Dyson reveals the Airstrait hair styling tool

In 2016, Dyson made an unexpected pivot into the hair-care realm. The Supersonic hairdryer might not have been an obvious launch for a brand known for cleaning and home tech, but any doubters were swiftly proved wrong: the powerful, brushless-motor machine reinvigorated the stagnant styling arena, and is now a staple in both salons and homes across the world.

Since then, the brand has launched the Corrale, a flexing-plate hair straightener and the product that launched a thousand imitations: the Airwrap multi-styler, which creates salon-style curls and bouncy volume without excessive heat.

Honestly, we thought the brand had every box ticked with its current offering – but news of a forthcoming launch piqued our interest nonetheless. Last week, Dyson unveiled the forth product to join its haircare line-up, and it’s one that anyone who wears their hair straight and smooth will want to know about.

The Airstrait is a wet-to-straight styler that cuts out both the effort and the damage that a hairdryer and straightener routine comes with. According to the brand, it stretches and straightens every hair type to create a smooth, sleek style without causing damage to the fibres.

How does it work? The Airstrait looks like a slightly bulkier set of hair straighteners, but works in an entirely different way. Just like the Airwrap before it, the Airstrait uses extremely concentrated, high-velocity airflow split along two arms, where it grips and directs the hair downwards, drying and setting it into a perfectly straight style. Essentially, the airflow replaces the heat required to change a hair strand’s natural texture, meaning you get the same results without the heat-related damage. Hair is naturally weaker and more susceptible to styling when wet, which enhances the effectivity.

There are two speeds and three heat settings available, with the highest limited to 140 degrees – 40 degrees cooler than most traditional hair straighteners.

“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. 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 plate and no heat damage,” said founder and chief engineer James Dyson.

So, hair taken from wet to straight in the time it takes you to perform a classic blow-dry? Yes, really – but that’s not all. In typical Dyson style, the brand has identified all the potential annoyances involved with a tool of this type and negated them. Firstly, a flick of a switch converts the tool into a ‘root dryer’, meaning you won’t be left with wet hair at the scalp. There’s also a ‘dry’ mode, which allows you to touch up your style on day two, and a ‘cool’ mode to quickly set your style. What's more, the airflow automatically pauses once you set the dryer down, then starts up again once you pick it up.

The brand is billing the Airstrait as a tool for all hair types – and indeed, we've seen it work on everything from fine, straight hair to tight texture. Of course, the results do vary depending on your natural texture: finer strands and type 2 curls will end up poker-straight and shiny, while curl types 3 and above will be smoother, but not poker-straight.

The only downside? We’re still waiting on a UK release date – but considering the buzz already swirling the launch, we can’t imagine it'll be long.