At a Glance
Pros
- Energy efficient
- Fast
- Quiet
- Leaves hair shiny
Cons
- Expensive
- No choice of heat settings
Our Verdict
This is a premium product, with a commensurately high price tag, but its technology is impressive: it’s quiet, cool, fast and energy efficient.
Zuvi is a new name in hair care. The Chinese brand has appeared on the scene with a fresh, light-based approach to hair drying – albeit embodied in a somewhat familiar design.
Design and build
- Three attachments
- 150cm power cord
- 475g weight
The Zuvi Halo has an attractive, minimalist look, with a white body and silver bands and buttons. The handle has a textured, faux-leather grip that’s pleasant to hold and there’s a long (150cm approx), thick power cord attached. Altogether, it has high-quality, luxe feel.
It comes with three accessories which attach magnetically: a gentle air attachment for sensitive scalps, a diffuser for waves and curls, and a styling concentrator to straighten and shape.
The dryer is very light, weighing in at 475g (minus the cord and attachments). By comparison, the more traditional Revamp Progloss hair dryer weighs upwards of 600g (again, not counting its 3m long cord) and the Dyson Supersonic clocks in at 560g, according to our review.
Speaking of the the Supersonic, the Zuvi Halo has obviously taken inspiration from (or shamelessly copied) the iconic Dyson design, with its distinctive short nozzle and mallet-like form. This means it shares the same benefits: you can get it closer to your hair, move it around comfortably, and its weight is centred, so there’s less of a drag on your wrist when using it.
There are also similarities in terms of price point – although while the Zuvi Halo costs the same as the Supersonic in the UK, it’s considerably less expensive in the US ($349 versus $429.99).
However familiar the overall design, Zuvi’s product still has something new to offer when it comes to the technology that powers it.
Performance
- LightCare technology
- Four settings plus cool air
- Heats to 110°F (43°C)
The Zuvi Halo has a unique and very visible USP: it uses heat from light to dry hair. While traditional hair dryers heat up coils to produce hot air (and then waste a lot of it), Zuvi’s process is more energy efficient and kinder to hair.
The thinking behind it is that it works like sunlight and will efficiently dry off the surface of the hair shaft, while not drying out and damaging the inside. The result should be healthier strands, better colour retention for dyed hair, and a shinier finish.
Switch it on and the business end of the hair dryer, which ordinarily appears as mirror-like as a CD, glows green. The light has been UV filtered, by the way, so it’s safe to look at.
Zuvi reckons its product uses 60% less energy than an ordinary hair dryer: this is a huge benefit. It’s always the hope that newly engineered products will have a lower environmental impact than the technology they replace.
But, at a time when we’re all keeping a close eye on our electricity bills, can it actually save you money? If you’re in the UK, depending on your tariff, you could save 5p for every 10-minute blow drying session. That’s not an inconsiderable saving but the Zuvi Halo’s high initial price point means it’ll still take years to pay for itself in terms of reduced electricity bills.
The Halo has simple controls. There’s an On/Off switch and four settings you can toggle between using a single button: Care, Fast, Soft and Style. If you hold the button down, you’ll get a cool air option as well.
Inbuilt sensors will detect the ambient temperature and adjust, so that the air stream never gets too hot. The Zuvi Halo won’t ever heat up to more than 110°F (43°C).
There’s only one temperature setting. But it dries hair at a much lower temperature than the Dyson Supersonic, in spite of the latter’s multiple heat options (212°/ 100°C on fast; 176°F/ 80°C on regular; and 140°F/ 60°C on gentle).
What’s more, when we tested it, it dried hair much faster than a traditional hair dryer (five minutes instead of ten), although we believe this is around the same as the Supersonic.
And the effect on hair is noticeable. The brand quotes a lot of percentage figures (hair will be 38% shinier; 17% smoother and so on) that are impossible to check and therefore pretty much meaningless. The only real test we can stand by is whether it makes a visible difference in real life.
The answer is that it does. After using it, my hair didn’t feel as dry or flyaway as it usually does after drying. It was softer, shinier and easier to style.
The Zuvi Halo is a very quiet hair dryer, with a high-pitched hiss instead of the noisy growl of a traditional appliance. Plus, the targeted stream of air means that it doesn’t waste heat, get its user overheated and stressed, or blow hair around while drying it. It’s a much more relaxing experience.
In another improvement on the traditional hair dryer, it’s easy to clean: you can simply twist off the inlet cover to remove any hair or fluff that’s been sucked inside.
Price and availability
At the time of reviewing, the Halo is only available direct from Zuvi. It’s priced at £329 in the UK and $349 in the US. There’s no getting around the fact that this is an expensive appliance and you can get a high quality hair dryer with multiple heat settings for a third of the price.
If you’re deciding between the Zuvi Halo and the Supersonic, they cost the same in the UK, but price-wise the Zuvi is the better option in the US ($349 versus $429.99).
Verdict
While we can’t fail to notice that The Zuvi Halo has nicked a few ideas from Dyson, as Wilde’s aphorism has it: “genius steals”. And for our money, it might have bettered Dyson’s offering with a dryer that’s quieter, more energy-efficient and cooler on your hair.
This is a premium product, with a premium price tag. But if you have the budget, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
For more hair care options, have a look at our round-ups of the best hair dryers and the best hair straighteners we’ve tested.
Specs
Zuvi Halo: Specs
- Light care hair dryer
- 690W
- 150cm cord
- Four power settings
- Comes with three styling attachments
