Photography via Dyson

Everything You Need to Know About Airwrap, Dyson’s Game-Changing Styling Tool

Two years after the launch of their Supersonic hairdryer, Dyson is aiming to shake things up with Airwrap, a curling iron that works using high pressure airflow rather than high heat. In fact, Dyson’s newest hair tool is so game-changing, its technology stems from an aerodynamics phenomenon. “We use a physical phenomenon called the Coanda effect,” says Dyson engineer Sandra Lup. “It occurs when a really high velocity jet of air meets a curved surface. Instead of bouncing off, air actually wraps itself around the curve.”

At the New York launch of the Airwrap, which was revealed to the world tonight, October 9th, engineer and founder James Dyson explained that the brand is “obsessed with airplanes,” making the aerospace industry the best place for Dyson’s latest tool to borrow its technology.

The Airwrap’s wand features six slots that release air evenly, creating a vortex that causes hair to wrap itself around the wand. You read that right: your hair will wrap itself around the wand. “Because we’re using a very strong airflow, we don’t have to go as high with the temperature,” says Lup. The tool never gets hotter than 150 degrees, with the help of a thermometer that checks the temperature 40 times a second. It also releases cool air to set the curl before releasing the wand.

And if waves aren’t your thing, Dyson is simultaneously launching Airbrush, a styling brush— you choose paddle or round, depending on your hair type and needs—that can dry and style at the same time. The technology is similar to Airwrap’s, says Lup. “The air attaches to the curved surface of the product, which keeps hair in the bristles.”

Celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin was on hand at the NYC launch, and as the brand’s global ambassador, Atkin has been meeting with Dyson’s engineers for the past two years to tweak and perfect the Airwrap and Airbrush. “They really do listen to the needs of women,” says Atkin. “Working with the female engineers has been an amazing experience. We talked a lot about different hair types and the conversations I have with women on social media about their hair concerns. I think this is such a game-changer. When I saw the first prototype, I remember thinking that it was going to totally revolutionize the way we think about hairstyling.”

As for the time-saving aspect of the product, Atkin jokes, “I’m going to be able to take more clients, basically, and that’s more money in my pocket.”

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