Raise your hand if you dread hair washing days. If you’re anything like me, you may consider the process of washing, conditioning, towel drying, air drying and finally heat styling your hair a chore rather than a joy.  But what if I told you there was a way to significantly cut down your hair styling time, and the amount of tools used to get there?

Enter Dyson’s Airstrait, a wet-to-dry straightening tool that is almost certainly going to rival the viral success of the brand’s industry-disrupting Airwrap. The Airstrait claims to take your hair from freshly-washed to sleek and straight in mere minutes, without relying on the use of hot plates or excessive heat.

Here’s how it works: the Airstrait relies on high-velocity downward airflow to simultaneously dry and straighten hair, while an ionizer keeps hair smooth and flyaway-free. In addition to a shine-boosting cool shot button, there are also two styling modes that determine the level of air pressure and heat depending on whether your hair is wet or dry. The lock button can also transform it into a simple blow dryer. Turn it on its side to rough dry roots or your entire head if you’re going to use a curler or wave tool later on.

 

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Using the Airstrait will indeed make your strands smooth and sleek, but you won’t achieve that dead straight, flat-to-your-scalp look that comes with using a hot iron. Straightening hair with air rather than heat helps create volume and movement while also preserving its natural shine. The result is bouncy, smooth hair with oomph, the total opposite of limp.

As impressive as this all sounds, I was skeptical the device would perform as quickly as the claims indicate. During the global launch event, engineers told an audience of intrigued industry insiders that three slow, deliberate passes would take your hair from wet to dry, no matter your hair type. A model with tight, coily curls told the crowd she was able to style half her head in 20 minutes. When I finally got a chance to test-drive the device on my wavy, frizz-prone hair, I was truly surprised at how effective it was. I was able to step out of the shower with sopping wet hair and have it completely styled within 15 minutes.

After rough-drying my hair with a towel, I sectioned it and got to work. Setting up the device was easy enough. Simply plug it in, select your language and temperature reading (Fahrenheit or Celsius), and choose whether you’re drying wet hair or straightening it. I unlocked the tool and started drying. With each pass, my hair became dryer and smoother. It’s a bit unnerving to place a tool directly on wet hair—I must admit, I kept waiting to hear an alarming sizzling sound—but you quickly get over that when you realize how effectively it’s working. After about eight minutes, my hair was 80% dry; the remaining time was spent smoothing it out.

Once I finished with a final cold blast of air to set the look, my strands stayed smooth all day without any additional product. Usually, when I use a blow dryer and flat iron, my Monica Geller-esque hair becomes poofy again after thirty minutes, requiring another round with the iron. But this time, it remained sleek and lovely all day. The final verdict? Despite the sticker shock (it rings in at $700 CAD), for the amount of time it’s shaved off my routine, I’d say it’s definitely worth the investment.

dyson

Price: $700

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