Unbiased Blogger Dyson AirWrap Review: Is it worth the $800 price tag?

There are a bajillion reviews out there, but you all seem to want my opinion on it, for better or for worse, so here it is. Plus a few tips and tricks.

Did you buy it out of your own money?

YES. I would have loved to have gotten it for free, but … hey, when it’s your money, you’re really unbiased, amirite?

It is expensive. Even buying it in Ontario with taxes 2% less than Quebec, I basically gulped when I paid about $800 for the Complete Set.

Gulped?

CRIED. I cried when I bought it online. I shed a little tear. Who the #$@* spends almost $1000 on a HAIR TOOL? I am not even into hair…

I was waiting for the Sephora 20% VIB sale originally, but it JUST passed, and then they stocked it O_o .. Of course they did.

I am not really concerned to be honest, because I have wanted it for a long time and their return policy is very generous as well.

Which one did you buy?

This one, the Dyson Complete Airwrap Set, with ALL of the attachments:

Did I need the complete set? Maybe not, but I am one of those collector types that thinks – BUT WHAT IF!?..

I haven’t yet tried to do a blowout to get straight shiny hair, because I am really into this wavy, beach goddess look right now, but at least I have all the tools to do so. Literally all of them.

So, as I haven’t tried the straightening brushes or anything up top, I will only concentrate on the curling tips at the bottom which frankly, are the only ones that are very different and difficult to get used to if you aren’t used to it in the first place.

Go for a Dyson Demo if you can

I went for a free Dyson demo to have a real expert teach me what to do (I am a complete newbie).

You sign up for free Dyson demos via Eventbrite. This is the link to the one in Yorkdale in Toronto, as there is a demo store there. They book you in for an hour, but my hair only took half an hour even with a wash.

I basically told her:

I own nothing for the hair, except for a boar bristle hairbrush.

I do not own anything, not even styling products, hairdryer, curling iron, straightener… nothing. I have never purchased any of this in my life.

Furthermore, I continued, I do nothing to my hair. I wash it with shampoo, occasionally put a little conditioner on the ends when I feel it getting dry, and then it air dries on its own.

I sometimes tie it up in a bun while I sleep so that it is damp and dries while I sleep, which then, gives me unpredictable but close-to goddess waves when I unroll the bun in the morning.

That’s it.

I am truly a complete newbie to anything hair-related, and I found this tool to be incredibly easy to use. Like, SO EASY TO USE IT WAS INSANE. I had to learn / get used to it, but after about 5 times of practicing, I got the hang of it. I am a pro now.

How I Airwrap my hair

I get out of the shower, my hair is dripping wet. I tie it up in an Aquis microfiber towel to remove as much excess water as possible for about 15 minutes, as I am doing my skincare routine, rubbing lotion on my body, etc.

Then, I let down the towel, and sort of shake out my hair.

If I am in a rush, I use the dryer attachment to really dry my scalp first, but to leave the ends damp, but not wet and clumping together:

If I am not in a rush, I don’t bother drying with this at all.

I just separate my hair at the back in a half ponytail leaving the back half of my hair ends down, and clip up the left side, then the right into little Sailor Moon buns with $5 clips I got from the pharmacy.

I usually begin with the BACK bottom half of my hair first, and do it in sections.

I take a small section of my hair (not too small, but like a lock), and then see if it is too wet or not. You can choose to take a thicker lock or a smaller one, but don’t make them too small or too big, you’re going to spend way too much time and/or not get enough of a curl.

If it is too wet, it is all clumpy and dark like this. This kind of hair WILL NOT AIRWRAP properly. It is too heavy, and you’re going to get frustrated and angry.

 

You need hair that is half as wet as the photo above, and 1-3 of those wet sections, are perfect as a ‘lock’ depending on how many curls you want.

If it is damp (but not too dry or else it will over dry your hair) it is perfect, because it will Airwrap perfectly and not make you angry.

I use the SMALLEST barrels at the back (shown on the left) because it is hidden and I figure the curls will last longer.

I hold a barrel up to the mirror and if I see the arrows going away from my face, that’s the right one to use (there are two, one wraps the hair to the left left and the other to the right).

At this point, I grip the ends of my sectioned lock, leaving about 3″, and hold it up to the turned on airwrap (I put it on max heat) and sort of shake my lock up and down, while holding the ends against the barrel to get the ends to airwrap onto the barrel.

I shake my lock of hair up and down because sometimes it is a bit too wet and needs time to dry a bit from the air of the barrel, and it helps get the hair to “catch” onto the barrel.

This gif sums up perfectly what I do, just imagine my fingers shaking the lock of hair though:

Once I see all the ends are airwrapped, I sort of use the tips of my fingernail to spread out the hair so it isn’t all clumped in one section and evenly distributed, and leave it for about 5 seconds to dry the ends on there and set them.

Then I slowly move it up towards my scalp, keeping it as close to the same angle of where the roots are as possible so the curl looks more natural and doesn’t look like it gathers in one area.

I leave it for about another 5-10 seconds, and then flip the switch up to cold for about 3 seconds to set it, then I turn it off completely (you can do this all with your thumb it is amazing), and pull out the device to show a perfect Shirley Temple curl.

I do this with the one side of my hair, then use the other barrel for the other side.

Then I pin up all the curls at the back to move the dried curls out of the way, and let down one half of the top of my Sailor Moon bun.

At this point, I switch to the bigger barrels (pictured on the right), and do the tops of my hair, in the exact same way.

I haven’t tried this, but you can also alternate the two barrels on one section of your head to make the curls go in and out of each other, rather than all of them looking like they curl away from your face.

After everything is done, I sort of look like a 1920s Victorian Doll. Super creepy, because the curls are PERFECTLY done like sausage curls and haven’t had time to relax.

I was told to use a styling product to “set” them, but I really don’t want to buy or add any more products to my hair, so I just ignored that advice.

I leave the sausage curls as they are, and just flip my hair upside down and sort of gently shake it out with my fingers.

You can also try pulling the curl down to loosen it, or using your fingers to gently comb through the curls to loosen them.

Remember, if you loosen them too much you can never get that curl back, so go slow.

Major tips to remember:

Your hair is not wrapping? Well here’s why:

A) Your hair is too wet.

You need to take a smaller section, hold it up to the barrel and then let the hair dry a little, and wrap around it as it dries from the heat. Once the ends of your hair finally wraps a little, leave it for about 5-10 seconds until it dries on the barrel, and THEN move the wand in towards your scalp to curl the rest.

B) You have too much hair in your lock.

You may have just too much hair trying to get it to wrap onto the barrel.

Take a smaller section. Everyone’s hair is different. If your hair is thicker, take less, thinner, you can hold more.

C) Your hair is not evenly spread across the barrel.

You are not trying to spread out the hair so it is evenly wrapped around the barrel and not totally clumped onto one section (like the middle).

You can use your finger NAILS very gently to tap and move the hair and spread it out a little so it is more even. The barrel is not, but it is not scorching hot like a metal, and will not burn you.

Your hair WILL NOT get caught.

Valid concern. It is just air, and I have not had a single hair get caught and yanked out of my head. It is super cool.

Your hair and hands will NOT burn.

Sure, the barrels are hot after use, but you WILL NOT BURN YOURSELF.

They are not metal, they’re a type of plastic, and they are too hot to hold (that’s why there is a pink cool-tip nipple looking thing on the top so you can use your finger tips to pick it up and move it), but you cannot burn yourself which is what I love, as I am a huge klutz.

Your hair will get an even curl.

With regular curling irons I tried randomly at friend’s houses, I also found that the curl could sometimes not be even because you could have clipped/wrapped the hair in an awkward way and it comes out looking strange.

With the Airwrap, you can adjust it a bit with your fingertips (sliding the hair up and down, arranging it to be more straight or on an angle), and the curls come out perfect every time.

Some Cons of the Dyson Airwrap:

1. Expensive AF

I mean. REALLY. $800. I am still in sticker shock.

I did not, again, need all the attachments, but I am one of those.. people.. who like full sets.

It does come in two other sets that don’t have certain attachments (missing 2-3), but it’s only $50 less per kit overall, and each attachment if you were to want to buy it again later, would cost $50 per attachment.

2. Kit is bulky to store

I have very little space as-is. I have no idea where to store this kit, I mean it is huge, have you seen it?

It is not small. It is large, like a toolbox or a toolkit.

It is also heavy, and bulky. It’s pretty, yes.. a pretty very expensive leather looking box, great organization, very easy to store, bla bla bla.

It’s BIG.

End Result

This is a day after curling my hair. It still kept the curl with ZERO product.

Would I recommend it?

Do you have $800 to spend on this?

Will you be using cash and NOT going into debt for this?

Are you willing to spend said $800 on a hair tool instead of something else and not feel terrible?

Are you sick of burning your fingers, and want something that is not only very cool, but works well and is easy for newbies?

Do you want goddess curls or super blown out straight hair done by yourself at home instead of going to a salon?

Are you sick of janky curls because your hair was tied up in a wet bun the wrong way and now are sticking out in awkward positions?

Then yes. I totally recommend it.

I was going to return it because it was $800 but I just love the curls and the ease of it too much. I mean, the sheer fact that I CANNOT BURN MYSELF on this tool and I WILL get even curls that are properly curled and wound, is something I couldn’t have imagined.