Beauty review: The Dyson Airstrait Straightener


When it comes to Dyson as a brand that creates hair tools, I can confidently say they most definitely do their R&D – and harness and/or create some of the most exciting tech innovations out there. The Dyson Airwrap was a game changing multi tool that made its way into countless bathrooms in spite of its higher-than-most price point, and it’s still one of the most name-checked tools by celebrity stylists and beauty editors today.
With all of this in mind, when I was asked if I wanted to review the Dyson Airstrait, a wet-to-dry flat iron that uses hot air to style your hair rather than traditional hot plates, I couldn’t have replied ‘yes!’ any faster.


In a nutshell, what’s the Dyson Airstrait hype all about?
“Having a strong understanding of how to manipulate and realise the potential of powerful airflow is fundamental to the performance of the Dyson Airstrait straightener,” says James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer. “This expertise, which we’ve gained over the last 25 years, is what has enabled us to deliver our first wet to dry straightener, with no hot plates, and no heat damage. Delivering the ease-of-use that people love about straighteners but with high-velocity air blades, saves time, maintains hair strength and achieves an everyday natural straight style.”
Essentially, the Dyson Airstrait works like a flat iron and blow dryer all in one, and it can be used on both wet and dry hair with virtually no damage (really). It honestly looks and feels like a regular flat iron — except a bit chunkier than many — but instead of having hot plates in the centre, the Airstrait has a gap for airflow.
So while a traditional flat iron uses two hot plates to clamp down and straighten your hair, the Airstrait uses two unheated bars on each side to lightly hold your hair in place, along with a plate-free centre to allow for the hot air to straighten your hair—via a high-velocity, downward direction—without direct heat.
And unlike a traditional straightener that can heat up to a potentially damaging 250 degrees or more (remind me again how we let this happen?!), the Airstrait maxes out at 140 degrees (only to be used in short bursts on dry hair) and allows you to switch between multiple temperature settings after choosing wet-hair mode or dry-hair mode. And as with all good heat tools, the Airstrait also comes with a cool-shot button to help you “set” your style after finishing, as a pro would in a salon.


Who was the Dyson Airstrait designed for?

Truly in a league of its own, the Airstrait was engineered for use on multiple hair types, allowing users to achieve what the team at Dyson calls a “natural straight” style, with body and movement, whilst maintaining the strength and health look and feel of the hair. This promise of “natural straight” appealed to me immediately, as I personally have never been a fan of poker straight locks and find that it’s a style that has never flattered me – especially as I’ve gotten older and soft, bouncy waves are my go-to when I hit the salon.
Because the Dyson Airstrait doesn’t use direct heat to flatten your hair cuticle, you’ll get the aforementioned natural look with some volume, some body, and some remaining hair texture, especially on curly hair types.

My experience
I first tried the Dyson Airstrait on wet, fresh-out-of-the-shower hair. As always I wrapped my wet hair in a microfibre towel for ten minutes to get rid of the excess moisture, then went in with the Airstrait after adding a pre-style cream for nourishment and protection. The aforementioned product was from Dyson’s Chitosan hair care range, and is said to promote long-lasting flexible hold while promoting softness and shine. I went with the richer formula of the two on offer and worked two pump through my mid-lengths and ends.
I have a lot of hair but it’s actually quite fine, so I took the time to section my hair well and amazingly, needed only a few passes to achieve silky, bone dry hair. I clamped the tool as close to my roots as possible each time, then let it work its intuitive magic as it powered up and down depending on where I was at. My hair is straight at the front but surprisingly curly at the back, so took more time here and stopped between some passes to pass a comb through my hair for a really sleek finish. This was a little harder on the top layer of my hair due to the tool’s shape, but I didn’t obsess that much and if I felt it needed it, used my traditional dryer for a little extra burst of heat.
The end result was naturally polished and very satisfying, especially for someone like me who dreads hair wash day as it is such a time consuming, often thankless process!
Even though the device boasts a wet-to-dry technique, the tool’s screen actually allows you to choose if you’re working with wet or dry hair and then adjusts the heat and airflow accordingly, so since my initial play, I’ve actually grown to love using my Airstrait for touch-ups on my dry hair.


The takeaway

I have fallen hard for my Airstrait, which has dramatically reduced the amount of time – and faff – around washing, drying and styling my hair. I’m not mad at not being able to really get stuck into my roots as aforementioned, poker straight is not my vibe, and love that I can go from wet to seriously polished in less than fifteen minutes. It’s a revelation! If your budget allows, I cannot recommend this tool enough.

The Dyson Airstrait™ straightener has an RRP of $799 NZD, and is available now.

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