Dyson addresses time-saving needs and hair damage concerns with wet-to-dry straightener

Following its introduction in the US last May, the Dyson Airstrait straightener had been rolled out in South Korea and China, and recently in the EMEA region. Singapore is the first market in South East Asia to retail this device from February 29, 2024.

According to Vijeta Ramachandran, Design Manager at Dyson, the straightener is aimed at addressing the frustrations most associated with consumers’ pursuit of a natural straight hairstyle, which are namely styling time and hair damage.

“​Dyson hair tools​​ are built on three principles — achieving hair health, delivering controlled precise airflow, and engineered for all hair types.​ The Dyson Airstrait straightener delivers a new way to straighten hair from wet, with no hot plates or extreme heat involved,” ​Ramachandran told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​.

To change hairstyle, hydrogen bonds within each hair strand must be broken and reset to hold a new shape. This can be done with heat or moisture.

“When hair is wet, water naturally weakens these bonds. Styling hair from wet means that you are manipulating these bonds while they are more pliable and can be reset without using extreme heat. By using a controlled airflow, we have found a way to create straight styles with no heat damage while maintaining volume and movement.​

“Compared to traditional hot plate straighteners that operate on high heat, airflow styling on wet hair helps preserve hair strength, resulting in up to 60% less damage and colour fade. Furthermore, using lower temperatures and resetting the hair bonds from wet means its internal structure is protected, so it can reflect more light for a healthier, shinier finish.”​

Dyson Airstrait is powered by the patented Hyperdymium motor, said to be the heart of the brand’s hair care technologies. Along the arms of the device are two 1.5mm apertures, where airflow is accelerated to create two high-velocity blades of air.

Projected at a 45-degree angle, they converge to form one focused jet of air, a controlled downward force to straighten hair as it dries.

“The styling routine is simplified by simultaneously drying and straightening with one tool, reducing two steps into one. The 45-degree precise directional airflow also accounts for the comfort of the user when styling with the machine.”​

Based on responses from 250 Airstrait owners in the US, who have used the device for a minimum of 30 days and were surveyed by Dyson in August 2023, the time spent to achieve a natural straight style was decreased by 25%.

Helping colour stay longer​

Hair colouring is a chemical process that can break the bonds in the hair’s cortex and cuticle. Further damage can quickly set in when hair is styled at elevated temperatures.

In addition, the rate of colour fade depends on several factors, such as the type of dye formulations used and UV exposure.

“Another key factor is heat, which can affect how quickly new colour washes out of hair. The more heat used on hair, the more significant the colour fade. This is because excessive heat can damage the outer layer of hair, which allows dye to escape and dulls the vibrancy of the colour,” ​Ramachandran said.

Like the rest of Dyson’s hair care range, the Airstrait boasts an intelligent heat control feature — glass bead thermistors measure the temperature of airflow up to 16 times per second, and this data is sent to the microprocessor that regulates the heating element.

Besides preset modes with specific heat and airflow combination for optimal results, it also comes with a Root Drying mode that targets hair roots to maintain scalp health.

“The intelligent heat control feature allows for precise control of heat distribution across the hair strands while maintaining the temperature of air at the threshold that we set it at, thus minimising the exposure of hair to excessive heat that can lead to colour fading.​

"Furthermore, the ​tension bars aid in smoothing and aligning hair as air passes through the arms of the device, which helps prevent hair breakage.”​