Revamp Enigma Revelation Review: Powerful and Portable

Price When Reviewed

Not currently available in the US

We’ve tested some incredible hair care technology recently and Revamp’s new hair dryer, the Enigma Revelation, is one such product. It’s lightweight, compact and hugely powerful – and it looks very different to the dusty old hair dryer you might have hanging around at home.

Design & Build

• LCD display
• Foldable
• Lightweight

While the product name is more than a little over-the-top (what could possibly be enigmatic about a hair dryer?), its design is on point – and even a little revelatory. Everything about it feels high quality. It’s very much a luxury item, without the luxury price point.

The Revelation is a compact hair dryer with a tactile matt finish and a glossy band that houses the LCD display, elegantly showing its heat and power settings as segments of concentric circles.

Beneath the display are two buttons that allow you to cycle through the three speed settings and three heat settings. The button placement is well thought out – but only if you’re right-handed. Use it in your left hand and the buttons will be on the wrong side. The On/Off switch is further down on the hair dryer handle and accessible to all.

On the front of the grip, where your index finger falls, is the cool shot button. Press it and the red ring on the display is replaced by a blue one.

At around 360g (excluding the cord), it’s a lightweight hair dryer – around the same as the rival MD London Blow (see our review). But the Enigma has an advantage in the form of its swivelling handle which allows it to fold up into a more compact form for travel.

You’ll still have to account for the 3-metre cable, which – while it gives you plenty of room to manoeuvre during styling – bulks it up for travel and almost doubles its weight.

At the back of the hair dryer are its intake vents, covered with a chevron-patterned grille. If your current hair dryer smells like burning dust whenever you switch it on, you’ll be glad to hear that the end of this one twists off so you can easily clean its filter.

The Revelation comes with three styling nozzles that clip on magnetically: one is a diffuser and the other two provide different degrees of concentrated airflow.

Performance & Features

• Ionic jet
• 4 heat settings (including cool jet)
• 3 speed settings

Pick up this hair dryer and it feels light and comfortable to use.

The Enigma Revelation is an ionic hair dryer. It emits a steam of negatively charged ions, which should help to break down water droplets on strands of hair so you don’t need to use the hair dryer for as long or use as high a heat. This will help to protect the condition of your hair.

In practice, it’s hard for us to tell how effective the ionic technology is. And it’s similarly difficult to assess Revamp’s claim that the air vent grille at the front of the hair dryer is infused with keratin, coconut and argan oils to smooth your hair. Even if the oils are effective, will they wear away over time?

What we can say is that it is very powerful and can dry hair extremely quickly. Its air outlet is much smaller than that of a traditional hair dryer, so it’s easier to be precise when you’re drying and styling your hair. I found that it gave excellent results when hair was dried carefully, a segment at a time, using a concentrator nozzle.

The problem is that it’s so powerful, there’s a temptation to whack it up to its top speed and dry your hair messily and quickly. You can easily whip the dryer through your hair in a chaotic manner and have it done in a couple of minutes.

I’m lazy about hair styling and this is a habit I fell into, leaving me with some witchy, bird’s nest hair that could only be salvaged by wearing it in a bun. And never leaving the house. The issue is that the powerful, concentrated stream of air comes from a small venting aperture and can easily tangle hair, and lead to damage.

Still, if you have thick or curly hair, this will be much less of an issue. You’ll appreciate its range and the diffuser will help lift hair and protect your curls.

Price & Availability

Bear in mind that Revamp has produced two Enigma hair dryers. The other is the Precision, which is a little larger and pricier. You can see it on the Revamp site.

The Enigma Revelation has an RRP of £149.99 but it’s widely available for £129.99. You can buy it in the UK at this price from Boots, Sephora or direct from Revamp. Although it’s still a pricey styling tool, it’s by some margin the most budget-friendly luxury hair dryer we’ve tested.

It’s not yet available in the US, although you can buy a selection of styling tools from Revamp US.

Should I buy the Revamp Enigma Revelation hair dryer?

All in all, this is one of the best hair dryers we’ve tested. It’s perfectly portable without compromising on power and it has a build and features that rival luxury models – while costing considerably less.

To see how it compares to other models and see our top recommendations at all price points, have a look at our round-up of the best hair dryers we’ve tested. If you want to upgrade your whole styling kit, have a look at our round-up of the best straighteners as well.