‘A completely new way to style hair’. When you hear that, you have no choice but to sit up and take notice. First came the Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer, a tool that has cut our hair-drying time in half, now Dyson have launched their first-ever styling tool, the Dyson Airwrap Hair Styler. With incredible claims about gorgeous curls, volume and sleekness combined with zero heat damage, we were definitely intrigued.
What’s the deal?
This tool claims to be everything you need to dry and style your hair, in one lightweight design. Depending on which option you go for, it has a hairdryer, barrels to curl and wave hair, and brushes to smooth, shape and volumise. Designed to style your hair from damp (rough dry with the hairdryer attachment first), the styler combines the water in your hair with powerful airflow and controlled heat, so it styles while drying your hair.
This airflow is what Dyson call ‘the Coanda effect’ (an aerodynamic technique that uses the powerful Dyson digital motor V9 to create air suction, attracting hair to the surface of the brush, or curving it around the barrel) to propel air along the hair strands and mimic a blow-dry technique. What it doesn’t use is the extreme heat of most styling tools. Instead it relies on intelligent heat control, measuring the temperature over 40 times a second and transmitting this information to a microprocessor in the styler, which ensures the temperature is kept under 150C to minimise potential heat damage.
Dyson have created three ‘kits’, so you can choose according to your hair type and what styles you want – more on this later. Each kit comes in a very chic leather case, with sections for each attachment.
First impressions
It’s incredibly lightweight. Like the hairdryer, it really doesn’t feel like you’re holding a traditional styling tool (technically you aren’t). The attachments clip on easily – to remove, you push the unlock button. So far, so easy. We also immediately noticed how powerful the airflow is. The hairdryer attachment looks pretty small but it dries hair surprisingly quickly, even long, thick hair.
Is it easy to use?
As far as the smoothing brushes go, definitely. Run the brush slowly through your hair (section if hair is thick or very curly). You can run over the top for a sleek finish, or use underneath to create shape – either works well in our opinion. The round bristle brush is also a dream to use. So, so much easier than trying to create shape with a rounded brush in one hand and a hairdryer in the other. The curling barrels took us a little bit longer to get the hang of, though we feel like pros now…
Creating curls
It takes a little bit of practice to really master the Airflow technique using the curling barrels. Instructions say to hold a piece of hair from the top, hold the Airwrap Styler 10cm below and it attracts the hair around the barrel. First of all when curling your hair, the instinct is to hold from the bottom, right? So – forget everything you thought you knew about curling. Experiment a little with where you hold the hair, and where you place the barrel. We found a good technique is to hold the hair, then position the barrel about halfway down the piece of hair and run it downwards until you see the hair curling around. This made the process a little bit neater and helped find the right position to easily grab the hair.
The two different vents for alternative curl directions also take a little getting used to. One you place underneath your hair strand, the other you place on the outside of your hair strand. It sounds simple (and it is, we promise). Once we remembered which one was which, we were flying. The instructions recommend you create your curls when you hair is still a little damp, and another tip is to use the cool shot before releasing each curl to help them set. All very good advice.
Which kit is right for you?
First up there’s the Smooth + Control, designed to smooth hair and create curls. This kit has a hairdryer attachment to take your hair from wet to damp, plus four Airwrap barrels, in two sizes for different-sized curls. Each size barrel then comes in two variations – with vents that direct your hair either clockwise or anti-clockwise, for curls that spiral either inwards or away from your face – you really have a big variety here. Finally, you also get a firm smoothing brush attachment that can smooth and create a straighter style. This one is essentially a hairdryer, amazing curler and straightener (without the flat finish) in one.
Next is the Volume + Shape kit, designed for flat and limp hair. With this one you also get the hairdryer attachment, plus two curling barrels in one size (but with the same variety in the direction of your curls, so you still get some choice here), a soft smoothing brush attachment perfect for that sleek finish, and a rounded volumising brush attachment that adds body and shape to you hair. Still a hairdryer, curler and straightener, the main difference is the rounded brush, which combines the rounded brush and hairdryer of a volumising salon blow dry and makes it really easy to get lift and shape. Ideal if you mainly want volume and shape, but also want the option of creating curls.
And then if you want it all (who doesn’t?), they combine all the attachments into one, in the Dyson AirWrap Complete. In this set you get all of the various attachments, so you can pretty much create any look you want! Its got everything you need, and if you love volume but also want all the curling options, this is the one for you.
All sounds amazing. What’s the catch?
The sticking point is the price. At between £399.96 and £449.96, it’s definitely a considered purchase. However it’s been pointed out that as it is so many tools in one (even including a hairdryer), you are getting a lot for your money – you really wouldn’t need any other hair tools. You wouldn’t even need those special occasion blow dries at the hairdressers any more. Plus the protective benefits that come with not overheating your hair are a real bonus.
There is more good news here – there’s no need to cough up the full price in one go. You can actually pay over four months, splitting the price tag between four paydays and making that big figure a little more bite-sized. Doing it this way is also interest-free (amazing), so it won’t cost you any extra.
Is it worth it?
Bank accounts, we’re sorry. But yes, it is. In the same way the Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer definitely didn’t fall short of expectations, the Airwrap Styler does not disappoint. Whether you go for curls or a straighter style, the air creates volume and amazing shape, all while leaving your hair sleek and shiny… Just think of the money you’ll save on blow dries!
