I tried the new £450 Dyson Airwrap i.d – save your cash & head to the salon if you want long-lasting bouncy blow drys
IN my thirties, a salon blow-dry was as essential to my party season routine as a sachet of Alka-Seltzer the morning after.
Working in a glamorous part of London, I’d sneak off to the hairdressers at lunchtime and re-emerge with bouncy, glossy curls ready for my night out.
Now I’m in my mid-forties, I still love the effect I get from a salon blow-dry, but my life is a bit different these days.
Firstly, I work from home a lot and I’ve moved out of London to a smaller town.
Let’s just say my local salon caters more for the older demographic, which means they can do a lovely shampoo and set, but can’t quite nail a cool Seventies do.
I’ve tried everything from overnight heatless curls to pro blowdry lessons, and still it always flops or frizzes within hours.
Secondly, the price of a salon blow-dry has rocketed over the years.
In 2014 — AKA the height of my partying days — my favourite blow-dry bar, Hershesons, which was located in Topshop, Oxford Circus (RIP), charged £25.
But these days, a long hair blow-dry at the Hershesons bar in Selfridges will set you back £62.50, a sum I need to think twice about.
This means it’s gone from being an affordable luxury to a treat for special occasions only.
Finally, going through the perimenopause and embracing the grey has completely changed the texture and manageability of my hair.
When I was a bleached blonde and didn’t have volume-sapping hot flushes to contend with, a quality blow-dry could easily last me through a long weekend.
Nowadays, I’m lucky if it lasts a day or two, which makes me reluctant to part with the cash.
So, for the past few years I’ve been trying to perfect a DIY salon do myself, but I just cannot get it right.
I’ve tried everything from overnight heatless curls to pro blow-dry lessons, and still it always flops or frizzes within hours.
The closest I’ve got to a professional blow-dry is with my original Dyson Airwrap, which gives me the texture, volume and style I want, but doesn’t give me results that last the distance.
When I heard that Dyson were introducing the Airwrap i.d., with technology specifically targeted at making your style last longer, I thought it might be the answer to my hair woes.
If you’re not familiar with the market-leading Dyson tool, the original Airwrap uses something called the Coanda effect to style your hair without extreme heat.
This basically means it uses airflow to curl, which is kinder to your hair than some other heated tools.
At close to five hundred quid, it’s a lot of cash to drop if your curls drop too.
You may have seen TikTok videos of it “sucking” hair around the barrel — that’s the Coanda effect in action.
Bit of a faff
It uses way less heat than a traditional tong or straightener, but as anyone who has ever Googled “Dyson Airwrap” or watched TikTok reviews will know, one of the most searched topics is, “Why won’t my Airwrap curls last?”.
At close to five hundred quid (they are currently on sale for £479.99) it’s a lot of cash to drop if your curls drop, too.
The Airwap i.d., which is the third version of the tool to be launched in six years, has Bluetooth connectivity and an app which, after a quiz about your hair, controls the tool automatically, timing how long to heat, style and cool down each section of your hair.
In theory, this should solve the issue of curls not lasting, as you’ll be using the right attachments for exactly the correct amount of time.
At first glance, the i.d. looks pretty much the same as the original, apart from the fact the on/off button has an option to slide it to i.d., thus giving over control to your app.
The app itself was a bit of a faff to set up and, once you’re in, there are lots of videos and it’s not clear which one to watch and when.
The video that I was excited about — which promised to tell me how to “maximise curl retention” — was very disappointing and just told me how to use a hairdryer to rough dry my hair.
Once I finally got it working, I took the hair quiz, which asks about your hair type, length, how long it usually holds a style, what your styling skill level is and what your styling goals are.
Then I was good to go and start styling, guided by the app.
A timer appears on screen which counts down each step as you go (wrap, where you attach your hair to the tool, curl, where the hair is curled, and cool, which sets the curl in place) and changes the settings on the Airwrap without you having to flick a switch.
It means no fiddling with heat settings, which made a big difference as I often tug my hair out of the curl if I do it manually.
The immediate effect was neater, more well-defined volume and curls — and, crucially, they did last longer.
Great present
On average, I’d say with my original Airwrap, I noticed a significant drop by lunchtime if I’d used it in the morning.
With the i.d., it mostly lasted the full day but, unlike a salon blow-dry, it had fully dropped out by the next morning.
This means more frequent restyling but with less damage from high heat so it’s a time versus hair condition thing.
I’m happy to spend an extra ten minutes refreshing a style if it means my hair stays healthier in the long run.
The app definitely takes some of the guesswork out for beginners, but I’m not sure that I’ll use the instructions every time I style my hair as it’s an added step that I won’t always want to be bothered with.
So can Airwrap replace a salon blow-dry?
No. In my experience, it can’t compete with the volume, bounce and long-lasting effects a trained stylist can achieve.
And if your hair is very thick and straight or curl-resistant, then it probably won’t come close.
I’d have also liked to have seen additional options for hair hazards such as challenging weather conditions, so you could get a boost if it was humid or raining, for example.
It doesn’t offer product application tips either, which is a shame.
But for my hair type — fine with a natural wave — it’s the closest thing to a pro-blow I’ve found, and although it’s pricey, it equates to the cost of around a dozen blow dries.
So if you’re a regular salon visitor, it could save you a lot of cash in the long run.
If you already have an Airwrap, there are not enough new features to make you need an upgrade.
But if you’ve got one on your Christmas list for the first time, it’s definitely a great present to receive.
3 of the best multi-stylers
Beauty editor Tara Ledden assesses Airwrap alternatives.
Revlon One-Step blow-dry multi air styler 5-in-1, £79.99, Boots
This established budget option has had an upgrade and the new, five-head version offers much the same versatility as the Airwap.
It’s quite heavy so you need two hands, plus the attachments get hot, so I don’t imagine it’s great for long-term hair health.
Great for occasional use, though.
Mark Hill Pick ‘N’ Mix Air flexi air styler starter kit, £119.99, Boots
Looks great in pink, and the attachments feel similar to the Dyson in how they work (though they’re much lighter, and thus cheaper feeling).
There are two major issues – no cool shot to help set styles, and you have to change the attachment for each side of your face when curling lengths, making it a longer process.
Shark FlexStyle build your own air styling & hair drying system, £199.99
Less than half the price of the Dyson but still expensive, so I had high expectations.
It’s close to the real deal in its versatility – though you may need buyable add-ons.
The swivel feature for the dryer makes it easy to get close to your roots but poor button placement means it’s too easy to hit the wrong one.