Zuvi Halo hair dryer review: premium style with mixed results ~ Ciwani Tech2

Zuvi Halo hair dryer: two-minute review

Once dubbed the 'Tesla of hair dryers', the Zuvi Halo has gained a cult following across social media, as well as winning multiple accolades from industry experts – including being named one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions.

Instead of relying on hot air to dry hair, the Zuvi Halo uses a combination of targeted air flow with 'safe infrared light energy' to dry the water on the hair's surface. Said to have been inspired by the way the sun evaporates rainwater, it promises to boost hair hydration by 109%, shine by more than a third, and hair strength by 9%.

The Halo offers five drying modes – Care, Fast, Soft, Style and Cool – and, depending on the mode you select, each adjusts the air speed and the intensity of the infrared light to suit different needs. For example, Fast prioritizes speed, while Care prioritizes hair health. Soft is best for people with sensitive scalps; the Style mode is designed to be used with Halo attachments, and Cool helps to set your style.

Zuvi Halo hair dryer with attachments — (Image credit: Future)

You can't manually adjust the heat or speed settings to suit your specific hair, and this limits the level of control you have. However, there are three attachments available for the Halo: a Styling Concentrator, a Diffuser and a Gentle Air attachment, which add a degree of control and versatility.

Making a decision over which mode to choose can be confusing; the Halo isn't as intuitive or easy to use as the majority of hair dryers. I always opted for the Fast mode because, for me, saving time is a priority. I found that my hair was frizzier and more unwieldy having used the Soft mode, and Care mode didn't dry as quickly as I'd like. Yet all of the modes were noticeably faster at drying my hair than with my regular Revlon One Plus, and my GHD Helios.

The plus side is that this cuts down on styling time, especially in the morning. The down side is that I seemingly had to sacrifice shine in order to benefit from the speed. I often had to resort to using straighteners to calm the frizz and flyaways. Aside from adding time to my routine, this counteracted the stated hair health benefits of using the Halo. The finish was also in stark contrast to the brand's claims.

That's not to say I wouldn't recommend the Zuvi Halo hair dryer. After three weeks of use, my hair health was noticeably improved. Once I'd become more familiar with the outcomes of the various modes, I valued the fact that I didn't have to mess around with different heat and speed settings. Plus, there's something novel and futuristic about the Halo dryer that sets it apart from the crowd, in a good way. In the many years I've been testing the best hair dryers, it's rare for a product to surprise me in the way the Halo did.

It's just a shame that all of this next-level technology pushes the price of the Halo beyond the reach of so many, in addition to the fact that, for the price, the Halo isn't perfect.

Zuvi Halo hair dryer review: price & availability

$349 / £329 for Halo + 3 attachments
$329 / £309 for Halo + 2 attachments

The Zuvi Halo is available in two bundles. You can buy the Zuvi Halo hair dryer plus all three attachments – the Diffuser, Styling Concentrator and the Gentle Air attachment – for $349 / £329. Alternatively, if you don't need the Diffuser, you can buy a smaller, two-nozzle bundle for $329 / £309. It's not possible to buy the hair dryer on its own.

Price-wise, the top-end Zuvi Halo bundle puts it on a par with the Dyson Supersonic. However, the Dyson ends up being better value for money because it ships with five attachments by default. This includes versions of the three attachments sold with the Zuvi Halo – Diffuser, Styling Concentrator, and Gentle Air attachment – plus a Wide-tooth Comb and Flyaway attachment.

The Halo is available in the UK, US, Canada and across Europe, and is sold directly from the Zuvi Life website. You can also buy it from Target in the US, and QVC in the UK.

Zuvi Halo hair dryer review: design

Four preset modes + Cool shot
Faux leather handle feels premium
Bulky attachments

If the price doesn't draw comparisons with the Dyson Supersonic, then design of the Zuvi Halo will – certainly at first glance. The Halo has a short, circular barrel and long handle. It measures 9.9 x 3.3 x 3.8 inches (254 x 84 x 98mm) and weighs 1.2lbs / 546g without any nozzles attached.

At the front of the barrel is an air outlet surrounded by a circular pane of glass, behind which sit the infrared LEDs. At the rear of the barrel is the filter inlet, which is positioned above the four main mode icons. These modes are:

Care: Balances speed with optimizing your hair health
Fast: Prioritizes speed
Soft: Reduces airflow and uses less light, for people with sensitive scalps
Style: For use only with the attachments – airflow plus direction and intensity of light adjusts according to the nozzle attached
Cool: Sets the style and adds shine

The Mode selection button and the Power switch sit further down the handle. Select a mode, and you'll see a small white LED light up below the corresponding button to show you it's currently selected.

As well as enabling you to toggle through the main modes, the Mode selection button also doubles up as Cool shot button on pressing and holding it. At the end of the handle is a 2.7m cord.

Unlike the majority of plastic dryers and stylers, the Halo is made largely from metal, with faux leather on the handle. This gives the hair dryer an extremely premium feel while also making it easy to grip. The white colorway and iridescent nature of the infrared lights also make the Zuvi Halo one of the most stylish hair dryers I've used.

Zuvi Halo hair dryer review: performance

Fast drying times
Difficult to determine the best mode
Mixed styling results

To test the Zuvi Halo, I trialled each mode in turn repeatedly for a month, taking note of the time it took the hair dryer to dry hair, the resulting smoothness and shine, and how hair felt overall after use.

Not surprisingly, the quickest mode was Fast mode – although it wasn't as speedy as I'd hoped. On this mode it took the hair dryer 5 minutes 50 seconds to take my long, thin, naturally wavy from wet to dry. And while my hair felt more voluminous than normal when drying with a hair dryer (as opposed to a hot brush), it felt rough and looked frizzy. In fact, my hair looks less frizzy when I let it dry naturally. A quick look at some online reviews has found that I'm in the minority in this regard; but since it was a common occurrence throughout my review period, rather than a one off, it could just be that this particular hair dryer just doesn't suit my hair.

Next up was Care mode. This produced a much better finish than Fast mode; my hair was smoother without losing volume, but it took almost 45 seconds longer to get my hair from wet to dry.

Soft mode lived up to its name, leaving my hair feeling soft and healthy; but again, frizz and flyaways were an issue, not to mention it took around 8 minutes to complete styling.

The Zuvi Halo's best results were in Style mode with the Styling Concentrator attached. It took slightly longer than Fast mode to style my hair – 6 minutes, on average – but the extra time paid off because my hair was left feeling both softer and smoother. The Diffuser worked well at setting my curls without leaving them looking frizzy. I didn't quite see the need for the Gentle Air attachment, though, considering the Soft mode adequately reduces both speed and temperature; it worked well, but seems unnecessary.

Close up of diffuser attachment on Zuvi Halo hair dryer — (Image credit: Future)

Although the Zuvi Halo hair dryer looks bulky, especially with the nozzles attached, it's surprisingly lightweight. In addition, the shorter barrel makes it easy to move around the head; even taking account of the longer drying times across the board, my arms never ached in use.

In terms of noise, the Zuvi Halo is one of the quietest hair dryers I've tried, even on Fast mode. The highest decibels it recorded throughout my review period was 78 decibels on Fast mode. I could easily hear my music, and have a conversation with my son while drying my hair, which is rare.

Ciwani Tech2

Sunday, April 7, 2024