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Nearly a decade ago, Dyson revolutionized the hair care industry with their iconic and well-loved ring-shaped dryer — the Dyson Supersonic™. Now, Dyson engineers are once again prioritizing stylists’ needs with the launch of the Supersonic r™ — a professional hair dryer that pushes the boundaries of what is possible, weighing less than a bottle of hairspray.
The Tease spoke with Nathalie Moore, a Development Engineer for Dyson Beauty, to better understand Dyson’s commitment to diversifying and innovating tools to suit the needs of all hair types and textures, including the blow dryer. Scroll for our interview.
The Tease: Can you tell us about your career journey with Dyson and what your current role at the company entails?
Nathalie Moore: My Dyson journey started straight out of school when I joined Dyson’s first engineering apprenticeship program. There, I learned to create high-precision parts that would be used in our engineering prototypes. A year later, Dyson launched its own university, addressing the shortage of engineers in the UK, and I joined the first cohort of undergraduate engineers.
After 7 years at Dyson, I have worked across 11 teams, and I am now a design and development engineer for Beauty. In my role, I seek to understand the needs of users, transforming their frustrations and aspirations into design concepts that satisfy the hair care needs of consumers. I develop those ideas and test them to understand how we can bring them to life and further innovate in this space.
What’s it really like to be an engineer at Dyson, particularly as the company is constantly raising the bar with its newest innovations?
Moore: I was first drawn to Dyson because of the way they innovate — I wanted to learn from the minds that challenged convention. I enjoy that even though I have graduated from Dyson’s university, I am continually learning and evolving my ability to problem-solve. When you’re doing something for the first time and/or it hasn’t been done before, the challenge is to navigate the unknown. The trick is to maintain a curious mindset and fail fast to keep the learning curve sharp. When the problem I’m trying to solve gets complicated, I have bright peers who can share new insights or a fresh perspective — this usually does the trick.
What sort of research do you do in order to design and produce new technology solutions that satisfy the needs of diverse hair types and textures?
Moore: When we ideate, we combine our scientific knowledge with consumer insights to help us apply our creativity to find possible solutions. We then allow science and data to guide us in evolving our ideas. This includes creating different tests ourselves and involving our expert teams so that they can share their expertise. Once we are satisfied with the designs, we test them in user trials to narrow down options and measure the success of the idea. Our mission is “All Hair Types, All styles, Less Damage.” We continually seek out new information to improve our designs, including researching hair, which encompasses all hair types and textures.
When you are tasked with developing a new hair tool for Dyson, what constraints or requirements, if any, are you given? And what challenges do you often face when developing something new?
Moore: When tasked with developing a new hair tool for Dyson, we encounter varying design constraints and requirements based on the specific product. The more information we have, the better we can define the problem we are designing for. For example, when developing the Supersonic r™, we aimed for it to be lighter, faster, and even more usable in professional environments. Compared to the original Supersonic, it is 30% smaller, 20% lighter, and offers increased maneuverability during styling. Based on feedback, we improved the maintenance of the filter—it now provides stylists with an advanced warning to clean, and there is a buffer time before it requires cleaning. To maintain high performance, we recommend cleaning monthly. The biggest challenge when developing something new can sometimes be navigating the unknown, but this is also the most exciting part of the job.
How long does it generally take to develop and produce a new Dyson tool? And how far ahead do you typically start planning for the upcoming tools you’ll be working on?
Moore: Some tools take a little longer than others to develop, and it mostly comes down to the complexity of the problem. For example, attachments will typically take less time to develop than the main body of a machine. However, we are always challenging ourselves to solve problems others choose to ignore or to improve our products by understanding what we could do better, so the development timeline isn’t always linear.
What does the testing process look like for Dyson’s hair tools? How many prototypes do you generally go through when you’re testing or refining a product?
Moore: At Dyson, we take great pride in the testing we conduct on our machines. This includes various durability tests that you can often see in our videos, as well as more subtle assessments like acoustic or paint durability. For example, the Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer has undergone thousands of hours of testing, including drop testing, static load testing, user course testing, user trials, ingress testing, thermal testing, and performance testing. These rigorous tests ensure that our hair dryer is reliable and ready to be used by our shoppers. We also test our products in professional environments to assess their durability.
Tell us about some of the most exciting projects that you’ve worked on during your time at Dyson.
Moore: In my second year of university, I had the opportunity to work on the Dyson Electric car project, which was incredibly interesting. I was part of the Human-Machine Interface team, focusing on the seat choreography of the car. Essentially, this involved designing and defining seat movements to meet various use cases.
My final year project was very technical and quite futuristic — I learnt so much about product development from it. During those four months, I was developing the technology for an early hair care concept. I was surprised when it received an award at my graduation ceremony for its “contribution to Dyson technology.”
What emerging technologies or trends in hair care excite you the most right now, and how do you stay ahead in incorporating them into your work?
Moore: There are two trends I’m excited for, the first being the growing emphasis on healthy hair which is closely tied with the skincare and selfcare trends that continue to grow post-pandemic.
The growing emphasis on healthy hair is exciting to me. Which is closely tied to skincare and self-care trends that continue to gain momentum post-pandemic. People are increasingly aware of the importance of maintaining healthy hair, just as they do with their skin. As an engineer working on hair tools, I find this trend inspiring because it encourages us to create products that not only style hair effectively but also promotes its overall health.
Although not a trend, the natural hair movement is something that excites me to see in the haircare space. It is amazing to see people embracing their natural hair and texture. I’m excited to see the evolution of people breaking away from trends and embracing individuality and authenticity. I think this holds the potential to unlock even more creative style-expression through hair and I cannot wait to continue to be inspired by it.
Dyson’s latest innovation, the Dyson Supersonic r is available for salon professionals to purchase now. Click here to be among the first to get your hands on it! For more on Dyson’s professional hair care technology, be sure to follow the brand on Instagram.
