Dyson's next hair innovation goes beyond the famous hairdryers

LONDON — James Dyson has taken his technological innovations into homes, hair salons and grocery stores, but his next project is his biggest challenge yet: bringing hair styling products to market.

Chitosan is the name of a collection of four types of pre-style cream for straight, wavy, curly and frizzy hair and a post-style serum based on chitosan from oyster mushrooms.

Dyson argues that its latest product, like all its other products, is technology.

“We have this [products] and have been studying hair science for a long time. We wanted something that would [hair]Style with a natural look that is soft and silky, not the kind of crunchy thing [that’s out on shelves]he said in an interview from the Dyson site in Malmesbury, a small town in southwest England.

Dyson is 77 years old and owns a billion-dollar empire. His hair is still important to him. He gets his hair cut by British celebrity hairdresser and salon owner Larry King.

The chitosan products have the consistency of a hand cream that is absorbed into the hair and hands without leaving behind a dirty slime.

The bottles are refillable and feature a pump function that releases 0.22ml each time. The products cost £49 for the full-size bottles and £44 for the refill. They are designed to be used in combination with Dyson hair care tools, but can also be used on their own.

“The aim is to bring new members into the Dyson family and [introduce] People who don't necessarily use our devices. This is an entry point for them to get to know the world of Dyson,” said Justina Mejia-Montane, global head of product innovation and packaging development at Dyson's beauty division.

In 2012, Dyson invested £50 million to develop its first hair care device – a process that took four years. Since then, the company has hired Kathleen Pierce, a former senior vice president of global transformation and channel innovation at Estée Lauder Cos., to lead Dyson's beauty division as president in November 2022.

“For some people, entering this business may be quite a disruption, but for us it’s kind of a natural extension,” Pierce said.

She is aware that the launch will make Dyson an outsider in a saturated market.

“Being outsiders is our comfort zone, we feel comfortable in this space. This product is very well thought out and targets different hair types. At Dyson we have the opportunity to test piece by piece in the laboratory and [bring] these parts together and immediately subject them to an endurance test,” she added.

Five years ago, Dyson conducted a global hair health survey internally to better understand what issues needed to be addressed. This survey was then developed in collaboration with the company's engineers and the Dyson community of ambassadors and experts.

It has been a busy year for Dyson so far.

In February, the British technology brand unveiled its latest innovation – the Supersonic r.

It's an evolution of the brand's Dyson Supersonic hairdryer, which launched in 2016, but this model comes with a catch: it's only intended for professionals, including celebrity hairdressers and salon owners.

The shape has also changed, from a dryer that looks like a lollipop to something more like a lowercase “r.”