It’s been almost a year since Dyson introduced its newest take on the hair straightener, the Dyson Airstrait. And while we covered its debut, we haven’t gotten a chance to check it out, until last week. The new flat iron-style hair tool was launched in Southeast Asia recently; and it was just introduced in the Philippines last week.
Dyson Philippines invited us to check out the much-hyped hair tool at its Bonifacio High Street Central Demo Store. And I wanted to share my thoughts on the experience. But first, let’s talk a bit about the new Dyson Airstrait.
What is the Dyson Airstrait?
It’s a wet-to-dry hair straightener that uses powerful, concentrated airflow instead of hot plates. As with its other hair tools, Dyson uses air and its powerful Hyperdymium motor to lessen hair damage caused by excessive heat. With the Airstrait, it means you get a naturally straight hairstyle with a smooth finish. The Dyson Airstrait has an intelligent heat control feature that measures the airflow’s temperature up to 16 times a second, ensuring that it dries your hair without damaging it while protecting your tresses’ natural shine.
The two arms of this hair tool precisely angle high-pressure air downwards allowing it to dry and straighten your hair simultaneously. And that means it cuts into your styling time significantly. You can get freshly dried and straightened hair in under 20 minutes or less (depending on your hair length).
Dyson recommends you use the Airstrait on damp hair. But it’s also possible to re-style dry locks with this. There are Wet and Dry modes available with varying heat settings. The Wet mode has three heat settings: 80°C, 110°C, and 140°C. Meanwhile, the Dry mode offers 120°C or 140°C or a top-up Boost option. Lower temperatures are better for finer hair. And it’s something you can experiment with to see what works for you. Of course, Dyson also includes its Cold Shot feature, which helps set the style. It also has two speed settings available (low and high flow) and a root drying mode. The latter is what you’d need to use before styling damp hair.
Feel of it
The Dyson Airstrait isn’t a compact hair tool. In hand, it reminds me of the heft of the Dyson Supersonic. With a lot of plastic components, it reduces the weight of the Airstrait. However, it is still bulky but not entirely unwieldy. I did ask for help from Dyson’s crew to style my hair during the event, so I can’t say yet how it would feel having to straighten my shoulder-length hair myself.
How it did
I put my hair up in a ponytail for the day because I wanted to see if the Dyson Airstrait could remove the creases on my hair. And it did. I have fine hair, which I think doesn’t pose much of a challenge for this hair care tool. What impressed me is it was able to maintain the straightened look even until the next day. (Of course, I didn’t shampoo or wet my hair when I got home.)
And I loved that I didn’t feel any discomfort while my hair was being styled. Without hot plates, I didn’t feel like my scalp or hair was burning even as the straightener got closer to the roots. There was no harsh pull from the Airstrait’s two arms as the stylist slowly ran the Airstrait down my hair.
Who is it for?
If you’re the type who wants an easy-to-maintain yet polished look, the Dyson Airstrait helps make that possible. Of course, it’s a hair straightener, so it will mainly do that. It can curl the ends and leave you with a J or C curl but don’t expect it to give you wavy hair. You’ll need to use hair tools like the Dyson Airwrap for that.
If you like that pin-straight look, the Dyson Corrale might be more your thing. The Corrale is also battery-operated so you can travel with it. (The Airstrait needs the power to work.)
Dyson Airstrait: First thoughts
I was sold by the Dyson Airstrait because of my hair type and habits. I have relatively straight and fine hair. But I often have flyaway ends because I can’t be bothered to style. And when I do, it still takes a bit of time to ensure I get rid of the flyaways. With the Airstrait. I know it can give me polished, straightened hair with just a little bit more effort.
It is the hair care tool that encourages you to take that extra step to get a nice, straightened style. If you’re the type who wants that, you might consider investing in one of these. (It is still a Dyson so it’s going to cost a bit.) If you want more style options though, this shouldn’t be be your first choice. Of course, Dyson also has solutions for that.
The Dyson Airstrait is available for PHP 33,900 / USD 499.99. In the Philippines, it’s available at dyson.ph and Dyson’s Demo Stores.
Cover photo by Nicole Batac for LiTT
What else are you curious about when it comes to the Dyson Airstrait? Share your thoughts with us!