I've spent a year testing Dyson Airwrap rivals - here are my top picks
When investing in a hair tool, you want it to leave you looking like you've just left the salon 365 days of the year. But nine times out of ten, they don't come cheap, with many setting shoppers back at least £100 - and in the case of the coveted Dyson Airwrap, nearly £500.
The much loved and innovative hair tool is one of the most lusted after devices in the beauty world, but can you get the same results by spending a fraction of the price? I set out on a mission to find out.
Over the past 12 months - perhaps even longer - I've been testing out hot air styling devices in a bid to find one that ticks all the boxes: powerful with a fast drying time, versatile attachments and delivers the desired results. I've tried high end tools from Dyson and Shark, as well as purse-friendly blow out brushes like Hot Tools and Remington, and below I've shared my full findings on the nifty bits of kit that will leave your tresses beautiful and bouncy, no matter your budget.
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How I tested every tool
For each of these styling tool tests, I washed my hair with a to remove any potential product build up, and wrapped it up in a microfibre head wrap for 20 minutes to absorb any excess moisture. My personal favourite combination has been this , and a .
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I then brushed and parted my hair, sectioning it into quarters before applying a heat protectant spray. Then it was on to trying out the tools drying and styling abilities. Some of the brushes have interchangeable attachments, so on those occasions, I’ve tried out the one I’d be most likely to use for regular styling.
Here’s what I found when I tried out eight hot air hair styling tools ranging from £30 to nearly £500:
Mirror Choice best hair styler -
Price: £479.99
Reporter Bethan Shufflebotham says the Dyson Airwrap is the best hair stylerThe launched in 2018, transforming the world of hair tools and very quickly becoming a viral sensation - and for good reason. It uses the innovative Coanda effect rather than excessive heat, playing with air pressure to style hair in a much healthier way, providing incredible results, which is why we named it our Mirror Choice top hair styler.
Dyson knows how to make a good-looking tool, and when it comes to the , it really looks the part. It’s lightweight, and has a seamless and well thought out design that makes switching from hot to cool a breeze.
It comes with an array of attachments including a smoothing dryer and two smoothing brushes, but of course the most popular is the for creating at home bouncy blowouts as though you’ve just left the salon.
The Dyson AirwrapIt took approximately 500 prototypes to perfect the curling barrels featured on the Dyson Airwrap styler. The innovative tool uses the Coanda effect by creating a spinning vortex of air around the cylindrical shaped barrels of the tool to curl the hair.
The barrels attract the hair through the airflow, encouraging hair to wrap itself around the barrel and curling it through the use of the air vortex.
I never used to curl my hair because it’s so long, it would take forever and by the time I’d finished one side the other would drop. The Airwrap takes considerably less time than a wand or curling iron, creating salon-worthy curls in minutes rather than hours.
My hair after using the Dyson AirwrapWhat’s more is that there’s no need to faff around swapping barrels for different curl directions, like you do with the . There’s a little toggle on the top of the barrel that will change the direction of the airflow, so you only need to use one.
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For me, the While it definitely takes some practice and working out which products work for your hair in conjunction with the Airwrap, that research will pay off tenfold in the long run.
Price: £129.99
The Bellissma comes with a range of tools and attachmentsDry, straighten, smoothe, diffuse, curl - the does it ALL. The wand can be fitted with interchangeable tools to suit all of your hair styling desires, and creates the most gorgeous curls, which gives it the edge over some of the other brushes.
The attachments slot in and out of the wand, but they are a little less secure than I’d perhaps like, but perhaps that’s just because the Dyson is such a robust electronic.
I initially used the drying tool but didn’t find it powerful enough for the job as my hair takes hours to dry naturally, so switched to one of the as I find their ceramic and keratin coating help evenly distribute the heat and dry the hair faster.
The Belissima is great for curlingOnce about 90 per cent dry, I decided to give the curling tongue a go, since it's the only one of the brushes with this style attachment, and is the main reason it’s so high up on the list.
The tongue traps the hair as the hot hair sculpts curls before being set with the cool shot, revealing gorgeous curls with minimum frizz. I’ve found myself , because it's one of the only tools where my hair looks just as good after sleeping on it, too.
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Price: £299.99
The Shark FlexstyleThe came along in Autumn 2022, becoming the closest rival for the Airwrap for £200 less.
The Shark Flexstyle arrives in a sleek black case which zips around the centre to reveal the contents. Inside the stylish storage case, you’ll find the , as well as a paddle brush, oval brush, styling concentrator, curl-defining diffuser and two curling barrels - one left and one right. It also comes with a handy style guide to offer tips and tricks to getting those curls to hold. It also features a handle making it easy to carry and transport.
The Flexstyle has a rotating handle that offers more flexible styling, although the tool is on the heavier side - much weightier than the Dyson, which can start to take its toll when styling - though it is slightly more powerful.
The device offers three heat and airflow settings, which can be changed with the buttons on the handle of the device, with the gadget measuring its airflow continuously to ensure consistent temperature to avoid heat damage when smoothing, straightening or curling hair.
Bethan after using the Shark Flexstyle on her long hairLike the , the that wraps, curls and sets automatically with the cool shot. The frustrating thing about the Shark though is that the barrels are directional which means you need to swap them over half way through styling, which is much less convenient.
And while I’ve had moderate success with curling results with the , the Dyson has been much more consistent, for me personally.
Price: £67.99
The BondiBoost Brush is perfect for that effortlessly made up lookThere are two reasons I love the . It’s simple. It works.
Designed to dry and style at the same time, this is a powerful tool with a large 75mm oval barrel that provides instant volume and that iconic ‘Rachel Green’ 90s sleek and glossy finish.
The size of the brush is not only brilliant for giving lift at the roots and a slight curl at the ends, but the surface area allows it to dry faster, too, aided by . I didn’t expect this device to dry my hair as quickly as it did, as with some of the other brands lower down the list, I had to give my tresses a headstart with my Dyson Supersonic else I’d have been there for hours. But the BondiBoost made light work of drying my hair on its highest of three speed and heat settings.
But what’s more is that, you can also twist the hair around the in order to create a dreamy beachy ‘undone’ wave. Ionic technology reduces frizz whilst dual bristles detangle and glide through hair for a silky smooth blowout every time, It’s perfect for those days where you want to look effortlessly put together.
Price: £74.99
The Remington styler left my hair super sleekMy go-to straighteners are an insanely cheap pair from Remington that you can usually pick up for under £30, and their is also pretty impressive. The tool has Intelligent StyleAdapt Technology that personalises the air temperature as you use it, so it always finds the right level of heat for your hair - cool, right?
The styler comes with , including a round brush, oval brush and root boost. Each of the attachments click into place and feel really secure, with a range of heat and speed settings that can be navigated using the three buttons on the handle.
It effortlessly glides through hair thanks to its which is infused with diamond particles to give you even heat distribution and five times smoother glide.
My only niggle is that there’s not a huge difference between the round and oval brush when it comes to styling, so that third attachment could have been replaced with something else- though I have had a lot of fun experimenting with the root lift tool.
Price: £125
The Drybar Half Shot made my hair so soft and is a great pick for short hairSaid to be suitable for wavy, curly, and straight hair types, the combines the hot air of a blow-dryer with the structure of a small, round brush to create defined waves and curls, or sleek and straight finishes.
The brush is with the smaller barrel allowing for more precision and getting closer to the roots.
What I like about is that they don’t claim their styler can do the legwork of a dryer, encouraging customers - particularly with extra thick or long hair - to ‘rough dry hair with a regular blow-dryer before using’, which is exactly what I did.
The brightly-coloured to achieve expert styling, enhanced with Ionic Technology that reduces frizz and adds tons of shine while styling.
It’s light, comfortable to use and features three temperature settings with a combination of nylon and tufted bristles to add tension and control.
While I wasn’t able to nail the curls with this one (though I’m determined to, now) styling my hair sleek and straight left it looking really bright and smooth. I personally think I’d have been better off with the Double Shot version of this brush, which is a little wider - but the Half Shot is
Price £31.49
The Hot Tools brush was originally £80 - but you can now pick up up for less than £35One of the best budget tools is the which comes in at under £32 on Amazon.
The two-in-one tool comes with a handle and a large oval shaped brush with that help absorb excess oil - perfect for day two or day three hair styling.
There are three heat and two speed settings which can be selected at the base of the handle before going on to dry and style. This device isn’t as quick as some of the others on this list, but despite taking a little longer, my hair was left looking just as smooth thanks to the ionic conditioning, which works to reduce static and frizz.
It may not have the ‘wow’ factor when pitted up against some of the more impressive gadgets, but if you’re looking for an without the need for multiple tools, it’s not a bad option at all.
Price: £75
After using the Babyliss Air StyleFinally, the last styler I tried was from , coming in at £75. It comes with four attachments including a drying nozzle similar in shape to the original Dyson tool, however, at only 1000w, it’s nowhere near powerful enough to dry the hair. Instead, I used my Dyson Supersonic until my hair was almost dry, and finished it off with the , but for me this kind of defeats the object.
The tool also comes with a smooth Unlike the Dyson, the Babyliss device doesn’t benefit from Coanda technology, nor does it have a tongue like the Belissima tool, so you have to wrap and hold your hair around the barrel each time.
Boasting two heat settings and a cool setting, it does have but for me it took way too long and wasn’t powerful enough to tackle my long hair.
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