When the Hey Dewy Portable Facial Humidifier arrived in the mail, we had a lot of reasons to be excited, and a few to be skeptical. We knew it would be in demand for various reasons. But, a small USB-driven humidifier? Barely larger than a soda can? How could that possibly outperform the big plastic steam-belchers we’re used to, and which we’ve gone through several over the years?
A humidifier is a must in any home. Homes are dry by nature, especially during the winter and summer (if you keep the air conditioning on, that is). And, being largely water-based organisms as we are, we need moisture in order to ward off everything from dry skin to nosebleeds.
The Hey Dewy is a cool-mist humidifier, so it’s not the kind you would add a menthol oil to in order to thwart a cold or sore throat with medicated steam. Thankfully, cool-mist humidifiers are far quieter than their warm-steam brethren, and the portable nature of the Hey Dewy means all sorts of possibilities.
The Hey Dewy team gave us the chance to put their portable humidifier through its paces. We put this device before a jury of testers with various demands, and everyone was asked to be unsparing in their criticism.
So what did our testers think of the Hey Dewy?
THE TESTER: THE HEALTH-CONSCIOUS TEEN
First, we had to make our health-conscious and complexion-obsessed teen aware of the fact that the Hey Dewy is, in fact, not a facial steamer, which creates warm steam to open pores and give them a deep cleanse. Calling the Hey Dewy a “Face Moisturizer” is a tad confusing for anyone who associates steam with the spa-variety machines.
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The Hey Dewy’s facial benefits are all in the name: It’s a humidifier which alleviates dry skin and gives you a dewy complexion. Our teen tester followed the recommended use, making a 15-minute close encounter with the Hey Dewy part of her morning routine. In addition to helping keep dry skin at bay during a hot rainless week (which it did), just leaning in close to the Hey Dewy and inhaling the cool steam was refreshing. And the small size means the Hey Dewy will fit even on the crowded bathroom counter of a, well, health-conscious and complexion-obsessed teen.
The Verdict: PASS.
THE TESTER: THE NOSEBLEED KING
We’ve gone through more than our share of pillowcases thanks to the Nosebleed King. It’s not his fault — some people have nasal blood vessels that are closer to the surface and highly susceptible to cracking in dry air. We’ve used the warm-mist models in his room during dry weather and winter, but those will make a room swampy and humid, which combined with the usual foul laundry, strange snacks, and other features of a teenage boy’s bedroom, create a lethal aroma. The cool-mist models alleviate that problem, but again, they tend to be large.
The Hey Dewy was pressed into bedside-table duty for a week, and again its small size made such a location possible. We found that it delivered cool mist more directly than the large, floor-bound large do. This was Hew Dewy’s first long-run test, and we were skeptical that a unit so small could run overnight with such a small water capacity. And yet it did, for the entire 10 hours promised in the advertisements. Result? A nosebleed-free week, and no swampy stench-laden room.
THE VERDICT: PASS.
THE TESTER: THE WORK-FROM-HOME WARRIOR
Hey Dewy’s next week was spent in the confines of the home office, a small room which tends to either overheat or get too frosty depending on the season. Either way, not a room where you would want a warm-mist steamer fogging things up and making your electronic devices damp. And, again, a setting where the unobtrusive small size of the Hey Dewy came in very handy. In this case, it split time between sitting on the desk and on the bookshelf behind the desk. It runs absolutely silently, so no Zoom meetings were interrupted, and the 10-hour capacity was again clutch.
Our work warrior reported periodically leaning in for a few long breaths of cool steam to help destress. One shortcoming here? Our work warrior is also an essential oils fanatic, and the Hey Dewy specifically says it is not suitable for those. Overall? Hey Dewy proved to be a useful and welcome office companion.
THE VERDICT: PASS.
ON A ROAD TRIP
Hey Dewy’s marketing specifically extols its virtues as a car-friendly device. Being USB-powered, it easily plugs into any such power source in your car, and the size is tailor made for a cupholder. We took it on a seven-hour road trip, and this is where it shined brightest. A three-passenger car trip in August means blasting the AC. But the Hey Dewy kicks in with cool mist immediately, which in a hot car is akin to turning on one of those industrial-sized cool-mist machines you see in outdoor eateries and stadiums in hot-weather cities. The cooling effect was instant, and the Dewy did not fog up the windows at all. We scaled back the AC and let the Dewy pick up some of the cooling slack. Did we save gas? Probably a little. Was the Dewy’s cool mist more refreshing than the freon-generated AC? Considerably. It’s now a road-trip must-pack.
THE VERDICT: PASS.
IN THE HOTEL
Hotel HVACs are notoriously bad. Too hot, too cold, loud, and invariably bone-dry and a with that faintly odd whiff. Hey Dewy made the short trip from the car to the hotel room, got a refill from the complimentary bottle of water (tap works fine but distilled is better), plugged into the bedside USB port which virtually all hotels have now, and we deployed its night-light feature. The cool mist, even without any additive, helps alleviate that hotel whiff. The night light is a warm glow without being overpowering, which is helpful in the disorienting pitch-black of a hotel room after an exhausting drive. And what other humidifier could you possibly pack for a road trip?
THE VERDICT: PASS.
THE FINAL SCORE? A+
Hey, did we mention the Hey Dewy is only $39? We were expecting a unit as small and multi-useful as this, with its bespoke nature, would come with at least some price bloat. At this price, it’s an absolute steal.
You’ll find yourself using it throughout the house and beyond, and toting it from room to room, which is something you cannot do with a full-sized cool-mist humidifier. Refilling is a total cinch, and the solitary button controls the power and the night-light features easily. We put it through every pace and test imaginable, it passed them all with flying colors. Call this one a must-buy!
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