Dyson Airstrait: how the wet-to-dry straighteners work
Everything you need to know about the wet to dry straightener that just uses hot air
Dyson Airstrait is the fourth hair appliance in Dyson’s haircare range. It follows the now iconic Supersonic hairdryer, Airwrap styler and Corrale straighteners. Airstrait has been available in the US, Mexico and Canada since May 2023 and now you can buy them, for £450 in the UK and after testing we can confidently say that they’ll make your hairdresser jealous!
And yes, the name is Dyson Airstrait – not Airstraight – that will take a bit of getting used to for some.
What is it?
Dyson Airstrait is a wet-to-dry straightener which takes wet hair to dry and straightens it at the same time. The idea is to simplify hair care for those who usually dry their hair first and then straighten it after. The Airstrait can also be used in a more straightforward mode on dry hair that simply needs straightening.
Engineered to work with all hair types, the Dyson Airstrait works with air. It doesn’t have hot plates of any sort (unlike the plates on the Dyson Corrale). This is the Airstrait’s significant tech advancement. They use precise directional airflow to dry and straighten simultaneously from wet, without damaging hair. Think of the kind of airflow you get from a Dyson hand dryer but on a much smaller scale.
Dyson promises a natural straight style with a smooth shiny finish, fast. Recently, we’ve seen the GHD Duet Style and Shark SpeedStyle join the wet-to-dry styling revolution. So the Dyson Airstrait has both good company and competition.
How the Dyson Airstrait works
Airstrait works by constraining the hair tress with two arms. A precisely angled high-pressure blade of air is forced downwards and into the hair from each arm, both simultaneously drying and straightening.
Precision air jets are placed along the arms of the machine – there are two 1.5mm apertures. Airflow is accelerated through these apertures, which creates two high-velocity downward blades of air. These are projected at a 45° angle and converge to form one focused jet of air. This concentrated airflow creates the downward force to straighten hair as it dries – magic!
Obviously, it takes quite a motor to create such a force with just air. The Airstrait is powered by Dyson’s Hyperdymium motor. A 13-blade impeller spins up to 106,000rpm, propelling over 11.9 litres of air through the machine per second! This results in up to 3.5kPa of air pressure, which is enough to straighten hair as it dries.
As with the rest of the Dyson hair care range, the Dyson Airstrait straightener features intelligent heat control. The temperature of the airflow is measured up to 30 times per second. This allows the chip inside the product to ensure airflow doesn’t exceed the temperature required. And therefore resulting in no heat damage to your hair.
What modes does the Dyson Airstrait have?
There are two main styling modes on the Dyson Airstrait – wet and dry. The wet and dry modes are pre-set with specific heat and airflow combinations for the best results. In wet mode you can choose between three heat settings of 80°C (175°F), 110°C (230°F), and 140°C (285°F) and in dry mode 120°C (250°F) or 140°C (285°F).
There’s also a self-explanatory root drying mode and a cool mode, which is quite simply a cold shot of air to set your style. For airflow control, there are two-speed settings – low flow and high flow.
What is the Dyson Airstrait like to use?
I loved using the Dyson Airstrait – they are have excellent build quality, look great in your bedroom and feel good in the hand too: the perfect size I’d say.
The five buttons for changing settings give a definite click as the LCD confirms your selection and the several drying and straightening options are easy to get used to. As well as being intuitive to use, you can see and hear the Airstrait working, which I really liked.
As opposed to drying then straightening, the Dyson Airstait cut my styling time significantly, and made light work of my naturally very thick and wavy hair.I was impressed with how soft and healthy my hair felt each time I used it and there was no sign of any heat damage or frazzling. Perhaps more impressively, I was genuinely stunned that my hair stayed straight on day two and day three after use!
How much will the Airstrait cost and when can I get one?
Airstrait costs $500 in the US and £450 in the UK, making it slightly less expensive than the Dyson Airwrap styler.
Rachael Sharpe
Commissioning Editor, Stuff magazine