Speak to anyone who owns a Dyson vacuum cleaner and we bet one of the first questions asked is, “Is it worth it?”.

Before you’re met with a resounding thud of a “YES!”, we get that you’re weighing up the cost. Starting from $599 for the V7 Cord Free and working all the way up to $999 for the mega V10 Absolute+, it’s no wonder. But, when considering such an investment, first consider this:

When British inventor Sir James Dyson invented his first Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner, which hit stores in 1993, he spent 15 tedious years and created 5,126 versions before he made one that worked (yes, you read that right—5,126 attempts). A firm believer in failure, Dyson sees it as an essential part of his success—a step toward a truly innovative solution that solves a problem. The payoff was a multi-billion dollar company that remains privately owned by Dyson today and is known for its creativity and forward-thinking designs.

Given the company’s tenacity, it’s no wonder that when Gritty Pretty was recently invited by Dyson to travel to London to visit Dyson’s head office in Malmesbury for the top secret global launch of Airwrap™—Dyson’s first hair styling tool—whilst we had no idea what exactly was being launched, we went into the press trip knowing full well that Dyson would not just be creating another hair styling tool with no point of difference. Never being ones to rest on their laurels, Dyson’s team of female and male engineers and scientists turned their attention to styling tools.

Sitting in the large courtyard at Dyson’s HQ, which feels like you’ve walked into a university campus twenty years from now with mirrored exterior walled buildings, perfectly placed green trees and some of Sir James Dyson’s favourite inventions including a small plane, I’m met by 29-year-old Veronica Alanis, one the Advanced Insight Engineers. “When creating the Airwrap™, we had three objectives: we set out to 1) solve a problem for women, which is creating a hair curling styler that is genuinely easy to use, 2) building a styling tool that doesn’t use extreme heat, which is so damaging on our hair and 3) aesthetically looks beautiful in any woman’s bathroom,” says Alanis.

Here’s everything else you need to know about the new Dyson Airwrap™:

WHY IT’S DIFFERENT

Before you think, “Is this just another hair tool—like all the others—that sits in my bathroom gathering dust because they’re too hard to use?” then wait, hold up.

It works like this: Using a V9 motor, air, when propelled at the right speed and pressure, naturally follows an adjacent surface. The Airwrap™ does what it names alludes: it creates a spinning vortex of warm air around the barrel that attracts, wraps and curls hair.

There’s no heated ceramic plates on a straightening iron (which no matter how many times you try, you just can’t get the wrist action right); there’s no scary chamber your hair is sucked into (and hopefully spat out unharmed or unburnt); and there is no conical-style wand for you to burn your fingers on. No, no, this is different.

Best used on damp hair (hello, time saver), the Airwrap™ also measures temperature over 40 times a second to prevent any extreme heat damage. This ensures your hair is protected at all times and is one less thing for you to worry about.

WHICH HAIR TYPE IS BEST SUITED

Simply put: all hair types.

Whether your hair is frizzy, dead straight or curly, there are six attachments with each designed for:

Pre-Styling Dryer—prepares wet hair for styling so it’s damp and ready to be curled.

40mm Airwrap Barrel—Ideal for thick, coarse and frizzy hair with natural kinks. Creates loose, beachy waves.

30mm Airwrap Barrel—Ideal for all hair types. Creates voluminous curls or waves.

Soft Smoothing Brush—Ideal for finer, thin hair. Creates a smooth, blow-dry finish.

Firm Smoothing Brush—Ideal for thick, coarse hair. Creates a straight style and tames frizz.

Round Volumising Brush—Ideal for fine, thin hair. Adds volume and shape.

WHY IT’S WORTH $699

Considering you receive six varying attachments to create varying styles, it works out to be $116.50 per styler. Add in the time you’d save in the morning (given it works best on towel-dried hair) and the money spent on in-salon blow-dries.

Having met the engineers and scientists who created Airwrap™, the level of testing that went into the tool—not just from a motor perspective but from a biological analysis of hair and how different types of hair responds to different stressors—I was not only blown away by the painstaking meticulousness, but also by the commitment, creativity, passion and smart young minds from everyone I met behind the scenes.

WHERE CAN YOU GET ONE (IMMEDIATELY)

To shop the Dyson Airwrap™ styler, click here.

Tell us, would you try the new Dyson Air Wrap?

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