Welcome to Capsule Considers, where we try out and review the latest products on the market and offer our honest, unbiased opinions, free from any obligation or expectation because if you’re parting with your hard-earned money based on any of our recommendations, we’re gonna make sure it’s damn well worth it. In this edition, Kelly Bertrand tries out the new, improved Dyson Airwrap to see if it’s worth the HUGE price tag.
Ah, the Airwrap. Has there ever been a hair tool more coveted in the world?
When Dyson first released their original Airwrap into the world, people went nuts. The ease! The technology! The coolness!
Now it hasn’t been that long since that first iteration absolutely frothed the beauty world, but if there’s one thing about Dyson that you need to understand (coming from someone who has attended MANY of their tech briefings) is that they’re never satisfied with a product. There’s constant development, testing, innovation and LORD do they take it seriously.
Which is why we have a new, improved Airwrap already – so here is our honest review of the little tool that could.
PROS:
- Replaces the need for multiple tools – less space, less fuss
- It replaces hot heat with air, which is far better for your hair health
- Performance is fantastic
- Easy… once you’ve figured it out (see below)
- All hair types are catered for – I’m using the Airwrap Complete Long (there’s also Complete and Complete Coily/ Curly)
- If you already have the first version, you can simply buy the new attachments, rather than buy the whole unit
CONS:
- The price
- It DOES take a little practice to get the hang of initially
First thoughts:
When I first opened the Dyson Airwrap, my first thoughts were, ‘ooosh, she is PRETTY’. One of my previous critiques of Dyson hair products was that they resolutely stuck to their fuchsia/grey colour palette and I did not like it at all – as a minimalist, it’s not a combo I want on display in my bedroom! (I know, little things BUT when you’re paying $1000, everything should be on point.) I adore the new gold/silver situation – so much fresher and more modern.
There’s less attachments – one of then biggest updates are the curling barrels. Before, you’d need to switch out the barrels depending on what direction you wanted the airflow, now they’re in one barrel and can be changed by twisting a knob on the top, which did speed things up quite dramatically.
The curls
You’ve seen the magic Coanda effect work its magic with the curlers – I tell ya, there’s not much else more satisfying than seeing your magically get pulled in and curled around the barrel with minimal effort.
“The Coanda phenomenon occurs when air, propelled at the right speed and pressure, naturally follows an adjacent surface, entraining surrounding air and with it — hair,” Dyson says – amazing for curls, but also for smoothing (see below).
They’ve zoushed the Coanda technology too – the air being blown out of the Dyson Airwrap is more powerful and again, it’s a faster curl time. Curling with the tool takes some getting used to. My tip is to hold out a small section of your hair away from your face, hold the Airwrap parallel and let the hair curl around. Once I figured that out, life was a lot simpler!
Don’t forget to cool shot the curl, otherwise it’ll drop faster than a two-year-old’s lip when they can’t watch Cocomelon.
Drying smoother
One of the biggest differences is with the dryer. The old edition had a pre-styling dryer that kind of looked like one of Dyson’s heaters – a oval shape which worked well. Now, we have the dryer/smoother attachment that uses the Coanda effect to not only dry but smooth those pesky flyaways no amount of straightening will ever fix (my absolute bugbear!). Again, with a twist of a knob, you can simply dry your hair, and then switch over to the smoothing function. The smoothing function was designed after Dyson’s engineers saw how hair stylists would blow dry their clients’ hair, and use the brush and dryer to push down little flyaways under the hair – so they replicated it in the smoothing tools.
I’ll admit, the new dryer took a little bit to get my head around – I mean I could be thick but it wasn’t obvious at the beginning that there were two modes and I had hair flying in every direction. But the smoothing feature is SUCH a bonus – it replicates Dyson’s new attachment for the Supersonic Hairdryer and I can’t TELL you how much smoother my hair is by using it – and now it’s in the Airwrap, you don’t need the dryer.
Damp is best
One thing to remember about using the Dyson Airwrap is that you need slightly damp hair to get good results, especially when you’re curling. It’s science stuff, but the general outline is you want your hair 80% dry – the tool needs moisture in the hair to allow the style to set, but it also means you’re avoiding heat, which is a huge bonus. My hair has never been as healthy as it has since using Dyson’s hair products – (I’m the VERY lucky owner of the Corrale straightener and the Supersonic Dryer too) click on the links for those reviews! – so I can attest to the fact that they’re all so much better for your hair.
The secret weapons
I do think one of the secret superpowers of the Dyson Airwrap though lies in the smoothing and blow-dry brushes, and it’s actually these that I use the most. The set comes with a firm smoothing brush, a soft smoothing brush and a round volumising brush and they’re brilliant. I use the firm one on the top of my head to really eliminate frizz, and I use the soft brush under my hair to gain a little volume as I pass it through. The volumising brush is perfect to give my hair a not too-straight blowout effect, which I absolutely love.
All of the results of the Dyson Airwrap – I know I know, I wear way too much black.
The verdict
So the big question is, is the Airwrap worth the huge price tag? For me, who has fine hair but LOTS of it which tends to lead to a frazzled, untidy mess a lot of the time, yeah, the Airwrap is most definitely worth the price. If you alternate your styles a lot – straight, wavy, curly – then this is the perfect tool.
Or, if you’re worried about your hair health and the damage that can come with heat, this is also the way to go.
