Apparatus and Method for Drying and Styling Hair A Tool That Dries and Shapes in One Pass

This patent describes a hair tool with two opposing arms that close around wet hair and both dry and style it in a single pass. It comes from Jemella Limited, the British company behind the ghd brand of hair styling products.

The Problem

Styling hair usually takes at least two steps and two devices. First a hair dryer removes the water, then a hair straightener or curling tool shapes the dried hair. Doing both in sequence is slow, and repeatedly heating hair once to dry it and again to style it adds to the thermal stress that leaves hair dry and damaged. Applying high heat to wet hair to shape it directly, on the other hand, risks the harsh, sudden moisture loss that can harm the hair shaft. The challenge is to combine drying and styling into one comfortable, controlled operation that shapes the hair as it dries without cooking it.

What This Invention Does

The apparatus has first and second mutually opposing arms that move between an open configuration, for receiving a length of wet hair between them, and a closed configuration next to the hair. When the arms close they form an inter-arm chamber around the hair. In that chamber the tool applies airflow and heat so the hair is dried while it is simultaneously held and shaped by the arms, letting a single pass take hair from wet to dried and styled. Because the hair is enclosed in the chamber as it dries, the device can control how heat and air reach it, shaping the hair gradually rather than through the abrupt, concentrated heat of pressing wet hair between hot plates. The result is a combined dry-and-style operation intended to be faster and gentler than using a separate dryer and straightener.

Key Features

• Opposing arms. Two mutually opposing arms open to receive wet hair and close around it to work.
• Inter-arm chamber. When closed, the arms form a chamber that encloses the length of hair being treated.
• Dry and style together. Airflow and heat dry the hair inside the chamber while the arms shape it in the same pass.
• Controlled heat delivery. Enclosing the hair lets the tool manage how heat and air reach it, aiming to reduce damage.
• Wet-to-styled workflow. The device takes hair from wet to dried and styled without switching tools.

Who Is Behind It

The applicant is Jemella Limited, a Leeds-based company that owns the ghd (good hair day) brand, a well-known maker of straighteners, dryers, and other styling tools. The named inventors include Liam Wright, Tim Hone, Adam Stone, and Ed Surridge. This filing is a divisional application from an earlier related Australian application.

Why It Matters

Hair styling is a large consumer market, and shoppers increasingly want tools that save time and cause less heat damage. A device that dries and styles in one enclosed pass targets both wants at once, which is exactly the kind of feature a premium styling brand builds a product around. Protecting the design in Australia supports the company’s range in a competitive consumer appliance category.

Related Concepts

• Hair dryer – the drying function this tool combines with styling.
• Hair iron – the styling tool this device aims to replace part of.
• Hair care – the broader routine the invention fits into.
• Home appliance – the consumer product category involved.
• Thermal comfort – the heat-transfer control the enclosed chamber provides.

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AU 2026202011 was published in the Australian Official Journal of Patents on 2 April 2026 and is open for public inspection. Patent applications represent inventions that are sought to be protected and do not necessarily reflect commercially available products.