Dyson Hair Dryer vs Airwrap Styler

The Dyson Supersonic is a powerful hair dryer that is engineered to prevent extreme heat damage by drying your hair faster than other brands, and simultaneously improving smoothness and shine. Dyson’s Airwrap styler complete, on the other hand, is a new hair styling tool that combines drying and styling without extreme heat to give you sleek and healthier hair.

Each tool comes with many attachments to style the hair for drying, smoothing, and/or curling. Both the Supersonic and Airwrap use an aerodynamic phenomenon called the Coanda effect that attracts hair to surfaces through jet propelled streams of air–this helps with styling and smoothing out the hair and reducing the amount of frizz.

What is Dyson’s Supersonic hair dryer?

Compared to other hair dryers like the Hot Tools Tourmaline Tools 2000 Turbo Ionic Dryer or the Shark HyperAir, the Dyson Supersonic dried the hair faster without leaving it feeling or smelling fried. At 1.8 pounds, the Dyson is on the slightly heftier side in comparison to other hair dryers. However, we noticed that once we turned it on, the weight didn’t affect usability of the Dyson. Its smaller shape keeps it nimble.

If you’ve ever seen Dyson products, you know they’re nontraditional in ways of design and technology. The Dyson Supersonic and Airwrap styler both continue this theme through their bladeless designs (i.e. the Airwrap’s pre-style drying attachment) that are similar to the Dyson table fans and the Air Multiplier technology that creates high-velocity jets of air to dry hair quicker than traditional hair dryers.

We tested the Dyson Supersonic on type 2A, thick hair using all the attachments, heat settings, and speed settings. We found that it took about four minutes to completely dry from wet, freshly showered hair without using any attachments on the second speed and heat settings. (Note, the highest speed and heat were too strong to use without the gentle hair diffuser or other attachments). With other hair dryers, it took at least 10-15 minutes to fully dry hair.

Amazingly fast & gentler drying

A versatile yet pricey tool that is a styler first, but also dries hair at slower speeds than the Supersonic.

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The Dyson Supersonic and Airwrap also have intelligent heat control technology that measures airflow temperature over 40 times per second, which means if the system gets too hot it will begin to cool down the system. The less heat on your hair, the less damage.

Whereas the Dyson Airwrap styler comes with attachments that lock in place through a locked spring mechanism, the Dyson Supersonic has various attachments that easily connect strong magnets. This makes styling and rotation fast and easy.

The Supersonic comes with five different attachments:

• Gentle air attachment: diffuses air in a gentle and cooler stream of air. This is great for those who have sensitive scalps or thinner hair.
• Diffuser: This larger diffuser is perfect for people with curly or wavy hair. It helps simulate natural air-drying because it disperses air in a wider surface area.
• Wide-tooth comb: This helps smooth and dry curly and textured hair.
• Styling concentrator: This helps with styling and drying your hair in small sections with a precise and controlled stream of air. This is best to pair with a round brush for blowouts.
• Flyaway attachment: A new attachment that helps smooth out flyaway and frizzy hairs using the Coanda effect and heat. This is best used on straightened, dry hair.

One critique that we have for the Dyson Supersonic is that it’s a bit difficult removing the attachments after styling due to the heat. The magnet is fairly strong so it will take a bit of effort to remove, but you can’t hold onto the attachment for too long because it’s too hot. Whereas the Airwrap styler attachments have a piece at the top that remains cool during styling. This makes it easier and safer to remove or change out the attachments after styling.

What is Dyson’s Airwrap Styler Complete?

Compared to other heat styling tools like flat irons or curling irons, the Dyson Airwrap styler does significantly less heat damage on the hair. The hair is noticeably shinier and doesn’t smell fried. We also found that the Dyson Airwrap highest speed level was more gentle on our scalp than the Dyson Supersonic on full strength. However, there is also a large learning curve in learning how to use the Dyson Airwrap styler properly. Learn more about our Dyson Airwrap styler review here.

The Dyson Airwrap Styler is a complete drying and styling set that lets you go from wet to styled hair with one tool. Similar to the Dyson Supersonic, it comes with various attachments that let you customize your hair when styling:

• Pre-styling dryer: This attachment helps you dry your hair to the appropriate moisture level to begin styling with the other attachments. This bladeless fan is similar to the Dyson Supersonic and table fans that the company produces. You get a jet-propelled stream of air to quickly dry hair and reduce the amount of heat damage.
• Airwrap barrels: Two sets of barrels help with curling the hair using the Coanda effect, which is created when strong jets of air curve towards surfaces due to changes in pressure. The air helps the hair wrap around the barrels and form a curl or wave.
• Soft smoothing brush: This attachment has softball tip bristles that are made to smooth out hair. It’s best for sensitive scalps.
• Firm smoothing brush: The firm smoothing brush helps to smooth out unruly and frizzy hair. This is great for thicker hair types.
• Round volumizing brush: This brush combines a hairdryer and a round brush to give you an easier blowout in one tool.

Versatile tool, at a cost

A versatile yet pricey tool that is a styler first, but also dries hair at slower speeds than the Supersonic.

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Similar to the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer, the Dyson Airwrap styler is also made with a powerful motor that generates enough pressure to create the Coanda effect and quickly dry and style your hair. It also includes intelligent heat control that measures airflow temperature over 40 times per second to make sure the heat is always under 302 ℉. This helps prevent extreme damage on the hair with heat.

We also tested the Dyson Airwrap styler with type 2A, thick hair and used the various attachments, heat, and speed settings. When drying hair using the pre-drying styler attachment, it took about four minutes to reach the appropriate moisture level fit to start styling hair. If we continue to dry it completely, it takes over seven minutes. Compared to the Supersonic, the Airwrap took three minutes longer to dry hair completely.

While the Dyson Airwrap styler definitely has versatility in styling your hair because it comes with so many attachments, it also has a rather bulky organization issue. It comes with a beautiful leather presentation case, but it isn’t really suitable to use daily or when traveling because it’s so bulky. Dyson sells organizers and travel cases for the Airwrap styler, however, you need to buy this separately. The travel cases don’t fit all the attachments too, so you need to choose them carefully when packing.

Dyson Hair Dryer & Airwrap Comparison Table

For a better comparison of the specifications for each model, here is a table comparing both the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer and Dyson Airwrap Styler complete below:

Reasons to choose the Dyson – Supersonic Hair Dryer

The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer is a stronger and more powerful tool when drying hair than the Dyson Airwrap. In fact, we were only comfortable using the medium-level heat and speed settings because the highest level was too much for sensitive scalps–this is why they created the gentle hair diffuser attachment.

We have noticed that drying freshly showered hair with the Supersonic (four minutes) is faster than drying hair with the Airwrap pre-styling dryer (7+ minutes). Obviously, we understand that the Airwrap is mainly used to reach a damp moisture level for styling rather than drying hair completely. However, some (aka us) would rather purchase one model than both.

What we love about the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer is that you can use it on various hair types, from slick straight to textured and curly. Attachments like the hair diffuser allow those who have textured and curly hair to mimic natural air drying and create frizz-free hairstyles. This type of attachment is not available with the Airwrap. With the styling concentrator and your own preferred round brush, you can create bouncy and voluminous blowouts.

Most importantly, the Dyson Supersonic comes with the flyaway attachment that cleans up any excess frizzy hairs at the end of the styling session. We’ve found that the flyaway attachment works better to create a smoother and shinier finish on the hair than the Airwrap styler smoothing attachments.

Reasons to choose the Dyson – Airwrap

One advantage to the Airwrap styler is its versatility in styling. We’ve definitely taken into consideration the polarizing reviews many people have in using the Airwrap and it’s definitely dependent on the type of hair you have and if you can handle the steep learning curve in using the Airwrap on your hair.

For example, curling hair with the Dyson Airwrap styler requires you to understand what level of moisture your hair needs to be to properly set the curls. Oftentimes, you may need additional hair products to fully set the curls. We’ve tested both the Airwrap and Supersonic on straight and wavy hair, but have not tested it on more textured or curly hair. So take these reviews with a grain of salt. See our in-depth review to see how the Airwrap competes with other curling irons for thick hair. 

With the Dyson Airwrap styler, you can use the round brush attachment for an easier blowout with only one tool to dry and style hair. Compared to the Dyson Supersonic, you would need the hairdryer and an additional round brush to create a blowout. For some, mimicking a traditional salon blowout is difficult especially if you aren’t particularly dexterous. Having a free hand when styling a blowout is very helpful because you can move the strand of hair easily.

You can also choose to curl or create bouncy waves with the curling barrels with less heat damage than traditional heating tools because the temperature never reaches above 302 ℉. The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer does not come with or have the capacity to create any type of curls with its attachments.

How to decide which product is better for you

After testing the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer and Airwrap styler, we found that each of these products are amazing on their own but most people don’t need both models. Here’s a quick breakdown of who best fits each model:

The Dyson Supersonic hairdryer is for you if:

• You have thick hair and want to quicken the drying process
• You have a minimal, no-fuss styling process
• You have textured or curly hair and want to mimic natural air drying with a diffuser
• You like to customize blowouts using your own round brushes

The Dyson Airwrap styler is for you if:

• You have the budget for a new styling system
• You want multiple options in styling your hair, like curling or blowouts
• You are ready for the challenge and want to experiment with styling your hair
• You start your styling process with clean, wet hair and want one tool to dry and style your hair

The bottom line is if you have a smaller budget and want a traditional, but a faster way to dry your hair in the morning, then you should get the Dyson Supersonic. If you have a larger budget, you want a two-in-one tool to dry and style your hair at the same time, and like trying out new styling tools, then the Dyson Airwrap styler is your next best friend.

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