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Dyson has unveiled the world's first "supersonic" hairdryer, which the U.K. firm says is quieter, more powerful and less damaging to hair than traditional hairdryers.
The Dyson Supersonic took four years and £50 million ($73 million) to develop, as well as more than 1,000 miles of human hair in testing.
The device borrows technology from Dyson's range of bladeless fans and hand dryers, fitting a compact V9 motor into the hairdryer's handle and leaving its head hollow.
"Hairdryers can be heavy, inefficient and make a racket," said the company's founder James Dyson. "By looking at them further we realized that they can also cause extreme heat damage to hair.
"I challenged Dyson engineers to really understand the science of hair and develop our version of a hairdryer, which we think solves these problems."
It is Dyson's first foray into personal care products and will be aimed at both consumers and haircare professionals. Its £299 ($440) price tag is justified, according to Dyson, by the fact that it does not damage hair through overheating.
A maximum heat setting of 90 degrees Celsius (194 degrees Fahrenheit) means that hair protein is not damaged, while the hairdryer's hollow design means it does not collect dust and trap hair in the way that rival devices might.
The 13 blades of the V9 motor spin at 110,000 rpm, a supersonic frequency above the range of human hearing, meaning it appears quieter than less powerful devices.
The Dyson Supersonic also comes with three airflow settings, four heat settings and various magnetic attachments for different styles and hair types. The Supersonic will launch in Asia initially, before rolling out across Europe and the U.S. later this year.