I tried Pattern Beauty's blow dryer for curly hair, and these are my honest thoughts
When Pattern Beauty first launched, I happened to be in Chicago. So, I hauled my carcass to the nearest Ulta, swept the shelves clean and packed my luggage full to the brim with the range. I was obsessed. Fast forward to 2022, and with Pattern Beauty finally launching in the UK, I no longer need to worry about a return flight to the US for top-ups.
When launching in the UK – you can find it at Boots, as well as on Cult Beauty and Lookfantastic – I was lucky enough to attend an event where brand founder Tracee Ellis Ross herself came over to introduce the range. And if I wasn’t already sold, listening to the passion and process of her creating the range was so enlightening – there was one clear thing: Ms Ross cares about our curls and coils.
This is why news of her latest launch threw me. A blow-dryer? From Pattern Beauty? A brand that advocates for healthy, thriving curly and coily hair. It felt a bit jarring. But Tracee explains it plainly: “I have long wanted to reframe our community’s relationship with heat".
She adds: "Through education, nurturing my pattern with ingredients and formulas, I realised that when used correctly heat could unlock endless possibilities.” It’s something that I certainly stand by when it comes to my relationship with my texture.
My hair is natural (not relaxed but has been texture released, which is a semi-permanent curl loosening treatment) but I choose to heat style it to wear it how I want week-by-week. I love the versatility my texture allows me but I’d be lying if I said that using heat on it regularly hasn’t negatively affected my curl pattern and texture.
For the launch, Tracee said that her dream was to “create heat tools that can both honour your pattern and access all the possibilities of our hair without damaging it”. I’m not sure if that is actually possible but everything that Pattern Beauty turns its hand to has been pretty great, so I was looking forward to testing it out myself. Here are my thoughts...
The Pattern Beauty Blow Dry: The Deets
Firstly, this is the chicest hairdryer I have ever held – and I own the Dyson Supersonic. It’s a stunning matte mustard hue and feels sturdy, if a little heavy. It's easy to manoeuvre, which is even more important when working with textured hair that can often take longer to dry. In the box, you also get four attachments.
The Diffuser
Of course, they were going to create an incredible diffuser. This one’s made of an aluminium plate that radiates heat to help dry curls quicker. It has ventilated prongs that sit in what the brand calls a ‘vortex’ shape for airflow to gently dry curls and coils.
The Wide Tooth Comb
This wide-tooth comb attachment mimics the design of Pattern’s Wide Tooth Comb. It’s different to any other afro hair attachment I’ve tried as the spaces between the teeth are wider, allowing for gentler detangling.
The Brush
IMO, this is the most innovative attachment and it feels a bit weird that I haven’t used something like this before. The brush is based on Pattern’s famous Shower Brush, and the bristles detangle and smooth hair while effortlessly drying it.
The Concentrator Nozzle
This is the “traditional’ nozzle you’ll see that comes with most hairdryers and can help to achieve a salon-style blow-dry at home, thanks to the focused airflow.
Also, alongside the dryer launch, Pattern has dropped two new products that fit perfectly into your drying routine: a heat protectant and a shine spray to further protect curls while you style.
Is the Pattern Beauty Blow Dryer worth the money?
As someone that is more than attached to her Dyson Supersonic, this dryer has given it some heavy competition. It’s basically half the price at £156 ($189) and dried it just as well. In all honesty, this dryer won me over with the brush attachment. I am obsessed with it. I cannot stop telling people about it. I could write a symphony about it. Seriously, why hasn’t it been done like this before?
My preferred way of using the tool is to first use the wide-tooth comb attachment section-by-section, and then move to the brush on the highest heat setting. I think the combo made for a great base for my silk press. As for the settings, there are three speed options, while for heat, it has two heat settings, plus a cold shot button. The dryer doesn’t get as hot as some hairdryers I’ve tried but that’s where the damage prevention comes in because using a lower heat is going to ensure curls and coils aren’t damaged irreversibly when you use it.
Additionally, the power took me by surprise. Having scoped other reviews, I noticed a couple commented on the lack of power, but I found it overwhelming. Though, I’m wondering if it’s because I’m used to UK manufacturers and the low but powerful airflow of the likes of the Dyson? The Jury is still out.
The ion setting is supposed to help with smoothing, but I didn’t notice a huge difference between the sections where I used and didn’t use it. I love the fact that you only need to hit the cold shot button once to lock it, but it didn’t get very cool very quickly, despite this, my finished style stayed put until my rigorous boxing class many days later and even then, I was able to stretch my roots back out with my beloved brush attachment pretty quickly.
For Pattern Beauty's first foray into electricals, I’m really impressed. While continue use of heat will always have an impact on textured hair, this dryer does make you feel like you’re heat-styling more consciously and for that, it’s earned a permanent spot in my tool kit.
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