You might be done after this step, but I prefer adding curls—whether I’m straightening my hair with a flat iron or doing it this way, my hair looks a little better with some waves so as not to draw attention to frizzy ends. Much like the wands you might be used to from Dyson or the equally impressive Shark Flexstyle, the T3 automatically wraps your hair around the curling wand and holds it in place with the airflow—no clips required. One thing to note, though, is that the Dyson went from needing two curling wands to go in each direction to just one, with a switch on top to change direction. So far, the Shark and T3 still require two.
Photography: Medea Giordano
The first thing I noticed upon opening the box on the Aire 360 was that the wands are much better in terms of construction than the other ones I’ve tried. They’re ceramic rather than plastic, so they’re sturdier but also distribute heat evenly. There are three heat settings (and three speeds), and it gets hotter than some others, reaching 237 degrees Fahrenheit. You can’t touch these barrels directly, but there are cool tips on the top so you can remove them and switch between attachments. I like that there’s no separate cool shot button cluttering up the handle. Instead, you just have to long-press the heat button, though I don’t think it got as cool as hair tools typically do.
Even with the heat setting being higher, it’s significantly lower than the temperature I’d need from a traditional curling iron, which I typically crank up to 400 degrees or higher. It’s hot air, but it’s not a scalding hot plate, meaning you don’t burn your hair. While I wasn’t willing to confirm this with my own hair, I can’t imagine you would. Accidentally burning a lock of hair If you left it too long.
High-end finishes
Photography: Medea Giordano
For about the same price as the Shark Flexstyle, you get fewer accessories. you can choose Among the different types of brushes, there’s a wide-tooth comb, a diffuser and concentrator for blow-drying, a frizz-straightening comb, and two brushes of different thicknesses. In my opinion, it’s a total tool, because I can have just that and diffuse my curls on days I wear them au natural or blow-dry them on other days. However, depending on your hair type and needs, all those attachments can be overkill. If that’s the case, I’d stick with the T3, which looks and feels high-end.