With hairstyling tools popping up every now and then and offering a head-spinning number of functions, I always wonder if that’s the perfect tool for my tresses. I normally comb through hundreds of customer reviews and watch hours of bloggers ranting on about the new tool, wishing it was all in one place for me to read and watch. Preferably condensed.
So when Dyson marketed their Airstrait straightener, I rolled up my sleeves to find out whether it was worth the hype.
@dysonbeauty
In the intro video on their website, Dyson Airstrait promises to dry and straighten from wet, saving time and creating natural straight styles. Wet-to-dry straighteners are labeled “New” in their line-up of products and claim to use pioneering technology with no hot plates and no heat damage. With a footnote in tiny font that this is true when used in wet-to-dry mode.
There are two ways you can go to change the way your hair is shaped – you can start with wet hair and use a blow dryer and a brush or you can use a tool with hot plates on dry hair. According to their website, Dyson Airstrait is meant to simplify your hairstyling routine by cutting out rough drying, as your hair dries and straightens at the same time.
After you towel dry your hair, pre-dry the roots and run the device through sections of hair to dry and straighten. The strands pass between two arms that use “high-pressure airflow to straighten hair as it dries.” Unlike with a blow drier, with Dyson Airstrait sheets of hot air come on either side of the strand. Because the jets are pointed downwards, they prevent frizz and flyaways and it results in a really smooth and straight style.
While Dyson Airstrait is primarily supposed to be used on wet hair, you can still use it on dry hair to touch up and refresh your style between shampoos. Simply opt for the Dry mode and pick from the preset temperatures, considering your hair type and desired hairstyle.
This device comes in two distinctive color combinations – Prussian Blue/Rich Copper and Nickel/Copper – and has two modes with three speeds and three heat settings of 175°F, 230°F, and 285°F, which are displayed on an LCD screen. Dyson Airstrait comes with a non-slip heat mat so you can focus on perfecting your hair without worrying about your tool sliding off the counter.
Although it is lightweight (around two pounds!) it is extremely powerful with 1,600W. It definitely won’t leave you feeling like you’ve just done a weight-lifting session in a gym! Dyson Airstrait also boasts an auto shut-down feature, preventing any “did I turn it off?” panic attacks.
Hairstylist and YouTuber Brad Mondo rolled out his non-sponsored review of Dyson Airstrait. He admits that this “straightener-slash-blow-dryer thing” looks and seems cool but is hesitant whether it is worth its price of $500. He raves about the long cord and ergonomic buttons that won’t be pushed by accident when you are using the straightener.
He goes on to try Dyson Airstrait on mannequins with straight and curly hair. He uses his regular hair products and sticks to his typical hairstyling routine. On color-treated straight hair with a slight wave pattern to it, the results were impressive. It only took three passes to get a flat-ironed finish. You can also create a bevel in your hair by bending the strands toward the face like you would do with a flat iron.
With curly hair, he notices the roots need more tension to straighten. The final result didn’t look flat-ironed, but rather a “puffy, natural, straight look.” Even with hair oil and a boost setting, Brad claims he could get it to look straighter with a brush and a blow dryer.
And although Brad wonders how the heat of 285°F can be NOT damaging for hair, he admits that you do a lot fewer passes when you blow-dry and straighten simultaneously and there’s less tension on the strands than with traditional hot styling tools.
He praises the straightener for being quieter than a standard blow dryer, user-friendly, equipped with an automatic shut-off feature, and offering a simple one-step process. He mentions drawbacks such as the high price, limited to a single function, and less effectiveness together with a lengthy process for straightening curly or textured hair.
Milabu, a beauty enthusiast who is famous for her hairstyling tutorials, makes a Dyson Airstraight vs Dyson Airwrap side-by-side comparison. In her video, she styles the right side of her hair with Dyson Airstraight and the left side with Dyson Airwrap with a smoothing brush, with the highest heat settings and highest airflow for both.
She emphasizes that both tools have a blow dryer option for pre-drying roots for those with thick or coarse hair. After clocking up time, she notes that drying hair with Airwrap was faster but she would need to use a hair straightener on that side to match the results to Airstrait. “But if I’m going for that very sleek, straight, smooth result, Airstrait beats it out,” Milabu admits.
She recommends Dyson Airstrait for those who are looking for a hair dryer and a straightener in one. The beauty blogger reminds us that you can use it on dry hair to refresh your look the next day, to add that sleekness to your hair.
As with any other product, the range of reviews is extensive. From excited “how could I live without it!” to “totally useless.”
“My hair is such a pain. I had to dry it with a round brush and then to keep the frizz out, flat iron it. It was never perfectly straight, and hard to manage so I always add some curl back into it. I had no hope this would work but decided I could always return it. Price scared me away for a long time too. But after not being able to fall asleep late one night, I got courageous! And man I’m glad I did. This blew me away. My issue with overusing heat tools to achieve an acceptable result is done. This tool does it all in one and does it better. And I can get close to my skin because there are no scalding plates to burn me. My hair looks amazing. Even my boyfriend was blown away and you KNOW men hardly notice anything of this nature. Soft, straight, and healthy – not damaged. 2000 out of 10.” – Victoria A Cartledge.
“In my wildest dreams, I never thought a device like this would be available. The Dyson Airstrait is so, so good. It’s a game-changer. I have very curly hair. It’s so curly like I look plugged into electricity. I’ve been blowdrying and straightening my hair for decades. My hair was so damaged (despite always buying top-of-the-line hair tools) so, for the last year, I’ve been mostly wearing it back. I wasn’t feeling cute and then…ta da…my stylist recommends the Dyson Airstrait! It’s amazing. It is 100% a hair dryer and straightener in one tool!!! I use it on my wet product-filled hair and, in two to three passes with tension, a section is DONE! It uses air and low heat and makes my hair so smooth, full and straight. I’ve never been able to blow dry my hair as well, and using this tool is so easy. I am so thankful for this hair tool. Absolutely worth every penny.” – AMiller.
“It’s heavy and [my] hand kept sliding up and got to touch the hot part of the straightener a couple of times. It’s a great concept but definitely needs improvement. I don’t do much to my hair (heat, dyes, chemicals) so it’s super healthy. I did notice my hair appeared damaged (super dry) after the first use. After applying the method of drying/heat followed by cool straightening to set the hair… I had tons of frizzy/electricity. My hair would literally go up in the vehicle roof. I think it needs improvement and at this point, I don’t feel it’s worth the money.” – Sus.
“It’s a great tool, but it unfortunately did not work well with my hair type. [I] have coarse, wavy hair and while it did straighten, it was hard to hit the roots (even if I use it just as a blow dryer) because of how big the tool was and my hair frizzed up quite often. I think it also depends on the hair products you use, but to me, it unfortunately was not worth the price I paid.” – Kandi Lo.
“I have an Airwrap and love it. This product does make my hair really straight, but it fried the ends. They looked like straw. I don’t think putting heat to wet hair is good for your hair.” – Alexa.
“The heat generated (even when on low setting completely dried my hair after only one use. I thought it would just air dry it and straighten it. But there are metal plates inside and your hair ends up hot when you touch it!!!” – Katey.
All in all, I would agree with the bloggers and customers here. If you have straight to slightly wavy hair, you need one tool to blow dry and straighten your hair, and you are ready to shell out $500, go for it. It might be the magic wand for the hair you were looking for.
Featured images via @dysonbeauty
Enter your email to get this picture to your inbox, and get other ideas you might like 💌
