This blow dryer is the best thing I bought this year, and it has rendered my straightening iron useless

Let’s get this out of the way right here at the beginning: I know how absurd it is to spend over $300 on a blow dryer. Which is why for two years, I resisted the urge to try the Dyson Supersonic, rolling my eyes at the people who told me it changed their lives thinking, “It’s a blow dryer—how great can it really be?”

Welp, I’m here to (reluctantly) tell you: It really is that great, and worth the hefty price tag.

I tried the Dyson Supersonic ($330) for the first time this year at the behest of famed celebrity hairstylist Jon Reyman, who (like so many other people) told me the dryer would change my life. Turns out, he was right. The dryer, equipped with its new wide-tooth comb attachment, is honestly the best thing I’ve ever done for my hair.

Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer with Attachments — $330.00

$330, originally $430

The Dyson Supersonic has become a sort of unicorn in the beauty world—even if you haven’t tried one for yourself, you’ve likely heard someone bragging about how magical it is. When it came out in 2016, its technology was touted as above and beyond anything the haircare world had ever seen before, and it wasn’t an exaggeration. There are a number of features that set the Dyson apart from every other dryer on the market: The motor is teeny-tiny, and located in the handle of the dryer to help you avoid mid-styling shoulder soreness; it’s quiet enough that it won’t wake your roommate/partner when you’re giving yourself an early-morning blowout; and thanks to some serious feats in engineering involving the perfect proportion of controlled airflow, it gets the job done in half the time. It also has easy-to-use attachments—including the comb that I use every day—which lock into the dryer to help you achieve whatever style you’re going for.

“It has its heat protector—[a sensor that] reads the hair heat up to 60 times a second, to make sure it never goes above a 212°F, so it will never cause heat damage to the hair,” says Reyman, who also loves that the dryer is “lightweight” and, in his words, “so pretty.”

The comb attachment that I love, he says, is “genius” and “unlike anything on the market.”

“They designed it so that the hair slips through it, so you’re maintaining the integrity of the hair and minimizing breakage,” he says, noting that it works on all hair types. “It was designed to take coily hair and stretch it out to get it ready for its final smoothing, but it works great for curly hair and wavy hair, or even straight hair to instill some volume. It’s a great way to get the hair straight and smooth while still keeping some body to it.”

As someone who has gone to great lengths to master the art of the blowout—earlier this year, I even went and took a professional lesson on the subject—I’ve never gotten good enough to fully break up with my straightening iron habit. Which means that every time I style my hair, my strands are getting a double dose of heat damage. The result? Dry, frazzled hair that requires a whole lot of smoothing serums to make it look even remotely normal. But with the Dyson, it takes 12 minutes for me to achieve a smooth, professional-level blowout, no straightener or serum (aside from heat protectant, of course) required. I don’t even have to use a brush, since the comb attachment detangles my hair while the dryer blasts it with (temperature-controlled) heat.

So, yes—400 is a ridiculous number of dollars to drop on anything aside from rent (and maybe the leather boots I’ve been eyeing since September). But considering it’s going to help me delay my cut and color for a few extra months because of how healthy it keeps my hair, I’d say it just might be worth it.

Hair feeling dry? These are the products our readers swear by for replenishing dehydrated strands. And if those won’t do it, you may want to try a product elimination diet.