is the dyson air wrap right for me?

[Anonymous]

I’m late 50s, my hair has always been mostly straight but frizzy - a hair stylist can easily do a smooth blow out on my hair, but I have never mastered the art. I use the revlon brush blow dryer and can achieve a straight blow out but my hair is so dry and frizzy looking within 30 minutes. My hair is fully colored and is thinning in front, but still thick in back. I wear it shoulder length.

I’m considering investing in the dyson airwrap, but it is so darn pricey and seems to come with a lot of bells and whistles I’d never use. I’d like to be able to dry my hair 2-3 times per week into a smooth straight blow out with some body to compensate for the thinning hair. I will not be making curls etc in my hair.

Does a $600 hair appliance really make blow outs that much easier, and less damaging, to one’s hair? Do you think I’d like it given my parameters?

[Anonymous]

I bought a different Dyson, it worked pretty well for a year or two then just suddenly stopped working. So I took it to the Dyson repair shop over near Merrifield. They gave me a ticket and said they'd call me. I never heard from them so I had to go back and wait in line again to get a status update (they have you take numbers like the DMV). They said they were working on it. So after not hearing back again I drove over and they said that the internal firmware needed to be updated, which cost as much as a new machine and also that it had just exceeded the warranty period. I'll never buy another Dyson.

[Anonymous]

I don't use most of the attachments -- just two curling barrels -- but I love mine. It dries my hair (thin, shoulder length) in 5 minutes, 10 if I switch to the smaller barrel to make some curls.

Why not try the regular Dyson if you don't want to curl?

[Anonymous]

Daughter has the Dyson Air Straight (not sure if thats the name) and it doesn't come with all the attachments, it is just for straightening. She claims it has saved her hair.

[Anonymous]

OP have you tried other midpriced options? There are a lot of dryers between your $30 Revlon and the Dyson. Sharp, Bondiboost, T3, Babyliss?

I might try one of these, which run from like $80-$200, first. They may not work as well as the Dyson but will probably give you more smoothing than your Revlon.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Unless I am missing something, the Dyson Airstraight is still over $500. More importantly, it doesn’t have a brush attachment, so I picture the blow outs being like a blow dry version of an old school hair straightener. My hair is too thin for that look, it needs body (when I or my hair stylist blows it dry now, I use a round brush and blow dryer, and I want to achieve that look).

I’m definitely open to other brands. From what I’ve read online, none seem to stack up to the Dyson. I just don’t want to waste $300 on the Shark only to still feel like I am not getting a smooth blow out with less hair damage.

I’m interested to hear more firsthand thoughts on the Dyson, AND on any competitors! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You might like the shark. It gives a great blowout. Beware though, it’s LOUD. I wear earplugs when I use it. I always get compliments on my hair after I use it - like always

[Anonymous]

Oh and if you get the shark, you can find a sale. I think I got mine for 225.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have the GHD Duet Style? I'm thinking about buying this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh and if you get the shark, you can find a sale. I think I got mine for 225.

We are close enough to black Friday that for any of these options, including the Dyson, I'd wait to see what the deals are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh and if you get the shark, you can find a sale. I think I got mine for 225.

We are close enough to black Friday that for any of these options, including the Dyson, I'd wait to see what the deals are.

Agree. There is also a new Dyson model just out, so I wonder if the older model will get a price cut.

[Anonymous]

I have both the Air Wrap (first edition from years ago) and recently got the Air Straight. I’m late 40s with fine, thin hair that sits just above my shoulders. It used to be longer and thicker (back when I got the Air Wrap). I’m also prone to frizz especially as I'm getting older.

IME, the Air Wrap dries my hair fast, and gives me some volume with the brush attachment BUT I still needed to use a flat iron for a smooth look especially on the ends of my hair. Maybe the new smoothing attachment for the Air Wrap would do the trick? Idk, I don’t have that. But I always felt like the Air Wrap only could manage a rough blowout if that makes sense.

I got the Air Straight because I thought combining the dryer with the straightening would be the best of both worlds and better for my (aging) hair. I really like it but it doesn’t give me as much volume as the Air Wrap. I can get a decent amount of volume rough drying my hair with the Air Straight before starting the drying/straigtening process, but it’s not huge volume. It’s also harder to shape the ends because the device is so big. It does a better job with frizz than the air Wrap but I still get frizz on wet or humid days. It’s also super fast on my hair. I think it’s best for fine hair that isn’t too curly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have both the Air Wrap (first edition from years ago) and recently got the Air Straight. I’m late 40s with fine, thin hair that sits just above my shoulders. It used to be longer and thicker (back when I got the Air Wrap). I’m also prone to frizz especially as I'm getting older.

IME, the Air Wrap dries my hair fast, and gives me some volume with the brush attachment BUT I still needed to use a flat iron for a smooth look especially on the ends of my hair. Maybe the new smoothing attachment for the Air Wrap would do the trick? Idk, I don’t have that. But I always felt like the Air Wrap only could manage a rough blowout if that makes sense.

I got the Air Straight because I thought combining the dryer with the straightening would be the best of both worlds and better for my (aging) hair. I really like it but it doesn’t give me as much volume as the Air Wrap. I can get a decent amount of volume rough drying my hair with the Air Straight before starting the drying/straigtening process, but it’s not huge volume. It’s also harder to shape the ends because the device is so big. It does a better job with frizz than the air Wrap but I still get frizz on wet or humid days. It’s also super fast on my hair. I think it’s best for fine hair that isn’t too curly.

It is disappointing that a thousand dollars in hair products and you still aren't really getting what you want out of it. That's a shame and really makes me feel the Dyson is overpriced.

Not OP, but based on this thread I'm leaning towards checking out the Shark if I can find a good sale in the next few months, or maybe the Babyliss.

Though increasingly I wonder if the key is the right product for drying, and getting to it before it dries enough to create frizz. So that sweet spot where it's not soaking wet but it's still wet all the way through.

I have very wavy, almost curly hair though, so I know it's a bigger challenge. I wish I could get it to air dry without frizz but I've tried all the curly girl methods and never found one that worked for my hair without being way too high maintenance.

[Anonymous]

I have the Dyson air wrap - mid 40’s, a lot of fine, wavy hair but thinning in front. I would not stretch the budget to get the Dyson, but if you can easily afford it, I would say yes. Best case is if you can borrow from a friend to try for a week. The Dyson keeps my hair healthier, however it is still time consuming. Your hair needs to be 85% dry before using any straightening attachment. It definitely is a more voluminous blowout. I used to have a silicone straightening brush (a Dafni) and I prefer air drying my hair then using the brush to straighten in the morning. I will use the Dyson on vacation, however you really have to dry completely and then cool it to avoid frizz. I have a super light weight dryer that blows as strong as the Dyson/stronger and I prefer that one, but I also learned to give myself a blowout 20 years ago, so it’s easy. Dyson is handy if you haven’t learned to use a round brush + dryer, but it’s not as good as a skilled blowout.

[Anonymous]

I had it and hated it. I actually returned it. I never could get the hang of it to where my hair looked good enough to be worth the price, plus it seemed it took 3x as long to dry my hair than with a regular blow dryer. I could not get rid of it fast enough.