[Herald Interview] Dyson engineer stresses potential of Korean hair care market

South Korean consumers' daily self-grooming routines make Korea an attractive market for Dyson, a hair care engineer from the UK consumer electronics giant told The Korea Herald during an interview held in Seoul, Thursday.

"We conduct a lot of user trials and make sure we have Korea, one of our key markets, for those trials -- so that whenever we develop (technical specifications) they are tailored to what was successful during trials held in Korea," said Will Kerr, the director of product programs in the hair care sector at Dyson.

Kerr was visiting Seoul to attend the launching event of the Dyson Airstrait straightener, the newest addition to the brand’s haircare range, which hit the Korean shelves in the day.

"The Dyson Corrale hair straightener, which was the last hair straightener launched in Korea before this, straightened hair via pressing hair tresses between heated plates. Such a method allowed for very straight hair, but it provided relatively less volume," Kerr said.

"While that's a desirable style for some, Korean consumers tend to aim for a more natural look," he said, adding that the Dyson Airstrait straightener will provide Korean consumers with a nice alternative.

According to Dyson Korea, the newly launched hair straightener was incorporated with the company's state-of-the-art technology to have strong jets of air projected through apertures of the two arms at a 45-degree angle. The wind, generated by Dyson’s Hyperdymium motor -- which spins up to 106,000 revolutions per minute to project more than 11.9 liters of wind per second -- creates a downward airflow to straighten hair as it dries it.

With the new product launch, the Dyson engineer highlighted the potential Korea bears for Dyson’s hair care business, citing a 2022 survey that found Koreans tend to wash their hair more often than the global standard.

According to the survey, 65 percent of Koreans responded that they wash their hair every day, compared to only 38 percent of respondents who do so worldwide.

In addition, 58 percent of Korean respondents said they use hair dryers every day, compared to the global average of 38 percent.

In consideration of Korea's strong demand for hair care, Kerr said the new Dyson straightener will provide an especially satisfactory experience to Korean consumers.

He added that by continuously launching state-of-the-art hair care appliances, Dyson will strive to understand different hair types around the world and develop new research spaces to further Dyson's own beauty technology.

In December last year, Dyson announced that it would invest 500 million pounds ($616 million) to expand research and technology development for its beauty sector. Under a goal to launch a total of 20 new products by 2026, Dyson has unveiled a total of four new products including the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, Dyson Corral hair straightener and Dyson Airwrap multi-styler for its hair care product lineups this year.

The latest product, the Dyson Airstrait straightener, will be sold at Dyson Korea's official website and at the brand's offline stores nationwide for 599,900 won ($447). Consumers will be offered a 30-day free trial period to try the product.