'I Tried Dyson's New Damage-Defying Straightener, And Now I Know Why It's $500'

We all have our flatiron horror stories. For me, it was the early 2000s. My idol was Avril Lavigne and her curtain of flaxen hair was the look to copy so, even though I already had straight hair, I pressed my drugstore flatiron to my strands until they were fried (heat protector? What heat protector?)

Thankfully, technology evolved. As far as hair tools go, Dyson is the brand to watch. Yes, this is the same Dyson that creates those (super popular) humidifiers and vacuums. They tasked their engineers to design a hair dryer in 2016, then the Airwrap wet-to-dry styling kit in 2018, and now after seven years in development, a straightener in 2020. It launched in March, but I’ve been playing with it for the past month while cooped up at home in self-isolation, so now I can confidently give you a full breakdown of what makes it so special.

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The Dyson Corrale is wireless.

This is extremely convenient not only for not getting tangled at your vanity, but also for styling your hair. You’re able to reach around, over, and under your strands freely, without any strain. It has a magnetic cord that swivels 360 degrees and attaches to a stand where you can charge your tool. It also connects to the straightener itself. I personally do it when I’m taking my time with my hair because the tool can stay wireless for a maximum of 30 minutes (that means you can keep using it in another room if your partner is hogging the bathroom mirror). I usually don’t take more than 15 to 20 minutes to fix my hair, but I like having the option. PS: It fully charges in 70 minutes.

It has flexible plates that adapt to your hair thickness.

Since my hair is naturally straight, I don’t typically flatiron it on a regular basis. That’s changed with the Corrale. I love the way it smooths my strands into a silky, shiny finish so much that I even prefer how much healthier it looks versus my air-dried hair. My locks feel softer to the touch and healthy instead of dull and damaged.

This is all thanks to flexible plates that ensure your hair doesn’t get snagged, pulled, or caught between the iron. They’re ultra thin (65 micron in width, to be exact…that’s thinner than a single human hair) so it molds to your texture, whatever it might be. I’ve never had a flatiron with as sturdy of a grip on my hair, which tends to splay and fall out of a regular flatiron.

You only need to do one pass, so it causes way less heat damage.

There are only three settings:330°F, 365°F, and 410°F. You don’t need to use a crazy high temperature because the Corrale is designed to grab onto each section and sturdily press it, so the heat is more evenly distributed. I consider my hair pretty thick–it always takes two hair dryers at the salon after washing. But, when I straighten my hair with t he Corrale, I only need to go over my head once, instead of over and over. Dyson says that reduces typical flatiron damage by a whopping 50 percent.

Before + After Straightening

The straightener also does an *amazing* job at curling hair.

This has been my favorite way to use the Corrale. I always found it difficult to master flatiron curls, but the plates of this straightener slide like butter on my hair and make getting the beach-y waves of my dreams as easy as flicking my wrists.

I’ve also learned how to get a multitude of types of waves depending on how you handle the straightener. From my experience, doing one bend then sloooowly down a section will give you a much looser, “effortless” type of curl. Gradually twisting the entire straightener while it’s clamped (almost like a curling iron) will give you tighter, bouncier curls. Adding more tension–aka actively stretching your hair as you twist–can give you a more voluminous curl.

Before + After Curling

It gives totally different results than the Dyson Airwrap.

Full disclosure, I’m a huge fan of the Airwrap (read a review I wrote when it launched here) because it cuts down styling time for me by curling my hair as it dries damp hair. You should only use the Corrale on dry hair, so that’s a key difference. I will say the Corrale also allows me more control and precision with how I’m styling my hair and the finished product, whereas the Airwrap just achieves big, voluminous blowout curls every time (don’t get me wrong, I love it). I do think the Corrale is definitely better suited for straightening than the Airwrap’s smoothing brush attachments because you can actually control the heat to suit your hair type.

The Dyson Corrale costs $500.

I know, I know. Crazy, right? I leave it up to you to decide if this price point is something you’re willing to spend, but in my opinion the straightener surpasses other ones on the market and pretty much is a two-in-one deal with its curling capabilities. The Airwrap I have is $600 and I’ve been heavily using it for two years. It still works like new every time, and I know it will still be high quality for years to come. Needless to say, you can consider anything Dyson a big, but worthy, investment.

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