I'll admit it: when Dyson launched a line of haircare - with not a cable or instruction manual in sight - I was interested but also confused. Now, after a week of daily use, I'm crystal clear on why Dyson Chitosan should be on your radar.
Usually, the cycle goes like this: Dyson announces a new hair tool, we get excited. We try said tool, it fills a gap we didn't know existed in our routines. It's a huge success, copycats flood the market, we await the next exciting launch.
Said launch, Chitosan, feels different to the brand's stabs at creating the best hair dryer and other tools. This is for the obvious reason that it's not a tool, it's a pair of products - a pre-style cream and post-style serum. Although, say Dyson, they are 'engineered' like a tool. Oh, and the two products are technically five, as the four variants of the cream are precisely tailored by hair type. But the serum is a one-formula-fits-all situation. See, it's confusing, isn't it? Never fear, I tried Dyson Chitosan every day for a whole week until it all made sense.
What is Dyson Chitosan?
Before we get onto my thoughts on these hair styling products, a few key facts will be helpful. Firstly, that unusual name - Chitosan is the range's hero ingredient, a molecule derived from oyster mushrooms that helps give them structure.
The pre-style cream utilises this structure-boosting 'shroom to prime hair, helping heat-styling stick around without actually going sticky, it has been designed to do the business in high humidity and includes conditioning oils. You can choose between straight-to-wavy and curly-to-coily variants, each of which is then also divided into light or rich conditioning textures. I do hope you're still with me.
The serum focuses on hair feel over hold, although it still contains Chitosan. It's applied after styling for all the frizz-smoothing, silkifying good stuff we come to serums for. Of course, both have been designed for use with the brand's tools - particularly the Dyson Airwrap - but, say Dyson, the range "range is compatible with all styling routines, no matter the tool you’re using."
RRP: £49 (£44 for refills)
Powered by 'Triodetic' technology centred around the Chitosan molecule, this light primer is designed to be used before your hot tools for flexible hold. The packaging dispenses the perfect amount, it's refillable and, most cleverly, is NFC-enabled, meaning you can tap the lid with your smartphone for information, styling guides and to order refills.
RRP: £49 (£44 for refills)
This silky serum is designed to add shine to strands after heat styling, and can be used with the cream or as a standalone finishing product. It contains Chitosan to encourage hold as well as amino acids and moisturising hyaluronic acid, for hair health.
What I learned after using Dyson Chitosan every day for a week
It's no secret I was thrown by the idea of Chitosan. What do these advanced technology guys know about ingredient formulating? And why does it cost almost fifty full pounds per product? I suppose the genius of Dyson is, no matter how improbable-sounding a product (I'm old enough to remember when a vacuum cleaner brand launching a game-changing hair dryer sounded improbable) they have a knack for pulling it off.
So I gamely used Chitosan for a week. Opting for the straight-to-wavy, light conditioning pre-style cream plus the serum. While testing, I experimented with drying my hair straight using my Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer, creating bouncy flicks with my Airwrap and air drying for a few days too, even though Dyson has in no way suggested we do that.
And do you know what? Yes you do know. I 100% 'get' these products now. As soon as I picked up the bottles, with their velvety texture that feels exactly like a Dyson tool, magnetic lid that pops on and off so satisfyingly and concave dispenser that squeezes product out and 'catches' it too, that was it for me. This is advanced technology, it just comes in liquid form. Trust this forward-thinking brand to formulate with funghi - an odds-on favourite as the future of beauty for skin and hair.
The products feel and smell expensive, as they should, you only need the tiniest bit (the doser gives .22ml) so there is zero wastage and they will last a good while. And what about the results? My number one takeaway is this; if you struggle with how to use the Dyson Airwrap to make styles stay, this will help hugely. I had always accepted patchy longevity in return for lack of frazzling heat, but with this, my flicky blow-dry genuinely lasted the day without crunch. When I dried my hair sleek it was unaffected by an unreasonably sticky commute, and my air-dried hair lacked its usual frizz halo.
If any of that appeals, and you have a few bob to spare these products should please you, but if you only buy one, start with the cream. Offering light/rich formulas for straight and curly hair is a thoughtful touch. Just because you have curls or coils you don't necessarily need ultra-heavy product, and vice versa - straight hair may need a great whack of condition. This attention to finer details, and addictively luxurious Dyson-ness of it all kept Chitosan at the top of my styling roster long after my week of testing finished. It'll take some doing for another product to knock them off.
