Summer can mean pool days and wet hair, but also vacations and nights out at beach bars. For those times, you want hair tools that work quickly for effortless, humidity-defying styles. Some of our favorites, including Dyson’s pricey Airstrait and Airwrap, are currently on sale.
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Hair straightener offers
Read our guides to The Best Hair Straighteners and The Best Hair Dryers for more recommendations.
Dyson’s Airstrait (8/10, WIRED recommends) is a favorite of some of the WIRED staff. Using high-speed descending air blades, it dries and straightens hair without having to hold it between hot plates. Like most Dyson tools, it styles without singeing your hair so you can have more days of good hair and less breakage. Depending on your hair type, you may need to use wet mode first until hair is dry and then switch to dry mode to smooth out puffiness. You may have to play around a little to determine if your hair should be wetter or drier; did It straightened my coarse curls quite impressively, but it took longer than my preferred method.
It still has a hefty price tag, but if you’ve been coveting this blasting tool, it may be worth it. The Airwrap Complete (8/10, WIRED recommends) comes with a curling barrel for long hair (and it changes direction so you don’t need two), a diffuser, a wide-tooth comb, and two brush attachments, plus the awesome Hair Attachment. Straightening dryer that really removes loose hairs.
If the GHD is more in your budget, it is similar in concept to the Dyson Airstrait but uses traditional plates. The hot air vents in the center of the plates dry the hair first. Depending on your hair type and desired style, that might be enough. If not, turn on the straighteners and straighten your hair as usual.
This is one of the best straighteners I’ve ever used on my coarse, unruly hair. My curls didn’t stand a chance against this, and he didn’t pull or fry them to straighten them. The stainless steel outer house also heats up for easier curling if you have difficulty with that. However, I hate where the temperature buttons are placed. I was constantly changing settings while designing.
GHD has other hair tools that we like, like the Chronos. This iron has new technology to distribute heat more evenly and keep it at 365 degrees Fahrenheit; The GHD tools only have one temperature setting, which is enough to style a lot of hair without damaging it, but I’ve always needed a higher heat. The Chronos has a rounded shape that helps make curls easier.
A vibrating plate! It seems excessive, but somehow it creates perfect tension, allowing you to straighten your hair in fewer strokes without tearing your hair out. Our tester straightened one side of her head with the vibration and the other without. He said it was noticeably brighter and only required one pass per section with vibrations, rather than two or three passes on the other side.
A WIRED writer says this is the best hair dryer she’s ever used, giving her smooth, shiny blowouts without overheating. It’s also not very heavy, which is nice when you have a lot of hair to get through. It comes with two air concentrator nozzles, but without a diffuser; you have to buy that separately. Note the speed and heat control buttons, as they are right where your hand goes.
