How British innovation is heating up the hairdryer market

There’s a lot of hot air behind one growth sector of the economy – and that’s a good thing. ‘Hair technology’ – the gadgets that curl or straighten our locks – is one in which Britain leads the world, promising export growth.

We may not think much about it when we handle our tongs and dryers, but hair technology involves the skill and innovation of thousands of specialist engineers, who have worked on devices that heat air to precise temperatures using AI algorithms.

The rise of ‘hair technology’ is on full display in the newly revamped beauty salon of John Lewis’ flagship store on Oxford Street in central London.

Each of the biggest players – GHD (which stands for good hair day), Dyson and SharkNinja – has its own boutique.

Women looking for messy “beachy” waves or the bouncy blow-dryers from the ’80s Disney+ drama series Rivals can compare the competing products with their slick aesthetics and microchip-controlled heating systems.

Learn how to brandish a platinum hair straightener, the top-performing product in GHD’s portfolio, and the enviable mane on Netflix’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders can be yours. This series revived the 1980s and said: ‘the higher the hair, the closer to God’ – an aphorism that would undoubtedly be endorsed by Jeroen Temmerman, head of GHD.

He says “demonstration and education” – in other words, teaching customers how to use the tools – are key to sales, which reached $380m (£300m) globally in 2023.

The prices of the most popular hair technology products, which range from £90 to around £500, may raise eyebrows.

Dyson’s Airstrait costs £450, while the new GHD Duet Blowdry Dryer costs £389.

But Temmerman, 53, defends the price tags, saying, “It’s all about design and not price.”

The global hair technology industry, worth approximately $10 billion per year, is part of the broader $100 billion hair care, hair equipment and nail products market. But the hair technology industry is growing at double digit rates every year and Britain is leading the way.

The research behind a hair straightener or curling iron is anything but simple. Temmerman says it can take five to seven years for a new product to develop. GHD’s research laboratory outside Cambridge, which employs around 100 engineers, opened 21 years ago and now holds 117 patents.

The engineers work with materials scientists and physicists on every aspect of ‘thermal manipulation’ – styling hair using heat – such as eliminating ‘seize and drag’.

In fact, the company says hair stylers have been dropped the equivalent of 35,000 times to ensure they can withstand daily treatments.

Founded in 2001, GHD is also boosted by the research and development of its parent company, US hair care group Wella, which is majority owned by private equity giant KKR.

Another US group, SharkNinja, which made its name with vacuum cleaners, launched its Shark Beauty tools in 2021, while Dyson diversified into hair technology in 2016. The British company invested £500 million in that company two years ago and promises to launch £500 million in that company 20 years ago. new hair products by 2026, after research into every aspect of the hair, from ‘cortex to cuticle’.

The company is cutting jobs in Britain but still employs thousands of engineers at its campuses in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. SharkNinja has a research and development center at its UK headquarters at Battersea Power Station in South West London.

Surprisingly, the US – the country that has pioneered technology in every form from laptops to phones, not to mention being a world beater in big hair – is lagging behind when it comes to is about innovative haircut products. Temmerman explains that American women turn to the hairdresser more easily than their British counterparts, who tend to do more at home. Americans are also more wary of frizzing their hair with tongs or blow dryers that create too much heat.

Now he’s aiming to win America over with his range of hair straighteners and tongs that operate at a relatively modest temperature.

The boom in hair technology is based on the perception that expensive devices are not a luxury, but “an essential item,” as Temmerman puts it.

This was confirmed during the pandemic. In the early days of lockdown, it seemed for a while that people didn’t care what their hair looked like because they were stuck at home.

“But then we all started talking to each other via Teams or Zoom,” says Temmerman, “and she became really important.”