Lisa Armstrong

Hair type: Super-fine. Not that there’s anything else super about it.

Normal drying time: The hairdresser takes about 20 minutes. Dyson drying time: Eight minutes Overall impression: I wasn’t looking to speed up my drying time, since it was already short enough to make styling my hair before it was completely dry a challenge, but I was drawn to the healthier hair promises. I like the weight and design of the Dyson and the magnetic attachments that stay in place come what may.

Hairdressers always tell you to hold your dryer at arm’s length above your head: the lightness and shape of the Dyson means you can do it without your arm aching. It’s clearly less damaging, with none of the suspicious singeing aromas I normally encounter. That’s a big boost, especially on my baby hair. It’s also significantly quieter. I can now dry and listen to the radio.

Hot hair-drying tips: Akin gave me the best (chin-length) bob-drying tips I’ve ever had: hold dryer a reasonable distance from your crown and rough dry your hair forward using your hands. When it’s 90 per cent dry, dry from the front, again using your hands to smooth your hair backwards, following the shape of your head. Repeat drying from the crown again for a minute or so until completely dry. Finished results are sleek and frizzfree but natural-looking without the dreaded Mayfair-madam root-lift and minus the Eighties curled-under ends.

Normally I’d have used straighteners to achieve this after using the dryer, with dubious, flattening effects. For extra volume

‘The moment I picked up my old hairdryer, my heart sank’

or glossiness, Akin recommends a small YS Park pure boar bristle or mixed bristle brush (about 65/70mm diameter) to finish, £36-£180, scissorscraft.co.uk. Most of the time, though, there’s no need. When it comes to fine hair, it turns out your hands are the most sophisticated tooling device out there.

Life-changing? Actually, yes. Apart from for special events, my weekly salon blow-dries are a thing of the past.