When the Dyson Airstrait straightener was announced, it drew lots of interest with its promise of straightening both wet and dry hair with no hot plates — and hence no heat damage. We got our hands on a unit and tried the new straightener out for ourselves.

Above: The dyson Airstrait straightener in the box.

Taking the device out of the box, our first impression was that this is undoubtedly a Dyson hair device; it has the same general aesthetics and colour styling as Dyson’s best-selling Supersonic hair dryer, the sought-after Airwrap multi-styler, and the wireless Corrale straightener. The Airstrait currently comes in a Prussian Blue/Rich Copper combination (featured in this article), and a Bright Nickel/Rich Copper shade that’s also very sleek; and as demand picks up, we’re certain new colours will be introduced over time.

While we really should read the manual, we like that the control buttons are straightforward; we picked this up and could immediately tell what each of the buttons do.

Above: buttons on The dyson Airstrait straightener include one for hot air, wind speed, cool air, mode (wet or dry hair) and power.

There’s a mode for wet hair and another for dry hair, and if you’re going to dry your hair with this device, it’s best used on semi-dry (not sopping wet) hair. It does take longer to dry hair with the Airstrait compared to a regular hair dryer, but the finish you get with the Airstrait is truly lovely; it blows hair straight down as promised, and since there are no hot plates used in the process, hair doesn’t suffer from heat damage so ends up looking smoother and shinier.

But while there are no hot plates, the device does blow out hot air at three temperatures: 80°C, 110°C and 140°C.

Above: there are no hot plates on The dyson Airstrait straightener.

The airflow is intuitive as well; the Airstrait senses when hair (or something) is between the arms, and increases in power accordingly. This means it’s quieter and more efficient when not in use (that is, when it’s not blow-drying or straightening hair between the arms).

We did notice a rather large wall plug, but we understand from Dyson that this is a PRCD plug that’s necessary for safety reasons. In particular, since the Airstrait may be used in close proximity to water or water vapour, a PRCD plug will test the electrical current for safety.

SHOULD YOU BUY THE NEW DYSON AIRSTRAIT?

PROS:
— This actually works. It both dries and straightens hair.
— It’s easy to use.
— It doesn’t get terribly hot so it’s safer to use than traditional hair straighteners.
— Can also be used for kids, again, because it’s safer.
— There’s an auto-off function when the device is inactive.

CONS:
— At $799, it’s pricey.
— It’s wired. For a wireless hair straightener, look to the Dyson Corrale.
— The wall charger is huge. You need space to plug it in.
— The plates are quite large and can’t reach close to the scalp to straighten that area, but we discovered that when the plates are closed, the Airstrait functions as a hair dryer to dry the roots.