Dyson takes on hair care and moves beyond revolutionising the curling wand, as it innovates in straighteners to cut back on heat damage, too.
When Nat King Cole wrote “Straighten Up and Fly Right”, he definitely wasn’t thinking about hair. The classic jazz track was based off a story his father had used in sermons, but if he had written the song today, it might have been different.
If it had come along today, it might have been used as a clever little explainer of sorts, particularly given Dyson’s latest gadget arriving Australia: it straightens up and deals with flyaways right, and it straightens up and stays right. It even cools down so you don’t blow your top.
Fresh from the hair science the company has delivered with the Coanda Effect in the Airwrap, Dyson is again giving hair a different approach, using the science of air to straighten hair in the Airstrait.
To do this, the Airstrait will back away from the traditional approach employed by hair straighteners of using heat plates, which in turn cuts back on heat damage. Instead, the Airstrait sees its two arms delivering a high-pressure blade of air into the hair, drying and styling simultaneously.
It’s distinct from Dyson’s previous efforts in straightening tongs, which in the Corrale used heat plates. Rather, this one is air-based, making it more like Dyson’s other approaches to air-based hair science.
Think of it a little like the edges of a Dyson fan: the air that comes out the inlets is directional, resulting in an airflow that’s focused to straighten and dry at the same time. Less heat means less frizz, and means flyaway hair strands are also cut back on at the same time.
At the heart of the straightener is one of Dyson’s Hyperdymium motors, which generates the airflow and propelling over 11.9 litres of air per second, creating enough air pressure to dry and straighten, all fitting inside the handle of the Airstrait.
Like other Dyson heat-based gadgets, there’s a heat controller measuring, monitoring, and ultimately controlling the heat, while the Airstrait includes two setting for heat control over “Wet” and “Dry”.
Each uses a slightly different temperature variation, with wet covering temperatures as low as 80ºC and as high as 140ºC, while the dry mode chooses between 120ºC and 140ºC. A “cool” mode can set the style, providing burst of cool air.
“Having a strong understanding of how to manipulate and realise the potential of powerful airflow is fundamental to the performance of the Dyson Airstrait straightener,” said James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer at Dyson.
“This expertise, which we’ve gained over the last 25 years, is what has enabled us to deliver our first wet to dry straightener, with no hot plates, and no heat damage,” he said.
“Delivering the ease-of-use that people love about straighteners but with high-velocity air blades, saves time, maintains hair strength and achieves an everyday natural straight style.”
Like Dyson’s other hair technology, the Airstrait won’t be inexpensive, fetching an Australian price of $749 and in Dyson stores now, as well as its online equivalent.
