I Finally Invested In The Dyson Airwrap: Here’s Why I’ll Never Go Back

For over a year, I was a loyal Shark FlexStyle girlie. I’d wash my hair, microfiber towel-dry it a bit, blow-dry the roots, and then use the auto-wrap curlers to achieve big, bouncy curls that would eventually settle down and give me that salon blowout look I never thought I could get from home. I was thoroughly convinced I had hacked the system and found a hair tool “dupe” for the viral Dyson Airwrap. So many influencers swore by the Shark FlexStyle and, well, I was influenced. Up until a year later, that is.

After my Shark FlexStyle bit the dust barely a month out of warranty, I realized I had been sold a $300 band-aid solution. Despite taking care of it, the Shark slowly lost power (there were even moments it would crash in the middle of my styling; a horrifying situation to be in) and it took twice, sometimes three times as long to style my bleached, naturally-wavy-but-goes-straight, frizz-prone hair. Curls would fall, even with thoughtful prep.

So I did what any moderately neurotic, beauty-obsessed, research-rabbit-hole dweller would do: I spent a good amount of time poring over discussion forums, TikTok videos, and Reddit threads to figure out if I could right all my wrongs by investing in the Dyson Airwrap ID, and what products could actually make that signature style last. Spoiler alert: I caved. I bought it. And I’m shook.

My Complicated Relationship with Hair Tools

Before you can fully grasp why the Dyson purchase means so much to me, there are some things you need to know about my hair journey. I’ve got complex hair. Its texture, wave pattern, and density are complex to begin with, but I also haven’t been too kind to my hair over the years. 

My hair is naturally brown, and when I let it air dry, it forms some combination of 2A/2B, frizzy waves. But if I don’t load it up with curl-friendly products, it flattens out and falls somewhat straight. My hair has never loved blow dryers (not unless I feel like rocking first-year Hermione Granger fluff) or conventional heat tools, so unless a tool could straighten my picky hair, I disregarded it.

I realized I had been sold a $300 band-aid solution.

Let’s also not forget, I’ve had almost every hair color imaginable from grungy teenage years to today, even sporting baby pink last summer, and we all know how damaging the dye process can be. Since early winter of 2024, I’ve been bleaching my hair and absolutely love being a blonde. But when you’re regularly treating your hair with chemicals, it’s going to take on an entirely new persona, and mine took on one I never expected I’d have to deal with.

Pre-blonde Andrea blow-dried and straightened her hair at the same time with the Drybar The Double Shot Oval Blow-Dryer Brush ($155), and using it felt like a massive relief because I could tame my frizz and add a little bit of “blowout” flair to the ends of my hair.

As my hair grew longer, however, it would end up wavy and frizzy by the end of my blow-dry session, so I thought I’d try another dry-and-straight solution: the Drybar The Straight Shot Blow-Drying Flat Iron ($179). Yet another flop.

I had seen people gush online about the Dyson Airwrap at that point, but I took one glance at those gorgeous girls on Instagram Reels and thought… no, that could never be me. My hair isn’t built like that, so why would I spend half a grand on a hair tool I’ll soon regret? 

Around this time, I decided to go blonde. Now, the Drybar tools were entirely defunct for my beauty routine because bleach made my hair follicles porous, which meant that they’d attract water and, therefore, take forever to dry with conventional tools. 

It had been drilled into me from a young age to always shop at a discount. Just buy the store brand, my dad would tell me, because those groceries are no different from name brand. And you bet that I was the kid in elementary school who had knock-off Converse when seemingly every other student around me ran around in their real Chuck Taylors. In short, I grew up with a scarcity mindset. So after being metaphorically burned by two hair tool flops totaling over $300, but needing some sort of solution to dry and style my now-bleached hair, I turned to the Shark FlexStyle.

I read thread upon thread and watched countless short-form videos about why it was the perfect dupe for the Airwrap, and I was influenced. I got my FlexStyle on sale (of course) for $299.99, and the first time I tried it, I was disappointed.

The curls fell almost immediately, so I spent some time trying to research better products and eventually got into the swing of things. For almost a year, I could achieve that bombshell look I never imagined possible.

Here’s the kicker, though: it took me almost an hour each time I wanted to dry and style my hair with the FlexStyle.

Determined to make my investment worth it, I sacrificed that time in my day and took care of it, until the tool decided to crash out. A month before it died, I noticed the drying strength had become weaker. That sub-one-hour routine dragged on. I was at my limit, having to wrap my hair around the curling wands manually, only for the curls to immediately fall flat. At least when I had to manually wrap curls before, they’d stick around for a few hours.

I tried to troubleshoot, I really did! But a little voice in the back of my head reminded me that mantra I’ve tried to hold close to my heart: just do it right the first time. I then embarked on a week-long research binge into the Dyson Airwrap ID.

Unboxing the Hair Tool of My Dreams

Critics of the Airwrap say some combination of the following: it’s overpriced for what it does, it doesn’t actually create a blowout with staying power, it causes more frizz than marketers make you believe. Worried I’d end up in the naysayer camp, I thought long and hard about why people were experiencing difficulty using the tool and how I could ensure I didn’t waste my money.

First, I made sure I knew how the tool was developed to function. If you plan to use the Dyson Airwrap, Airwrap ID, or their new Co-anda 2x™ to give yourself an at-home blowout, manufacturers encourage you to dry your roots before even switching over to the wand tool. People online would complain their hair wouldn’t wrap around the wand, but I’d bet they just didn’t dry their hair to the correct amount before styling.

Next, I outlined my hair type and texture. Knowing my hair is bleached, porous, but prone to frizz and waves, if I wanted to style my hair, I actually needed lightweight products. If I were to use leave-in conditioner or any smoothing products, my hair would be too slippery to wrap around the wands. If I were to use a heavy mousse for hold, my hair would be weighed down, and curls would never last.

Before even buying the Dyson Airwrap ID, I concocted my holy grail combo, and I had faith it would work. I purchased CHI 44 Iron Guard for very lightweight heat protectant before styling, and Living Proof Flex Hairspray to lightly spray while styling or after. No smoothing creams, no mousse, just lightweight, strategic products to ensure my hair tool investment would deliver. 

Think about it this way: you can buy an amazing foundation, but if you don’t get a primer that works with your skin type, your face might look patchy and dry, or your foundation will slip and slide down your cheeks. That doesn’t mean the foundation isn’t fantastic. It just means you’re not adequately prepping your skin.

After all that, I finally put down the $499 (yes, on sale) for the Dyson Limited Edition Airwrap ID Multi-styler™ for Straight to Wavy Hair in Jasper Plum. I have zero regrets.

From the first time I pulled it out of the box with semi-damp hair, eager to see how it performed, I knew I was in for a luxury experience. The box was thoughtfully put together, each tool felt sleek, and the app blew me away. I applied my heat protectant, dried my roots, and then gave the i.d. curl technology a go.

I usually loathe how there seems to be an app for everything nowadays, but the i.d. curl feature from Dyson’s app had me floored. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to grab a piece of hair, hold it up to the wand, and let the tech wrap my hair with its signature Coanda strength, style my hair for the perfect amount of time, and then cool my hair for longevity. I can go from wet to dry and styled within 20 to 25 minutes. With the FlexStyle, I was always playing a guessing game. Pray my hair wraps around the wand, and then hold it for 20 seconds on style? Okay, now manually switch it to “cool” and, what, another 20 seconds in prayer?

What have I ultimately been able to accomplish with the Airwrap ID? The curls are tight at first, but we all know that’s not endgame. If you’re eyeing a tool like this for very tight, very long-lasting curls, just buy a heated curling iron because direct heat is the only way that’s going to happen. I wasn’t down with that level of damage, though. Air-powered tools appealed to me because my hair is already damaged to begin with, so why rub salt in the wound? 

Let me give you some visual references with photos I snapped for Instagram Stories to document the day-by-day changes.

Day One

If I don’t fluff out the curls, they’ll hold their shape almost too well.

Day Two

After sleeping on the curls, they’re in blowout territory. 

Day Three

I’ll use my smoothing boar bristle brush to tidy things up a tad, but my hair has memory with the Airwrap ID that it never seemed to have before.

Day Four

Yes, I really do stretch out my wash days this much for hair health. I might still have the confidence to wear my now-slightly wavy hair down instead of claw-clipping it. 

Breaking Up with the Dupe Mindset

I know there are Dyson product reviews absolutely everywhere online. Ultimately, what I want you to take away from this is not just another rave review, but a lesson I learned. We’ve been taught to settle for dupes that simply don’t perform. As women, we’re marketed “affordable alternatives” for just about anything: don’t buy NARS Orgasm Blush, we’re told, buy the dupe for a fraction of the price; don’t buy Amika’s hair masks, buy the dupe and save money. 

The same advice gets tossed around for trends on TikTok, for instance, where influencers will promote copycat versions of viral garments or accessories that they call “luxury dupes,” but are truly just fast fashion garbage from Temu or Amazon. You might save some money buying makeup product dupes, but when you go to apply the eyeshadow or contour, it makes your face look muddy. Or, you buy into a seasonal fashion trend and the clothes fall apart within a few washes. Dupes so often fail in their durability and quality because our beauty and fashion economies run on overabundance and greed.

Sometimes, the most “expensive” thing isn’t your big–ticket purchase. It’s the constant buying, replacing, and compromising on things that never quite deliver.

If you understand why “luxury dupes” for clothing are usually a waste, you should get where I’m going when I say I’m over hair tools that sacrifice long-term quality. I’m sick and tired of planned obsolescence. We’ve been conditioned to accept this standard that you’ll also see in tech, like how iPhones are built to degrade in quality after two years. I understand entirely that Dyson’s tools are a lot of money, but the way I see it, I spent more in total on tools that let me down than I’ve spent on the Airwrap ID alone. That’s right, between the two Drybar tools and the Shark FlexStyle, I paid $629.99 in total compared to the $499.00 I spent on my Dyson. 

Sure, I haven’t had this new tool for as long as I had the others, but my user experience was already above and beyond what I thought was possible with my personal hair care routine. Sometimes, the smarter and more sustainable choice is to bite the proverbial bullet and invest in the real deal. Circling back to that saying I’ve long admired, “Just do it right the first time.” Any time I walk through the house without taking off my shoes, only do a portion of a cleaning task, or take any other shortcut while hurrying through my day, I have to remind myself how it takes less time to do things right at the start than it does to have to circle back and fix whatever I left half-done.

I’d never advise you to live outside your means, but if you’re considering an “investment” purchase or settling for the cheaper, “quick fix,” I’d encourage you to think about what will cost you more in the long run. For me, I not only wasted more money on tools that didn’t help me achieve the look I desired, but I also wasted a lot of time trying to make less powerful tools work.

Closing Thoughts

Sometimes, the most “expensive” thing isn’t your big–ticket purchase. It’s the constant buying, replacing, and compromising on things that never quite deliver. I once thought I was being practical by chasing the cheaper dupe, but all I was actually doing was wasting my money, time, and energy.

The Dyson upgraded my hair game for sure, and has also helped shift how I think about my own worth. My time is valuable. My confidence is valuable, too. And if something helps me protect both, it’s worth saving for, worth waiting for, and definitely worth doing right the first time. So next time you’re tempted by the cheaper version of something you really want, ask yourself: is it really a bargain… or is it just the start of another exhausting, expensive detour?