I have always been a fan of trying seemingly luxurious products, so there was no way I would pass up the chance to test the Dyson Airstrait wet/dry straightener! Hair care has always been a challenge for me. Deciphering what’s good, bad, or somewhere in between for your hair seems like an impossible task. To me, heat is heat, and even though my hair desperately needs it for styling, I know I’ve been frying it. That was until I spent a few weeks with the Dyson Airstrait. Consider my mind changed.
For reference, my hair is very fine, wavy and shoulder length. I dye it once or twice a year without bleach. Even still, because of how fine it is, constantly using my Shark HyperAIR dryer and Dyson Corrale straightener takes its toll. My hair is constantly brittle and breaking, and I haven’t been able to grow my hair long since I had my daughter, and my hair had superpowers. I am constantly looking for solutions to help my hair feel healthy again and to give it a chance to grow.
Enter the Dyson Airstrait. This is a wet/dry straightener that does not use hot plates to get the job done. The best way to describe it is a concentrated blow dryer that targets your hair closely, without hot plates, to dry and straighten your hair simultaneously. I liken it to when I was a child, and my mom would blow dry my hair straight using a brush to hold it in place while sliding it from the roots to the ends with the dryer up close.
“Straightening with no direct contact with hot metal plates is the key factor that makes the Dyson Airstrait so great.”
For whatever reason, I have never been coordinated enough to make that movement work with a brush and hairdryer. I even have a daughter now—with significantly longer hair than mine—and I still can’t master the motion. The Dyson Airstrait gets rid of the need to have a brush in one hand and a dryer in the other, and this uncoordinated girl couldn’t be more grateful.
First, let’s go over the technical side of things and then discuss how they work in real-world use. The Dyson Airstrait is essentially a blow dryer that hyper-focuses the hot air through two openings in place of where your regular straightener’s hot plates are. The frame of the Airstrait holds your hair tight in place while you move down toward your ends, resulting in a pretty nice finish from wet or dry.
Straightening with no direct contact with hot metal plates is the key factor that makes the Dyson Airstrait so great. Not ironing your air is always a win. The result is pretty impressive, but there are a few things to consider. As I mentioned, I tested this on my hair, which is medium-ish length and fine, but I also used it with my daughter, who has even finer hair, and my niece who has very long, thick hair.
Each time I used the Dyson Airstrait on wet hair, I would close my arms and give my roots a quick dry, as it’s hard to reach your scalp with the arms open. This usually left my bangs dry, too. I would then section my hair, starting with the bottom. I quickly learned that I shouldn’t move quickly like I would with my Corrale straightener. Slow and steady will dry and style your hair flawlessly if you have some patience.
It can be hard to remember to go slow because, with a traditional straightener, you can go over a section multiple times as fast as you want, and it’s fine. However, with the Dyson Airstrait, because you want to dry and style simultaneously, the slower you move, the better the results. I would usually finish in two passes over each section, occasionally needing three due to the recent humidity.
“Slow and steady will dry and style your hair flawlessly if you have some patience.”
The Dyson Airstrait impressed on every head of hair, so much so that my pre-teen niece considered stealing it. But my original thoughts weren’t completely blown away. Let me explain why: For me, this does not shorten my getting ready process. Because my hair is so thin, blow drying and straightening are pretty quick processes. I don’t require multiple passes, and it dries very quickly.
While using the Dyson Airstrait to dry and straighten my hair, I found it is not faster and possibly even adds a couple of minutes to my routine. For people with more or thicker hair, if drying is a process and straightening is its own process, I can absolutely see it saving time. However, it could also require more passes, resulting in a longer styling time. Many people might assume this device is meant to cut their getting-ready time in half, but it doesn’t.
So what’s the point then? Why bother with the Dyson Airstrait? Well, for one, keeping one device in the bathroom sounds pretty great to me. But more importantly, the Dyson Airstrait not only straightened my hair extremely well and did it without direct contact with hot metal plates, but it gave me the softest, shiniest hair I’ve ever had in my life. That is more than worth the extra couple of minutes. I can absolutely see this helping my hair long-term, especially with breakage.
The Dyson Airstrait features multiple heat settings for both wet and dry hair. You’ll also find low and high modes, and a cool setting. The buttons are easy to understand, and the modes are simple. I found that I only needed the medium heat setting, as high felt like overkill, but I think people with more or thicker hair might find a use there. There is also a pretty beautiful display with graphics that seems unneeded, but it is a nice touch.
I received the Prussian Blue/Rich Copper model, which is absolutely beautiful. It also comes with a velvet heat pad to protect any surface you put it on. I had to laugh to myself a little—the velvet touches are completely unnecessary but help promote the overall premium feel of Dyson’s hair devices. The Dyson Airstrait itself costs $699.99 CAD. It is a premium product with premium pricing, like everything Dyson makes. It’s built to work and built to last, so whether or not it is in your price range is up to you.
Something to note, though, is that the Dyson Airstrait is loud—as loud as a hairdryer—and you’ll be using it longer than a standard hairdryer, so get used to the sound. It also has an idle mode, so it will suddenly feel like it shuts off when you’re not using it. This isn’t always accurate, and you need to press it to your hair or jostle it a bit to get it going again. I welcome the mode, however, because the quiet is nice sometimes!
The Dyson Airstrait is wired, unlike the wireless Corrale straightener. I think I was hoping they would use the same connection, and I could swap and use just one cable. Both devices have massive cables with large power supplies, so if you have a small bathroom and want to use both, good luck. It has not been fun so far, and I’m going to have to pick a favourite soon.
“I also find that a straightener gives you more styling options than the Airstrait does, but that isn’t a deal breaker.”
I also find that a straightener gives you more styling options than the Airstrait does, but that isn’t a deal breaker—90% of the time, I’m just aiming for straight, and the Airstrait does that perfectly. But if you want to add a couple of curls or a bit more style, it takes some added effort. With some twists and turns, you can add volume, but because of where the air blows out, moving it much will send the rest of your hair flying.
This leads me to mention that you need to be careful with how you hold the Dyson Airstrait. With a regular straightener, the angle or orientation doesn’t matter. However, with the Airstrait, you need to ensure the blowing part is facing down. It took some practice to handle the right side of my head without flipping it upside down, and I’ve seen a few creators with the same issue. It’s not a problem, but it is definitely a learning curve.
I wouldn’t call these negatives at all; they are just more things you should definitely be aware of. The Dyson Airstrait is a welcome addition to my styling routine. I don’t think it will replace my every day tools between its size and speed, but it will be my “most days” tool solely because of how it makes my hair look and feel. I didn’t know my hair could be this soft.
- Wet to dry straightening with air. No hot plates. No heat damage.¹
- Airflow is projected downwards at a 45° angle to create the tension needed to align hair for a smooth end style – with less damage and breakage.²
