Consider this the only Dyson Airstrait review you need—after all, for RM2,599, it’s a hefty investment that deserves only the most honest of opinions after prolonged use of the hair tool. I’ve been using the Dyson Airstrait daily for a little over 30 days now after it was finally available in Malaysia a year after it was launched.
Before I begin my review, here are some details you need to know about my hair type and typical day-to-day hairstyle. My natural hair is shoulder-length, semi-fine, and air dries to a wavy, frizzy finish. My usual look involves blow-drying, followed by styling with a round brush and a hair dryer to smooth out the kinks. If I want a sleeker finish, I will incorporate a third step with a hair straightener.
As someone who battles with frizz and the humidity of the Malaysian weather, I am always on the lookout for products and tools that will make achieving this look much easier. I’ve tried them all: straighteners, heated straightening brushes—the works. So far, the only tried and true method is with a straightener, but I don’t always have time to do a three-step routine nor do I want to apply so much heat on my hair that often.
Enter the Dyson Airstrait. The wet-to-dry plus straightening features wowed girlies across the globe when it first launched in May 2023. Nearly a year later, it is finally available in this part of the world, except it’s constantly sold out.
The TLDR on what it does
The Dyson Airstrait is not a hair straightener. It has no heated plates, but instead, uses high-velocity air blades to achieve natural, everyday straight hair. Think of it as a Dyson Airwrap, but straightens hair instead of curling it.
But it still looks like a hair straightener. The two arms channel a 45-degree directional high-pressure blade of airflow, aligning the hair strands to create a smooth, shiny, and straightened finish. This very high-pressure airflow is what allows us to simultaneously dry and straighten hair.
TIP
Don’t be afraid of the larger-than-usual power brick! It has been carefully designed to manage power flow to your device, so be sure to test it out every time you plug it into a new socket. To test if your new socket can handle the Dyson Airstrait, push the Reset button, followed by the yellow Test button. If the Reset button pops up with no red light flashing above the Test button, you’re good to go. Push the Reset button again before you begin using the device.
How I use it
At the launch event, we were advised to blow dry our roots first—this can be achieved by closing the Airstrait and using it as a hair dryer. I personally felt that the airflow when used this way is not strong enough, and I would rather use a hair dryer—my preferred is the Supersonic, naturally—to dry my roots first. Why is this important? Damp roots harbour bacteria and can also weigh hair down with sebum when not properly dried.
Once my roots are sufficiently dried, I section my hair into three layers. It’s worth noting that if you have thicker hair, you may need to section it into more layers. The Airstrait works best and most effectively in smaller, sectioned-out hair than a whole chunk. Undeniably, this means that thicker hair will need a longer time to dry out.
I am done in a fraction of the time that I would normally take with a blow-dry and round brush combo, and even shorter than with the additional hair straightener step.
Do I like using it?
It is a resounding yes. The first few days took a bit of adjustment on the right settings (there are two heat settings: 80 and 110 degrees Celcius) to use as well as manoeuvring it differently compared to my usual tools. Afterwards, it was smooth sailing. Other than wet-to-dry, you can also use it on dry hair to achieve a sleek look minus the direct heat—all you have to do is change the settings with the push of a button.
I will say, however, that it is not as quiet as other reviews make it out to be. Compared to the regular Dyson Supersonic, the Airstrait produces a louder wind noise, albeit quieter than a traditional hairdryer. It is also not as portable as the Dyson Corrale, although you can certainly check this one into your luggage since it doesn’t use a battery.
My favourite thing about the Airstrait is how quickly I can be done with my hair post-shower. One of the banes of having longer hair (coming from a typically short-haired girly) is the amount of work it takes to dry and style it after washing. Now, having straight and sleek hair is pretty much effortless—it’s the perfect lazy girl solution to looking polished.
GET THIS IF...
…you want to achieve smooth and straight blown-out hair. The Airstrait is a two-in-one that dries wet hair while straightening it via a blow-out style, which is perfect if you typically use a round brush to achieve that sleek look.
Should you splurge on that RM2,599 price tag? It’s a difficult one to answer, but one thing I can say for sure: you’ll get mileage on this and pay it off in due time. It’s all about the girl math.
Get on the waiting list for a Dyson Airstrait here.