Dyson, maker of some of the industry’s buzziest, most technologically innovative hair-care tools, just announced the latest addition to its repertoire: the Dyson Airstrait, which the company touts as a “wet-to-dry” straightener.
For anyone with experience straightening their hair with heat tools, that sentence alone is intriguing, and a bit scary. Using a traditional straightening iron on wet or even damp hair is a famous no-no due to the devastating heat damage it can cause to strands, meaning anyone hoping to take their hair from wet and curly to dry and straight must first blow-dry their hair, then flat iron it. But the Dyson says the Airstrait can do both steps at once without any hot plates — just the right amount of heat and airflow to smooth out curls.
As a press release explains, “The hair tress is contained by two arms, from which a precisely angled high-pressure blade of air is forced downwards and into the hair, both simultaneously drying and straight styling, with one machine.” The brand says it’s engineered for “multiple hair types” and achieves a “natural straight style, with body and movement, whilst maintaining the strength and healthy look and feel of their hair.”
“Having a strong understanding of how to manipulate and realize the potential of powerful airflow is fundamental to the performance of the Dyson Airstrait straightener,” Founder and Chief Engineer James Dyson said in a statement. “This expertise, which we’ve gained over the last 25 years, is what has enabled us to deliver our first wet to dry straightener, with no hot plates, and no extreme heat damage. Delivering the ease-of-use that people love about straighteners but with high-velocity air blades, saves time, maintains hair strength and achieves an everyday natural straight style.”
As Fashionista reports, there are also multiple ways to use the Airstrait: It has both “wet” and “dry” styling modes: In wet mode, you can choose from three heat settings of 175°F, 230°F and 285°F. In dry mode, you choose between 250°F or 285°F or a top-up “boost.” There are also two speed settings — low flow and high flow — as well as a cold shot and root-drying option.
And to clarify, despite using the word “wet,” the product is actually meant to be used on towel-tried hair. At a launch event in New York City last week, stylists demonstrated the tool live on models with multiple hair types, effectively taking texture levels 2, 3 and 4 from damp to dry — and straight — with three or so passes.
The Airstrait certainly seems like a step up from a traditional flat iron or the many blow-dryer brushes that have proliferated the market in recent years, but it’s not quite the first tool of its kind: For instance, GHD sells a $399 “hot air styler” that similarly promises to “dry and straighten hair at the same time with no damage,” but unlike Dyson, GHD incorporates plates into its design.
The Dyson Airstrait sells for $499, and is available now.
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