We know it’s not easy washing your hair, drying it and then straightening it—all before you make it to work in the morning, or before the last-minute weekend brunch with friends. But if you could reduce even one step from this routine, especially if you have wavy or curly hair and regularly straighten it, life would be a tad easier. The Dyson Airstrait, which has just launched in India, is meant to do just that—it dries and straightens your hair simultaneously.
Dyson’s technology is synonymous with being one of a kind, and this newest launch is no different. Unlike most conventional straighteners, the Airstrait has no hot plates. Instead, it uses high-pressure airflow to straighten as it dries; and promises no heat damage and less breakage. It also claims to protect your hair’s natural shine, reduce flyaways and frizz and maintain hair health.
It’s not surprising that three of our editors were more than willing to test it out. Each of them has distinctly different hair types; and here are their honest reviews.
Avanti Dalal
Hair type: Short, fine and straight
I’ve been a beauty editor for over five years; so skin and makeup, I’ve got down. My hair—on the other hand—is a major work in progress. It is fine, thin, shoulder-length, pin-straight, breaks easily and is prone to breakage, making it difficult to dry, style, cut or manage. I didn’t have the highest expectations for the Dyson Airstrait—a straightener that promised to make my hair totally flat wasn’t usually in my wheelhouse. But the glossiness it also promised was interesting to me, so I was still excited to try it.
I tried it on the day I was rushing for a flight, so a dry + style two-in-one was perfect for me. I started with my normal wash day routine—shampoo, conditioner and a little leave-in K18 treatment for good measure. I also spritzed on a heat protectant. The Airstrait claims to not cause any heat damage—it features unheated tension bars to clamp the hair while straightening, which apply tension to cause a smooth finish.
I rough dried my hair for three to four minutes and then segregated it into five big sections. I set the hair tool to the lowest heat section in Wet Mode and passed it over each section of my hair—slowly and steadily—three times each. In exactly 12 minutes, my hair was bone dry and pretty shiny. The slower each pass was, the shinier and more even the section looked.
I had to add a little dry shampoo to the crown—it definitely doesn’t have the bounciness of a blow dry—but my hair was pretty airplane-ready then. When I woke up the next morning after an eight-hour flight and some rough and tumble sleep, my strands were still shiny, not poofy and very straight. We’ll call that a major win.
Priyanka Ghura
Hair type: Long, thick and wavy
As someone with thick, long hair, I’m always on the lookout for tools that will be time-saving because styling my hair is no easy feat and always entails an arm workout. Seriously, I’m one of those girls who has to schedule a wash and dry around plans because that’s how long it takes. To say I was excited to try out Dyson’s newest launch, the Airstrait, is an understatement. A tool that doesn’t require me to dry my hair 100 percent before going in with a flat iron meant precious time saved and less soreness for my arms. So, after my regular shampoo, conditioner and serum that smoothens and heat protects (because you can never be too safe), I plugged in this bad boy.
I divided my hair into five sections and then rough dried each section by clamping together both the plates. Then, I cranked it up to the highest heat setting on the Wet Mode and went in on smaller sections—I realised one- to two-inch sections work best between the plates; and going slow with each pass was more effective than sliding through quickly, particularly on the ends. I had to do around four to five passes till each section was completely dry from root to tip. Just like with the Dyson Airwrap, a cool shot of air on your sections will help seal the style.
The entire process took me about 35 minutes, which may seem long, but it’s definitely shorter than having to first dry my hair before straightening it. While I did find the Airstrait a bit heavy (it weighs around 0.9kg), what I did like about the results was that my hair looked more natural rather than poker straight.
Also, if you’re familiar with flat ironing your hair, you know the risk of burning your ears is real—this is something that I didn’t have to worry about with this tool. It has a regulated airflow temperature, which is not very high but does the job pretty well.
If you’re someone who prefers styling their hair straight, then this tool could be a good investment for you. And if your hair isn’t on the thicker side, then it shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes for a sleek, straight finish.
Shweta Mehta Sen
Hair type: Long, fine, curly
Let me start by being very honest. I haven’t straightened my hair in a decade or so. I’m blessed with curls and as someone with fine hair, that means also being blessed with a false sense of volume. Straightening my hair, with most tools I’ve experienced so far, has typically left me with poker straight hair that both falls flat and diminishes my volume drastically. So I was cynical before I even got my hands on the Dyson Airstrait, but I’m glad it cleared up some of the reservations I had with wearing my hair straight.
Like all other Dyson tools, this one looks beautiful and is very simple to use. The long plug might be a bit of a hindrance, especially since it can’t be plugged in upside down. I, for instance, had to move from my preferred dressing table setup to my bathroom for the 20-odd minutes it took me to straighten my hair (that’s actually pretty fast for my hair type).
The most talked about feature of this straightener is arguably its ability to straighten hair while drying it. So I tested the hair tool out right after I’d washed my hair. The Airstrait uses high-pressure airflow to project heat evenly as you glide it across your hair, which means no hot plates that might singe you if you’re as prone to distractions as I am—a big win.
The Airstrait is easy to grip, but a little heavier than some other straighteners I’ve tried. It’s about the weight of a regular hair dryer. It’s also a bit loud, which I didn’t expect, but when it comes to doing the job, the Airstrait aces. I was able to switch effortlessly between heat settings and move quickly from one section to another. About three to four passes from the roots to the ends do the job effectively.
I love that the result wasn’t hair that fell flat and looked scanty. It managed to retain a surprising amount of volume and held up fairly well for the entire day.
