While the 00s saw many hairstyles come and go, there was one clear look that dominated my secondary school pictures. Alongside a short tie with an absurdly large knot and a dodgy side fringe, my hair was constantly straightened (or, more accurately, singed) within an inch of its life. Thankfully, hair straighteners have come a long way over the years, from controlled temperatures and shine-enhancing ceramic-coated hot plates to quick heat-up speeds and automatic off switches (meaning no more wondering if you turned them off when you’re already on the Tube).

Now, the latest innovation in hair straighteners has arrived, and it comes in the form of Dyson’s new Airstrait. Ever since the brand launched the Supersonic Hair Dryer back in 2016, it has brought out innovation after innovation, such as the iconic Air Wrap multi-styler and its popular Corrale hair straightener.

So what is Dyson’s Airstrait all about? Well, for starters, it’s a wet-to-dry tool. But before you panic, this is nothing like the retro tools that sizzled our hair back in the day. Airstrait is able to transform your damp hair into a dry, sleek and styled finish without any heat damage, according to the brand.

While it looks like a normal hair straightener, the tool’s mechanism involves zero hot plates. Instead, it straightens your hair with air. I know, it blew my mind too. Airflow is accelerated through two apertures on the machine, creating a mini air tunnel. This downward force blasts your hair straight while drying it, meaning you’re also reducing your hair styling time in the process.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on the tool prior to its launch. Here’s everything you need to know, including our honest thoughts…

Six years in the making, Dyson’s Airstrait is a hair straightener that styles hair using airflow. The brand’s engineers have managed to manipulate air by finding the perfect angle (45 degrees, in case you were wondering) that will blast hair dry while simultaneously straightening it.

While doing this, the tool measures the temperature of its airflow 30 times a second to prevent heat damage. The result is hugely reduced drying and styling time, fewer flyaways and shinier hair.

Stylist was among the lucky few who were able to try Airstrait prior to launch. While the tool was made with wet-to-dry styling in mind, Dyson’s global hair ambassador, Larry King, told me that the Airstrait can be used on dry hair, too. The tool has ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ styling modes, both of which have different temperature settings that you can select depending on your hair type. There’s also a ‘cool’ mode to help set your styling.

To show the true results of both the ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ styling modes, Larry used the tool on half a head of dry hair and half a head of damp hair. As the tool involves airflow that dries your hair, I was expecting it to be fairly noisy – however, when Larry turned it on, it was nowhere near as loud as a hairdryer. In fact, I was still able to speak to Larry while it was on.

As he swept the tool down each section of hair, I expected a slight tug each time due to the lack of hot plates, but there was nothing like that. Every swipe over my hair’s lengths was smooth, involved zero snagging and left each strand straight. The damp side alone took just over five minutes to style, which was impressive considering I have quite long, thick hair and turned up to the Dyson offices with it curly.

The more Larry used the tool, the more it reminded me of Dyson’s incredible Coanda smoothing dryer, which also happens to be my favourite Air Wrap attachment. It gives hair the same smooth finish, while laying down any flyaways. While both sides were left straight with a bouncy finish, I have to say that the dampened side just looked slightly sleeker and shinier.

When Dyson’s Airstrait was first unveiled, I had one thought: how does this differ from its Corrale hair straighteners? Well, for a start the Corrale uses flexing hot plates to straighten your hair, whereas the Airstrait doesn’t have a single hot plate in sight.

Alongside the technology, another huge difference lies in the finish. The Corrale straightener delivers poker-straight hair that still manages to look healthy and shiny. Meanwhile, the Airstrait gives you the same healthy-looking appearance but with more of a blow-dry-like finish. Meaning, yes, it leaves your hair straight but it doesn’t take away any volume or body along your lengths.

The Dyson Airstrait is now available in the US, Mexico and Canada. However, we’ll have to wait a little longer for it to reach British soil. A UK launch date is yet to be announced.

Similarly, a UK price hasn’t been confirmed. It will cost $499 in the US, while is around £400. But we’ll update this once we hear more from the brand. Watch this space!

Images: Dyson