Dyson Airwrap (set) review - very long, thick/Asian hair

I feel like I've seen every influencer and their daughter with the product, especially recently over the holiday season, but honestly never thought to get one for myself!
This was a complete surprise gift from my husband - ordered without my knowledge or even a hint or giving an opinion. We've both recently wanted to start taking better care of our hair and I know I've complained about how damaging my flat iron is, so the Dyson Airwrap set was his thoughtful solution for me!

The set I received comes with: 

Dyson Airwrap styler

Pre-styling dryer

Hard smoothing brush

Pair of 1.2 inch barrels (one for clockwise, one for counterclockwise)

Pair of 1.6 inch barrels (one for clockwise, one for counterclockwise)

Filter cleaning brush

Non-slip mat

Storage case

Since it comes with a bit of a hefty price tag, I wanted to share my honest thoughts about it based on my personal experience. I currently have very long, straight hair (basically to my belly button). I believe my hair is also categorized as "thick" in terms of strand width and also just volume, typically East Asian hair from what I can tell. I also live in a place with pretty high humidity all year round, so curls often die pretty quickly. 

Dyson tips for best curl retention (using the Airwrap hair styler):

1. Start with damp hair

2. Use the smaller (1.2 inch barrel)

3. Use max heat and air flow options

4. Ensure curl is dry before release

5. Use a shot of cool air before release

6. Use hairspray

Let's use it! (Photos/clips taken over a series of days)

This is what my hair looks like to start with

The styling tutorial videos from Dyson recommend starting with damp hair for best curl retention. Since I typically shower at night (before going to sleep) rather than in the morning, I know I'm going to be tempted to use this product on dry hair a lot of the time so I wanted to show an example of that as well. 

Wet/Damp/Towel "dried" (after hair wash, no heat applied, just towel wrapped)

Dry (air-dried/no heat dry)

Pre-styling dryer on wet hair

Drying all of my hair took about 6 minutes! Not too bad and super simple. Hair doesn't feel fried after either. Nothing to special here but it is pretty cool lol. I also use this attachment when I need to dry my hair a little bit near the roots before using the curling barrels and it's nice to be able to switch the attachment really quickly. 

Hard smoothing brush on wet hair

I believe this is best used on hair types that aren't already straight, so I can't specifically speak to its usefulness, but I do like this brush as a second, slightly more controlled option for drying my hair! (I'm also still trying to understand the best way to use it other than just a hot air brush wtf.)

1.2" barrels on wet hair

With wet hair, I first start by using the pre-styling dryer, mostly on the portion of my hair closest to the scalp so the ends stay damp-ish. I want the ends to be dried when curling, using the heat from the Airwarp barrels. I have to dry the roots side a little more because, due to the length, the barrel can't accommodate the full extent and doesn't even reach the 12+ inches nearest to my scalp in some places.

I then separate my hair into top/bottom half and start curling using the 1.2in barrel, ensuring that the hair is dry before releasing the curl.

Real time for one portion of hair --> time lapse for the rest of my hair (takes about 23 minutes total) 

Results: cute bouncy curls

How it looks about 7-8 hours later:

(Note: I initially curled my hair in afternoon at the height of heat/high temperatures, and then was occasionally in AC throughout the rest of the day while running errands. Likely temp around 80F+ when not in AC)

The curls were pretty tight at first but loosened really nicely and I ended up liking this way more than I anticipated! When I looked at the kit, I was so sure the 1.2in would be too small but they're actually great for what I want. The only downside is that I have to curl my hair in a lot smaller sections which takes a bit more time, but an additional 3-5 minutes is worth it for longer curl hold!

1.6" barrels on wet/damp hair

I didn't use the pre-styling dryer for this example. I actually started with mostly air dried hair after a shower (just because I had other things to do after showering and couldn't get to attending to my hair right away which is more realistic for daily life) but I re-wet the ends in the sink before starting. 

Real time for one portion of hair --> time lapse for the rest of my hair (takes about 20 minutes total) 

Results: loose, full waves

How it looks about 7-8 hours later:

(Note: I initially curled my hair in the early afternoon and then stayed indoors in my home for most of the afternoon. I spent about 2 hours later in AC and then the result of the night was cool and breezy, maybe 75F)

Love the nice waves I got immediately after using the Airwrap, but there's not a lot of longevity here unfortunately. It was still very bouncy and cute for a handful of hours but wouldn't make it even though an entire workday for me! It did actually look a bit better in person than it photographed after 8 hours, but still a far cry from where it started.

1.6" barrels on dry hair

(Abbreviated photos as process is very similar to above except starting with completely air dried hair)

Real time for one portion of hair --> time lapse for the rest of my hair (takes about 20 minutes total) 

Results: very similar loose, full waves 

How it looks about 7-8 hours later:

(Note: I initially curled my hair in the early afternoon and then stayed indoors in my home for the remainder of the day. No AC running, likely temp around 80F+)

Again, I really liked how the curls looked when I had first finished using the Airwrap. They did hold up for maybe an hour or so. However, as is pretty obvious, the curls fell out pretty much completely after that. There's a little bit of a wave at the very end, but nothing else. This is why Dyson reccommends starting from damp hair. The texture still did feel nice though!

You might notice from the gifs that I don't actually use the Airwrap on my entire length of hair. From the beginning, I noticed that if I follow the tutorials exactly and don't stop the wrap at a certain length, the styler "eats up" as much of my hair as possible but the ends of my hair just fall out the bottom (and may curl immediately but falls out very quickly after) or I get a really uneven curl or everything just gets tangled. 

My workaround for that was just to hold the styler horizontally initially and only allow it to curl the bottom portion of my hair (which is my target anyway tbh) or I hold my hair so the Airwrap can't pull in any more length. This means that sometimes more than 12 inches of my hair isn't even affected by the Airwrap. If it grabs too much hair, I can just pull it back a little to ensure the ends stay wrapped. This is a bit more cumbersome than just letting the Airwrap do it's thing, but it still works imo. The other solution would be to include MUCH less hair at a time per coil (so I don't run out of space on the barrel as easily), but to me the process is already more time consuming than I want it to be so that's not my preference. I'm slowly starting to get better at finding techniques that work for me, so it's definitely a learning process.

In the past, I've tried overnight curling methods, a curling iron and using a hair straightener to create curls. The best method for consistent curl retention for me has always been the straightener - with the curls even sometimes lasting overnight even in Hawaii summer weather (although not perfectly like they have in cooler climates, lasting for multiple days). I've been able to curl all of my hair using the straightener in less than 10 minutes and still get the desired result, so I've been quite happy with this method except that it's so damaging!

For a comparison purposes, I'm including the results I usually get with my 1in flat iron for creating this type of curl.

1in flat iron/straightener on dry hair

Real time for one portion of hair --> time lapse for the rest of my hair (takes about 8 minutes total) 

Results: bouncy curls, mostly at the ends only

How it looks about 7-8 hours later:

How it looked after sleeping on the curls overnight (17 hours since curling, no make up bc this was first thing in the morning):

(Note: I initially curled my hair in afternoon at the height of heat/high temperatures and then was in AC for most of the night until sleeping)

The curls don't look very impressive on their own but they really hold! The slept-on/overnight results are better than even the 1.6in barrels on dry hair after only 7 hours and actually looks better in person than these photos actually show. This is part of the reason I've stuck with this method for so long despite the heat damage. Additionally, I can curl my hair using this method pretty quickly - in less than 50% of the time it takes me to use the Airwrap (8 minutes versus 20-23 minutes). The straightener can only be used on very dry hair but since I usually style my hair in the morning and I shower at night, this isn't really an issue for me and actually my preference.

Results side by side comparison:

1.2in (on wet hair) versus 1.6in (on wet hair) versus 1.6in (on dry hair) versus flat iron/straightener

slightly "styled"

back view

results after 7-8 hours (no hairspray used)

Personally, I like the curls I get immediately with the 1.6in barrel but those fall out most quickly. If you're looking for more of a wave (versus a perfect curl), this might be for you, although starting with damp hair is certainly recommended! The hair straightener curls are the least impressive looking but actually hold their form the longest (even overnight!). In my opinion, the best results overall come from the 1.2in barrels. It does take a little bit longer to do them because I have to curl in smaller sections, but it seems to be worth it! 

That being said...the straightener cost me about $65. I received the Airwrap set as a gift but it does set you back quite a bit more.

My hair does seem a bit less fried when I used the Airwrap versus the straightener and I definitely appreciate that although I'll need to actually use the product more since the curls only last for 1 day max in Hawaii weather (even in the winter!). I can see that it might be possible that with less humidity or using a holding product (like hair spray) that the curls might keep better. It'll be a bit before I can travel and test that out myself though 😷

[Edit - December 2021 - After practicing a bit more and figuring out the best circumstances for the starting hair "dampness" + a major hair length chop, I have been able to get the 1.2" barrel curls to last for 24+ hours in mild Hawaii winter weather, even sleeping on them!]

Final verdict? 👍

I'm so happy to have received this product as a gift. I think personally I might have struggled to justify paying for it for myself initially, but knowing what I know now, I would be happy to pay for it out of my own pocket. It would be better for me if I could get just the Airwrap "machine" with only the 1.2" long barrels (don't particularly need the 1.6in barrels, dryer and hard smoothing brush with case and mat), but I don't currently believe that's an option, especially with the long barrel instead of the standard barrel length. But as it is, it is certainly really nice to try everything in the set and I'm looking forward to using it more! Definitely recommend following the tips provided by Dyson for curl retention too (if not an obvious duh at this point), especially starting with damp hair.

I'm a novice at hair stuff so I wanted to take some time to use the product so I could give it a proper review. I've definitely learned a lot more about using the Airwrap on my own hair through the process of doing this post. 

I know there's already a ton of other review videos out there for this product, but one more can't hurt, right?  

Which method produces the type of curls you like best?

Let me know what you think and whether you want me to include anything else here! 💕