hair in its usual curly style. In the interests of fairness, I used the exact same products I’d normally put on my hair.
While I wouldn’t say that it dried my hair exponentially faster than my usual hairdryer (the instructions do say that drying speed is compromised when using the attachments), it did dry my curls beautifully, giving them a shinier and less frizzy finish than I’m used to, and my hair felt softer too.
I then tried rough-drying my hair without any attachments, which was a super-speedy process, before using the nozzle and the ‘style’ setting to blowdry my hair straight.
Full disclaimer, this is the first time I’ve ever done this, and I don’t have the necessary lotions and potions to put on my hair to make it look super straight and smooth. I also do not have a set of straighteners to finish it off, so other people may have better results! Nonetheless, considering I am a complete novice at straight styles, it quickly dried my hair and left it looking shiny rather than parched and straw-like.
One slight annoyance I found was that the buttons on the Zuvi Halo’s handle were situated exactly where my fingers ended up gripping it, which meant I kept accidentally changing the modes while I was drying my hair. This is a minor gripe, though, and I soon adapted where I held the dryer to prevent this.
At just over 500g, it’s not too heavy either, so you don’t need arms like Arnie if you’re embarking on an intense hairstyling session!
Is the Zuvi Halo worth it?
I really enjoyed using the Zuvi Halo. Every curly-haired person out there is always desperately seeking ways to prevent their hair from going frizzy, and this added another tool to my armoury.
However, the Zuvi Halo is expensive. Yes, it’s a premium product with some clever tech under its nozzle, and it gives excellent results. Personally, though, I just couldn’t justify spending £329 on a hairdryer; I’d much rather pay that amount of money on climbing kit (I don’t wanna die), high-tech camping gear (I hate getting cold), or a snazzy kitchen gadget like the Sage Fast Slow Pro (I like to eat). But if you have the cash, or if you love giving the latest beauty gadgets a whirl, then I can really recommend it.
- Zuvi Halo hairdryer, £329, zuvilife.com
