Dyson Airstrait - The Best Straightener I Never Used

Hair and I have always had a strained relationship.

In my teen years I was determined to let it be free to explore its own boundaries. As a result, my hair was thick, long and a complete mess.

But as time passed and I was encouraged to take my personal appearance more seriously, I tried to achieve some kind of... you know... a style.

This involved a lot of experimentation with different products and numerous trips to barbers and hairdressers to try and get things under control.

Unfortunately, while a triple-crown is highly sought after in horse racing, it turns out it's a complete nightmare when it comes to making your hair do anything useful - especially with hair as dense and as wavy as mine.

Eventually, I tried the most expensive hairdresser in town. "I just need a style that looks half decent that I can easily maintain myself," I pleaded.

He took one look at my three whorls, each rotating in an opposite direction to another and said, "I think you'd be best to shave it all off."

So I did. And never looked back. Especially given my hairline was already on a quick march back - even in my early 20s.

None of this was great news for my future daughters, however. They inherited thick waves like mine and yet have seemed reluctant to shave their heads, despite my repeated recommendation over the years.

Instead, they've struggled on. As has their mother. Both with me and keeping their hair under control.

If only Dyson had come along sooner.

Yes, although I have no hair of my own, may I present to you the Dyson Airstrait? - yet another one of those why-didn't-I-think-of-that ideas from the genius engineers who brought you the bladeless fan and of course, a succession of the world's greatest vacuum cleaners.

Upon receiving my Prussian Blue/Rich Copper review unit, (it also comes in Bright Nickel/Rich Copper) I immediately called for volunteers to trial the Airstrait on my behalf. Let's just say the three other people who actually have hair in my house weren't backward in coming forward.

While, for obvious reasons, I'm no expert, I've come to appreciate the golden rule of hair-styling; people with curly hair want it to be straight while people with straight hair want it to be curly.

As I've already mentioned, my three live-in test subjects fall into the first category and as such, over the years, have all spent thousands of dollars on various straightening tools and even extravagant chemical processes that take hours, performed by professional hairdressers.

So what if you could achieve the same result in a matter of minutes?

This is what the Dyson Airstrait promises; regardless of whether your hair is wet or dry, two or three passes should be all you need for a shiny, healthy, salon-straight result.

As excited as my willing lab-rats were to try the Airstrait out, I think it's safe to say they were pretty skeptical about Dyson's claims. After all, even I know hair takes time. I know this because I'm usually spending that time waiting in the car when we're supposed to be going out.

But it didn't take many turns with the Airstrait to convert that skepticism into evangelism.

At first I was hearing comments like, "It just doesn't seem to get hot like my other straighteners."

I couldn't argue. It doesn't. In fact, the Airstrait doesn't have any hotplates at all. As usual, the Dyson team looked at the problem from scratch, quickly realising that a controlled, high-pressure flow of air can achieve the same straightening effect as sandwiching your precious tresses between two scorching pieces of metal.

In fact, it turns out you might not need much heat at all.

This means no heat damage and certainly no risk of scorching your precious locks.

And of course, because it's using air, you can literally dry while you straighten - all the while trusting Dyson's intelligent heat control - the same tech wizardry found in the Airwrap and the Supersonic - to measure the temperature 16 times per second. This prevents your hair becoming brittle over time and actually achieves the opposite; a healthy shine.

I'm not just saying that, I've been told it by my test crew and I've seen it for myself.

In fact, the same hair-owner who initially complained the Airstrait doesn't get hot enough quickly changed her tune when she saw the results and started getting spontaneous compliments about how shiny her now totally frizz-free hair was looking. 

She also had to admit once she got used to the new straightening technique, it was a massive time-saver.

The other spinoff (excuse the pun) is because Dyson's Hyperdymium motor is creating a carefully directed yet powerful, high pressure airflow to do the straightening, there's no requirement to squeeze the two arms of the Airstrait together, so the using it is much less tiring on your hands.

Whether you're using it in wet or dry mode, the Airstrait also runs surprisingly quietly and take it from me, if you're up early and trying to disturb your partner as little as possible as you get ready for work, less noise is always welcome.

As usual for Dyson, you'll pay a premium for the Airstrait; NZ$799.00. But also as usual for Dyson, this device has been rigorously tested for durability and is likely to outlast cheaper alternatives. And of course, once you add up the time you've saved drying and styling your hair - not to mention less of a need to visit the salon for pricey chemical treatments - this is one Christmas present suggestion that will pay for itself pretty quickly.

It almost makes me wish I had hair.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Dyson Airstrait.