Is The Dyson AirWrap Worth the Money?

I did it!  I bought the Dyson Airwrap a week or so ago!  I had my eye on the Dyson AirWrap from the time it launched—but had many questions, especially since I already have and love the regular Dyson Supersonic Blowdryer-and the AirWrap is super expensive.  Early on, reviews  were mixed, some said there was a steep learning curve, while others saying it wasn’t worth the hefty price tag. After a quick try at Ulta, I could understand it might take a little getting used to—so I put off buying it .

Last spring my hair was severely color damaged, which caused me to re-eavaulate my hair care routine, including the use of traditional curling irons, and flatirons.  For the first two months after the damaging color treatment, I wore my hair in a pony tail—it was that bad.  As the months went by and the breakage began to grow out and get trimmed off, I began to miss styling and curling my hair.  That’s when I started thinking about the AirWrap.

When I first started looking at the AirWrap again, it was out of stock everywhere—but I continued to think about it. One day whilst perusing the Sephora website, I came upon a special edition version, and decided not to wait any longer—we have those pesky supply chain issues—right? So I went for it. I was like a kid at Christmas when the giant AirWrap box arrived–and you should have seen Roger when he saw the beautiful case. Rather than saying “You spent how much?” he said, “Wow this is so cool! I love this case!” Let me just say, the case and the limited edition colors are so elegant–I felt like an old time movie star!

The following are  the questions I had before buying the Airwrap—and what I learned researching the product and now having used it.  Follow all the way to the end to get my first impressions, styling tips and recommendations.

Dyson AirWrap https://rstyle.me/+KNufwpGRpKx6iu9t40QR8g

Dyson Supersonic Blow Dryer https://rstyle.me/+05EE9O0_j5WNs-Eo9qHQ5A

What Is the Dyson Airwrap and What Makes It Different?

The Dyson Airwrap is an air driven styling tool that uses an aerodynamic phenomenon called the Coanda Effect to simultaneously dry and curl hair using air and heat together.  Airflow draws the hair onto the barrel creating voluminous curls.  The tool can also be used with it’s flat brush attachment to dry and smooth the hair.  Hot air moving through the hair, also called intelligent heat control, replaces the high heat flat irons and curling  which heat the hair shaft, often causing significant damage to hair.

Dyson products boast a powerful motor, creating high-velocity airflow which keeps the heat moving—and thus protecting your hair from damage.

The Airwrap system comes with several attachments including a blow dryer, four curling barrels, a soft smoothing brush, and  a round brush.  The four curling attachments can be used to make two different sized curls,-one inch curls and one and a half inch curls.  The curling barrels are directional—one for each side of the face. 

The Airwrap comes with a special storage case that looks beautiful on your counter.  Mine also came with a special travel bag as the storage case would be too big for a suitcase.

Does the Dyson Air Wrap work on all hair types?

The Dyson Air Wrap works for all hair types.  I have fine hair, and am able to add volume using the round brush and voluminous curls using the curling wands.  I have also created smooth, sleek looks using the soft brush attachments.  

Women with short hair can add lift or smoothness using the brush attachments both the round brush and the flat brushes work great on short hair. Women with short hair can get smaller brushes. Women with curly hair can get a salon level blow out using the  flat brush attachments—and can add waves or big curls using the round brush or wand attachments.  

Women with thick hair can get beautiful results by using one inch sections for curling—and surprisingly, the curling process goes pretty fast even when working with smaller pieces of hair at a time.

Women with longer hair can purchase long barrels and get beautiful results.  Further, the Dyson works great on any hair texture—they even have two different flat brushes to address different hair texture needs.  In short, the Dyson is perfect for all different hair types—curly, or straight hair, thick or thin, and all different textures.

Do You Still Need A Regular Hair Dryer?

The Dyson Airwrap is an all in one product.  It has a hair drying attachment as well as two flat brushes, a round brush and wands in two sizes.  Your hair should be about 75% dry before you start styling, so most of the time I use my regular Dyson Supersonic Blowdryer to dry my hair almost dry.  I then use my AirWrap to style my hair.  If you don’t already have a blowdryer, you won’t need one—the AirWrap does it all as it even has a drying attachment.

How long does it take to style your hair?

One of the best things about the Dyson products over all is their ability to dry hair gently but quickly.  The speed with which the dryers work help reduce blow dry time, and potential heat damage to the hair.  

I find it takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to dry and style my fine, medium length hair—starting with wet hair.  From watching YouTube, women with longer and thicker hair will find it takes twenty to thirty minutes to dry and style. For many, it’s a considerable time savings.

I find drying my hair over all to about 75% dry using my regular Dyson blowdryer takes about five minutes, and the remainder of the time is spent styling.  I have found that sectioning my hair really helps with the drying and styling process.

How long does the style last?

My blow-dry lasts three days—that’s as long as I go between washings.  I also put my hair up at night to protect the curls.  I restyle my bangs in the morning as they sometimes get crushed or don’t look right when I wake up.  This usually takes just a minute or two.

To refresh my bangs, I dampen my hair, apply a small amount of heat protectant and use the round brush attachment to give my bangs some lift and a slight curl directed away from my face. I have found that using the cool shot button helps to set my style so I rarely use hair spray.

I use the brushes for a straighter style, and often lift the roots by dampening my hair then using the brush attachments to lift the roots on the second day.  

Is the Airwrap worth the  money?

There is no question that the Airwrap is expensive—and there are brush style dryers that work similarly-and you can always stick with a traditional blow dryer and regular, inexpensive heat tools as always. 

If you are concerned about the health of your hair, or you want to grow it longer and keep having problems with breakage, you may want to give the Airwrap a try.  I found that since using my Dyson products, my hair has definitely been healthier—I can’t imagine what it would have been like last year when it was color damaged, had I not had the Dyson.  Plus it’s so versatile with al the different attachments 

To me, my Dyson products are worth every penny—I love using them—but they are definitely an extra.  Worth it, but extra.

Do You Need Special Styling Products when You Use the Air Wrap?

You do not need to  special products to get beautiful results from the Dyson AirWrap.  However, when you use heat tools of any kind, you should always use a heat protectant.  You can always use products to encourage curl, when going for a curly look. 

Sea salt spray and hair spray can be used to finish your look.  I really love the following hair care products—-you can watch this video for more about caring for damaged hair.

Pro’s and Con”s

Pros:  

When used properly, the Dyson is much gentler on hair than blowdrying, then using heat tools to style hair.

The AirWrap is a single tool—you won’t need a flat iron, blow dryer or curling iron to style your hair.

The AirWrap can be used to create many styles from sleek and smooth looks to lovely bouncy curls.

The AirWrap is great for travel—it’s light and it doesn’t take up much space in the suitcase—I am super excited to be able to travel with my Dyson.

I found the styler easy to use, and was able to achieve great looks right away.

The quality is impeccable.

Cons:

The price is very high.

It can take a few tries to get the hang of it—I was able to get a beautiful bouncy curl right away, as well as sleek and wavy looks, but I have seen a few people struggle using it.

You have to change attachments several times to create a curly hair style.  

10 Important Tips for Long Lasting Curls

1. Start with damp hair.  Either let your hair dry naturally to a bout 75% dry or use a blowdryer to dry hair to 75%. You should not try to style wet hair.
2. Section your hair into small one inch sections and work with one section at a time.  For extra hold, pin your curls in place while hair cools.
3. Use the barrel horizontally to build volume at the root, use the wand vertically to create face framing waves.
4. For a beachy wave, start wrapping toward the middle of the section leaving the ends out.
5. Use a heat protectant which not only protects the hair, but it also conditions and helps make bouncy, shiny curls.
6. Use the cold shot button to set the curls or the style.  Hold the cold shot button for about 5 seconds. 
7. Use the smaller barrel for higher curls—the larger for bigger bouncy curls.  
8. If you use hair spray, spray while the hair is cooling before brushing your style in place.  This will help the curls hold longer.
9. Make sure that you use the right settings—for voluminous curls the heat and airflow should be on high.  I use medium heat for brush styling, and adjust the air flow according to how well my style is coming together. 
10. Hold the wand in place for about 15 seconds, create gentle tension, then use the cool shot for ten seconds. As stated above, use the cool shot to set your style.

My results

I counted down the days until my Dyson Airwrap arrived and was styling my hair the instant I got the box open.  I dampened my hair, applied a little heat protectant and set to work.  I was literally giddy with the results!  I have created three different looks so far, and have been thrilled with the results—shiny, healthy, salon style blow outs—at home-even if you aren’t a great hair stylist.  

Dyson products do a great job protecting hair from extreme heat damage—and this is especially true now that I am not using traditional heat stying tools.  

For more on hair care check out these posts:

Here’s a video on caring for damaged hair: