Dyson launched its $250 Airsmooth Styling Dryer Brush earlier this month, and Allure tested it on four different hair types to answer the question the whole category raises: can one wet-to-dry hot brush serve everyone from 4c coils to fine, highlighted waves?

Early reactions online were mixed. A pre-launch demo showing the device used on tight curls drew a lukewarm response, and skeptics asked why Dyson needed a dedicated blow-dry brush at all when the Airwrap already ships with two brush attachments. Kavya Nair, a Dyson design manager based in Singapore, says the brand wanted a more travel-friendly, stand-alone solution for wet-to-dry styling. Three factors drove the decision: blow-dry brushes have one of the largest user bases among all hot tools, the Smoothing Brush and Round Brush rank among the most popular Airwrap attachments, and Dyson simply did not offer a blow-dry brush yet.

Nair also says Dyson saw the Airsmooth as a chance to serve the textured hair community, which has historically felt underserved by the company's products. "I think one of the key things that we wanted to solve, or attempt to solve," she explains, "is the fact that our products essentially weren't giving the performance that a lot of 3T [curly-haired] and 4T [coily-haired] users" desired. Since the bumpy pre-launch period, reception among those with tighter curl patterns has shifted significantly, including some emphatic endorsements.

The bristle engineering

Blow-dryer brushes tend to look identical, and the Airsmooth's obvious distinction at first glance is its teardrop-shaped head. The real difference lies in the bristles: slim, hyper-flexible, and free of the ball-tipped ends found on most brushes and combs. Nair says Dyson's research into hot brushes on the market surfaced two consistent complaints, particularly among those with finer, thinner hair and coily hair: breakage and discomfort. Ball-tipped bristles were a major culprit, catching knots and tearing them rather than working through them.

Those two groups, however, want opposite things from a tool. "If you design something very high in tension that gives you a lot of control, the curly/coily community loves it. The minute you do that, though, users [with] finer hair—like Asian hair or European hair—are like, 'It's painful for me, I need this to be a bit more flexible,'" says Nair. "So a lot of work went into the development of the bristles and understanding how the product can be robust in terms of taking very high tension, but also being very comfortable on the scalp."

The Airsmooth carries two bristle types. AntiSnag bristles, also found on the Anti-Snag Loop Brush attachment for the Airwrap, use a looped structure designed "to flex and release knots around the bristles," Nair explains, instead of catching and breaking them. The thinner PivotFlex bristles, shaped like the Eiffel Tower, bend up to 90 degrees and "adapt to the type of hair you have to release tangles without actually putting a lot of force on your hair," she continues. Their open-base design helps diffuse airflow and minimize frizz. The teardrop head's narrower edge improves access to the roots; the flat sides handle styling and straightening.

Why it is not an Airwrap attachment

Nair describes the Airwrap as a "salon in a box"—the flagship for wet-to-dry styling—but its power requirements mean each unit carries region-specific voltage, so a North American Airwrap will not work in an Italian hotel room. The less powerful Airsmooth works anywhere in the world with a plug adapter. The goal, says Nair, was "wet-to-dry styling capability to a hot brush that people can take with them on the go." At $250, it costs less than an Airwrap, though Allure's testers note it is neither substantially lighter nor particularly cheap.

Performance follows a bell curve

Matt Collins, a Los Angeles-based hairstylist and global styling ambassador for Dyson, says the tool performs best on the middle of the hair-type spectrum: thick type 2 waves and type 3 curls. On those textures, he "really noticed the super-smooth blowout with not much work, and [they were] getting this beautiful flip and bounciness."

The tail ends of the curve require managed expectations. Coily hair types are "not going to get a silk press out of it," Collins says, though results between "fluffy blowout" and "stretched length" are achievable. New York City hairstylist Cataanda James says those with type 4 hair "could be successful in using this brush and getting a nice fluffy blowout" if they work in small sections with the right products. "If you're a girly that likes a super-sleek, super-smooth, straight, silky blowout, this is probably not the tool for you, unless you have a relaxer. But if you are the girly that loves a fluffy blowout," she adds, "it will cut back on drying time. Once you get the technique down, you can probably do it in a one-and-done."

For finer hair, Collins says users will "not going to get the most incredible blow-dry flip," but "they would have to work it like crazy with a round brush to get that flip anyway." New York City hairstylist Carlyn Griscti advises those chasing a supermodel blowout on fine hair to skip blow-dry brushes entirely: "The best thing to do in those situations is to rough-dry your hair and/or let it air-dry, then go in with a large-barrel curling iron."

What the testers found

A tester with a mix of 4a–4c hair called it "a game-changer when it comes to timely at-home drying," noting it completely dried her roots quickly even with oversized sections and never scorched her scalp on the hottest setting. She got a cute, natural blowout—though not a silky, fluffy '90s bob in one pass, partly because the barrel runs large for shorter hair—and said the $250 price is worth it for the speed alone, comparable to the time a good twist-out takes.

A first-time blow-dry brush user with coily hair prepped with Kenra Professional Thermal Styling Spray and an FHI Heat Unbrush, then worked small sections, stretching the ends first and returning to the roots. The full process took 45 minutes to an hour, and the result was fluffier and more voluminous than her usual Airwrap comb attachment outcome—something she was not sure she liked. The brush delivered strong tension for smoothing coily hair, though the very ends stayed hard to smooth.

A tester with long, fine, highlighted, wavy hair prone to knots was "shocked" at how easily it combed through damp hair—at the press preview, other attendees gasped. At home, she faked a sleek blowout in under 10 minutes, using the narrow edge at the roots and the larger side for a slight bend at the ends, though bounce eluded her. One downside: the bristles removed knots so easily that she found a lot of hair left on the brush.

A tester with long, thick, naturally wavy hair, prepping with Cécred Moisture Sealing Lotion, styled her whole head in under 15 minutes on the highest setting, moving to bigger sections as she gained confidence. She called it the most seamless hot-air brush experience she has ever had, with smooth, shiny, mobile hair—but would not invest at $250 because her Airwrap Co-and-a2x Multi-Styler and Dryer produces a style she likes even more.

The verdict that emerges: the Airsmooth is a dryer brush for anybody, but not everybody, and it lands hardest with frequent travelers and textured-hair users who want speed over silk-press perfection.

Source: Allure (https://www.allure.com/story/dyson-airsmooth-review) / Source: cna.st (https://cna.st/affiliate-link/8R1h8mj7jPeeU2Je9Bz8eQezMCPaXfFHHXMS2tUL8fis9sBgHLUypbef5tHcL4Dfp1z3nzi8Q1SXu9B8P5Zo4rX1zLpiB36HLJ649WeQHFCpawMth1CskTVhjKs51BPpJG35AH24K6ejNj68aPjhgJEBusurCXEwDNXVaGajPnqXfGXfR7qbuzCbq39fJu4DKyPaVhxb1iwaLoPYEtS9m1SpxBYRUr3D1NYvbCcqSp2PEGbj6r3peYdz1ZMxmTbk5NQncv46vC1x3Bo1oX7m1WReZDcpvJcLv6PwqGXsM6YnzY1D8JQkzJENZsTgdtfkxsbVM8soFXjQ8PyPCova16kf8nsFciK3H1ZY4iwEJe)