It has become the hottest of hot styling tools on the market - and the Dyson Airwrap is in such high demand it sells out as fast as it goes on sale in stores. Now, the second ever Dyson superstore has opened up right here in Manchester - at the Trafford Centre.
The new Dyson Airwrap model is available to order for an eye-watering £479.99, and a dedicated styling suite is in the store too for people to see how it all works before making that big investment. At the launch of the event, Dyson's global hair ambassador Larry King was on hand to give customers tips on how to use all of the Dyson hair tool range to their best effect.
So who better to ask for the ultimate masterclass in how to get the best results from the in-demand Airwrap than Larry? The hair expert said the first thing you need to do is remember what the whole point of the Airwrap is, and that's to use heat in a way that is kinder to your hair.
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Larry said: "The key thing about the Airwrap is it's a wet to dry styler, so the whole beauty of it is about hair health. Think of it as a hairdryer with attachments."
Larry was among the first to see and use the Airwrap from its earliest development with Dyson, and he reckons it has "changed the game" for hair stylers on the market. He said: "I knew it was going to be a game changer the moment I saw it, I knew it would blow people's minds."
We asked Larry specifically what his routine would be to get the best, most long-lasting curl results when using the Dyson Airwrap. Here's what he said, and then reporter Dianne Bourne tested out his method to see if it worked for her.
How should you prep your hair?
Larry recommends a "light spray or mousse" before using the Dyson Airwrap. He said: "If you want to use the barrels to create nice curls I would say it's best to use a light volumising spray or a very gentle soft mousse."
How wet should your hair be?
This is one of the most oft-asked questions about the Dyson Airwrap - exactly how dry should your hair be before you try to style with it? Well Larry has given us his verdict.
He said: "Rough dry your hair to 85%. What it is when you get to 85% rough dry, that last 15% is the conversion time -that's when you lock the style in.
"Up to 85% the bonds have still not aligned in your hair. That last 15% is when the bonds form and when the style is locked in."
He recommends using the barrels to point AWAY from the face for the best look. He said: "You want the barrels to come away from your face, it opens up the face it's a lot more flattering.
"Start on one side and then at 85% use the barrels, hold the hair between your fingers letting your hair fall and take the barrel to the hair, it will use the coanda effect [the air vortex] to grab the hair and wrap around the barrels."
How long should you hold it for?
Larry says: "Dry each section until it's fully dry, so I'd hold it for 10 seconds and then always do the cold shot for 3 - 5 seconds which will lock in the style."
The cold shot button is found on the main body of the Airwrap wand, and is said to be a must for "locking in" the style.
To pin or not to pin?
This is another big conundrum. For many Airwrap owners, pinning the curls is the one sure-fire way to "hold" the curls for a longer lasting look.
But interestingly, Larry says FORGET the pins. He says you should literally not touch your hair after you've "released" the curl.
Larry says: "Leave it, don't touch it. Just leave it with the curl and move on to the next section.
"Leave it so you have all these barrel curls around your head. You can always brush them out later if it's too much."
We tested out the Dyson expert's advice - did it hold the curl?
Reporter Dianne Bourne purchased her Dyson Airwrap in 2021 - and has been struggling to get it to hold the curl ever since. Here she tests out Larry's advice to see if it will work for her very straight hair.
"I've been moaning to anyone who will listen about my trials and tribulations with the Dyson Airwrap, ever since I shelled out £449.99 (it's gone up another £30 since then, can you believe) for the styler over a year ago.
"I, like many long-haired folk, had been seduced by the many Instagram tutorials and influencers who made it look so effortless in creating gorgeous voluminous curls.
"Alas, my hair is about as poker straight as it gets, and from the start I really struggled to get the Airwrap to hold a curl for more than about an hour after I'd styled my whole head. The huge frustration is that it really does give me the "perfect" big curl look immediately after I've finished - but I've been unable to keep it looking like this (pictured above).
"I was determined to make it work though, and joined all sorts of Facebook help groups, have watched what feels like hours of instagram and youtube video tutorials, and while I get a slightly better result these days, it's still not quite the "hold" that I'd like.
"The only thing that I've found that REALLY works for me is pinning the curls after I've used the Airwrap, although in my opinion you shouldn't have to use pins to assist a £450 styling device. So I was really interested to hear Larry say that he wouldn't use pins afterwards - and his advice is to just not touch the curl AT ALL for as long as you possibly can.
"So with this in mind I did everything he suggested, aiming to dry my hair to 85% and then getting to work on the curls. I then sat in motionless agony for about three hours hoping against hope that this would set the curl (the results are pictured above with my hair at its curliest).
"Unfortunately, I then needed to head out on what was quite a hot day in Manchester. So I was worried that this would immediately drop the curl after all this effort.
"I have to say it did hold quite well, perhaps a little better than usual having taken Larry's advice. But predictably a couple of hours in the sunshine it went a bit frizzy and lost a lot of the curl.
"It's definitely worth trying Larry's tips for anyone, like me, who has struggled to get the Dyson Airwrap to hold the curl on your hair. I just wish there was a magic trick that would make it work perfectly every time for me - especially given the huge amount of money I invested on this hair styling tool."
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