Dyson Airstrait review: It’s worth it, and so are you

I still remember a time when hair straighteners weren’t a thing, or certainly not a very good thing. Arguably, it wasn’t until Good Hair Day (better known as ghd) arrived in 2001 that the phenomenon of poker straight, shiny hair with no frizz became possible without hairdresser input. Hair straighteners have come a long way since the original ghd launched – the ceramic plates are now wider for starters, and they have automatic sleep modes – but if you put wet hair in between those plates, they will still sizzle like meat on a BBQ.

And that’s where the likes of Dyson’s Airstrait comes in. The wet-to-dry styler has made my ghd straighteners redundant. I haven’t picked them up at all in the four months I’ve had Dyson’s Airstrait. I’ve also used ghd’s Duet Style, which is the ghd wet-to-dry equivalent so I’ve been able to directly compare the two. So what’s the Dyson Airstrait like and is it worth the money? 

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The Disconnekt Downlow

The Dyson Airstrait is not cheap, but it is a fantastic hair styler that you are very unlikely to regret investing in. The results it produces are excellent, it’s simple and easy to use and it reduces styling time, whilst also protecting your hair. What more could you possibly ask for? If you’ve been looking for a hair styler that can save your hair from ceramic straighteners and still deliver the smooth and sleek look, the Dyson Airstrait is it. The plug is annoyingly big, the UK model won’t work in the US, and you won’t be able to curl your hair like you can with ghd’s option. But in terms of beauty technology, the Dyson Airstrait is one of the best out there, delivering superb results in a slim and lightweight design that is easy for anyone to use.

Buy from £449 on Dyson

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The reasons you should choose the Dyson Airstrait

The thing I love most about the Dyson Airstrait is how much it has cut down my hair styling time. I have long, thick and unruly hair and I’m not good at blow drying. I will openly admit that. That used to be a recipe for disaster and more often than not, I just couldn’t be bothered to do my hair at all, shoving it up in a bun and leaving it. 

The Dyson Airwrap definitely helped when it launched, allowing me to create a bouncy blow dry nice and easily, and the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush is also a go-to of mine for that look. But if I wanted to get my hair straight, I would rough dry it with the Dyson Supersonic, straighten it with my ghds and then use the Flyaway attachment on the Supersonic to smooth away any excess frizz. It was an hour job if I did it properly and honestly, who has time for that?

With Airstrait, I can get my hair (which is waist length) from wet to lovely and straight in 20 to 25 minutes so for me, this product is worth every single penny. It’s so simple to use, and although you do have to go each section of hair a couple of times to get it smooth, you have to do that with straighteners too. Where Airstrait has the advantage is that it uses high pressure airflow to straighten hair as it dries, rather than extreme heat, so there’s less damage to the hair. There are two modes – Wet or Dry, with three temperatures for wet up to 140-degrees, and two for dry at either 120-degrees or 140-degrees. There are also three speeds.

You wash your hair, towel dry it if wet, rough dry the roots – which you can do with the Airstrait by holding or locking it closed and directing the airflow that starts automatically at your roots, and then section your hair. You then make sure the Airstrait is set to Wet on the small LCD display and simply clamp your hair inside the plates and pull down slowly from root to tip. When you’re done, there’s a cool shot option to finish. Getting close to the roots is tricky compared to ghd’s Duet Style, but as you have rough dried them, it doesn’t matter too much.

The Airstrait works best when dealing with wet hair, but there is also a Dry mode if you want to freshen up your hair the following day. I found ghd’s Duet Style better for dry mode as it has plates at each edge, delivering better shine, but the Airstrait was still more than adequate. Each time you switch it on, Airstrait cleans itself quickly, and each time you place Airstrait down in between sections, it will automatically lower airflow until you pick it back up again. It’s also lovely and light to use so it doesn’t get too heavy towards the end of a styling session. It’s lighter than ghd Duet Style and the slimmer design on Dyson’s option makes it a more manageable styler overall.

There is a shine button on the ghd Duet Style, which definitely adds some extra gloss to hair when you’ve finished drying and straightening it, but the Airstrait does have a similar function with the cold shot button so there’s not a huge difference in the end finish of either. Dyson is easier to use overall, ghd is slightly superior on dry hair.

What Dyson Airstrait could do better

There are really only a couple of things I can complain about with the Airstrait. The first is the huge PRCD plug. It is considerably larger than the average UK plug. It means if you have high skirting boards or anything directly under a plug socket, you won’t be able to plug the Airstrait in without some sort of extension lead or an additional plug that puts the socket further away from the wall. 

The plug being that large is the reason why the Airstrait itself can be lighter and slimmer, but it’s something to keep in mind depending on where you are likely to use the Airstrait. 

The Airstrait, like Dyson’s Airwrap, won’t work in the US if you’re travelling from the UK. The voltages are different and the UK model of Airstrait is too powerful for the US sockets. It means you won’t get the power required for optimal performance and more likely, the Airstrait just won’t turn on. In the past I have taken the Airwrap all the way to the US only to learn the hard way – so don’t use the space up in your suitcase. 

The last thing to mention is to just be mindful of where you are holding the Airstrait when styling. Warm air blows out of the bottom of the plates and it gets hot if you hold your hand too close so make sure your hand doesn’t slide too far up from the natural holding position. There is also no case for the Airstrait in the box so you might consider buying one if you plan on taking your Airstrait away with you a lot.

What are the Dyson Airstrait results like and how long do they last?

I remember when I first tried out the Dyson Airstrait before it’s US launch (it arrived in the US before the UK), with Dyson’s hair stylist Larry King showing me how it worked on a section of my hair. I’ll be honest, I was sceptical. I didn’t think it offered as smooth a result as I could achieve with my straighteners and the Flyaway attachment on the Supersonic. 

But when I got it home, I realised that wasn’t the case. The results are superb and it’s become the Dyson hair product I use the most. The results also last until you next wash your hair – in my case anyway. I do have to refresh it using the Dry mode but this only takes a couple of minutes and it’s better for my hair than using straighteners, with my hair in noticeably better condition.

The Airstrait projects airflow downwards at a 45-degree angle in order to create the tension needed to align your hair for a smooth style. There’s a 13-blade impeller inside that spins up to 106,000rpm, which Dyson says propels 11.9 litres of air through the machine per second. For more science chat, this generates 3.6kPa of air pressure, said to be powerful enough to straighten hair as it dries, which it is based on my experience. My hair will be poker straight by the time I finish, as if I’d used hair straighteners. 

The Airstrait offers better results than traditional straighteners though, not just because there is less breakage and you don’t hear it sizzling your precious locks, but it also adds more volume and bounce. There are various different styles you can create, from a 90s straight blow out as though you’re Rachel Green, to a natural straight blow out or stretched bubble puff ponytail. Dyson has tutorials on its site for each style too in case you want some guidance.

I used the Dyson Airstrait on one side of my head and ghd Duet Style for the other side to see which lasted longer when out and about and which was most affected by humidity. There wasn’t a clear winner (they both lasted), but the Dyson was a nicer device to use to get the results thanks to its simmer and lighter profile.

Should you buy the Dyson Airstrait?

Yes, is the direct answer here. You absolutely should buy the Dyson Airstrait if you can afford it. It’s not cheap, but it is fantastic and you are very unlikely to regret investing in it. The results it produces are excellent, it’s simple and easy to use and it reduces styling time, while also protecting your hair. What more could you possibly ask for?

If you’ve been looking for a hair product that can save your hair from ceramic straighteners and still deliver the smooth and sleek look, the Airstrait is it. The plug is annoyingly big, the UK model won’t work in the US, and you won’t be able to curl your hair like you can with ghd. But otherwise, there is nothing else to complain about. In terms of beauty technology, the Dyson Airstrait is one of the best out there, delivering superb results in a slim and lightweight product that is easy for anyone to use.

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