I Was Skeptical, But the Dyson Airwrap Is Worth Every Damn Penny—Here's Why

If you were to ask me what I’m bad at, the first thing on the list would be blow-drying my hair. I do not know my way around a hair dryer. I have really thick hair that feels like it takes hours to blow-dry—my arms get tired, I get sweaty, and my hair never ends up looking good at all. For a long time, I would let my hair air-dry and add curls in or straighten from there because it just felt easier to me. 

For obvious reasons, I’ve been intrigued by the Dyson Airwrap ever since it was released, but I’d never tried it myself until last fall when I forgot all of my hair products on a trip, and my boyfriend’s mom loaned me hers. After trying it out, everyone kept asking me if I’d gotten my hair blown out. The Airwrap is pricey, but for the effect it gives, it's 100% worth it. At a salon, an average blowout is around $50, so if you use your Airwrap 12 times, it will already make up for it. 

What makes the Dyson Airwrap unique is that it dries your hair while styling it using minimal heat. Many hair tools can get hotter than 400ºF, which can be really damaging to hair, even with a heat protectant. The Dyson Airwrap, however, never goes above 302ºF. 

In fact, instead of relying on heat to style hair, the Airwrap relies on something called the Coanda effect, which is an aerodynamic phenomenon that curves air. By using the Coanda effect, the Airwrap is able to actually attract hair to the barrel, which is part of the reason styling is so easy. The Airwrap is hard to get ahold of because it’s constantly selling out, but it just got restocked at Nordstrom and Ulta, so today is your lucky day. 

The Airwrap isn’t a one-stop shop, either. It comes with eight attachments (including two sets of the same curling iron attachments that make the air flow in different directions) that all do different things, so you can pretty much create any look you want when you’re styling your hair.

Start with damp hair. You can either towel-dry your hair or use the dryer attachment to speed things up. If you’re using the curl attachments, follow the arrows to see which direction the air will flow to choose a barrel. For example, if you want your hair to curl outward, you’ll choose the corresponding barrel and vice versa. For brush attachments, you’ll just choose one.

To create curls that hold their shape, choose both high heat and airflow and hold for 15 seconds. If you’re using a brush attachment, steadily brush down your hair. For curls, finish with a cold shot for five seconds to set them. Work around your whole head, switching the airflow for the curling barrels on the other side. 

This article was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.