BaByliss Air Wand: two-minute review
In a world where time and efficiency are of the essence, multi-stylers are growing in popularity. Yet with this popularity comes fierce competition and high expectations, and the BaByliss Air Wand just about lives up to them.
It definitely looks the part. Its blue and gold colorway, which extends to its two brush attachments, looks attractive and gives the styler a premium, professional feel. Its 12 x 2.5 x 3″ / 30.5 x 6.4 x 7.6cm design makes it comfortable to hold, easy to maneuver and well-balanced and weighing just 0.84lbs / 0.38kg makes the Air Wand one of the lightest hair dryers and stylers I’ve tested.
The controls are well-positioned, allowing easy access mid-style without accidentally changing settings. These include a sliding switch for power and separate buttons for airflow and temperature settings, denoted by LEDs situated above these respective buttons. Pressing the temperature button four times activates the Cool shot function, and pressing and holding it for two seconds turns on Advanced Care mode, which alternates between hot and cold air to reduce heat damage and frizz.
It’s not obvious how to activate these settings without reading the instruction manual but they’re both welcome additions. The Cool function is convenient, staying on until disabled, and while the Advanced Care Mode didn’t noticeably affect the finish, it did seem to improve my hair’s condition over time. The memory function, which stores your last used settings, is another small but helpful feature.
I like the fact the hot air element is built into the side of the handle, and can be used alone as a hair dryer, or with one of the Air Wand’s two brushes. Yet this side position does mean that the brushes stick out considerably when attached, which prevents both from being able to properly reach your roots. The Straightening Brush combines plastic bristles with ceramic plates built into the brush head. These bristles separate the hair and help the plates glide easily. The Curved Blow Dry Brush, with its oval shape, is designed to lift and add volume to the hair. Both attach to the base via a click-and-release system to stop them moving around while in use. This is easy to do normally, but can it be difficult, and almost dangerous, to swap out mid-style due to how hot they can get.
The performance of these brushes, and the styler generally, is also mixed. The 123km/h airflow is fast and it rough dried my hair in 5 minutes and 45 seconds, on average. However, this speed caused my hair to blow all over the place which left it knotted and frizzy. Blow drying with a separate barrel brush took almost double the time, largely because positioning the styler and the brush was awkward and fiddly, though the results were smooth and full of body. (If you just need something to get your hair dry, one of the best hair dryers will generally be a better option than a styler like this.)
Due to its large size, the straightening brush often left my roots looking frizzy or kinky but was great for smoothing second-day hair, while the Curved Blow Dry Brush was a standout, adding volume and a polished finish. Drying and styling with this attachment took about 11 minutes, after which no further styling was needed and I often received compliments about how nice my hair looked.
All things considered, the BaByliss Air Wand is a decent styler and offers good value for money. It’s not perfect, and will best suit people who have multiple styling needs, or who don’t have to contend with curls, waves or frizz, but it has a number of features that make it a strong choice.
BaByliss Air Wand review: price & availability
- List price: £120 / €129.90
- Available in UK / EU
- Not available in US
The BaByliss Air Wand was released in April 2024 and is available from from BaByliss and Boots in the UK (AS6550U) and across Europe (AS6550E) in blue and gold, but it’s currently unavailable in the US. It’s the successor to the £80 / €79.90 BaByliss Hydro-Fusion 4-in-1 hair dryer and straightener brush and retails for £120 / €129.90. For that price you get the styler, plus two attachments – a Straightening Brush, and a Curved Blow Dry Brush.
At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Air Wand is a dupe for the Dyson Airwrap or Shark FlexStyle, which retail for £479 / €549 and £299.99 / €299.99 respectively. This would suggest the Air Wand is cheap by comparison.
However, there are some key differences. All three are wet-to-dry stylers but the cheaper BaByliss Air Wand offers a ceramic straightening brush, hot brush and blow dryer element. The Dyson and Shark models are missing the straightening brush, but instead offer the same hair drying features, and a wider range of curling attachments and barrel brush sizes, all of which increase their versatility.
The Air Wand is more expensive than basic hot brushes, which average around the £40-£50 mark, while standalone straightening brushes range from £16 / €19 for the CAIFU straightening brush, up to £179 / €210 for the GHD Rise. BaByliss itself sells hot brushes, such as the £35 / €40 BaByliss Flawless Volume Hot Air Brush, and straightening brushes including the £39 / €45 BaByliss Diamond .
Its closest rival, in terms of features and price, is the £116 Amika Double Agent brush, which combines hot air styling with straightening albeit in a single brush, not via attachments.
Looking at the wider market, £120 / €129.90 seems to be a reasonable price for the Air Wand but you’re largely paying for the convenience of having multiple styling options in one. You could buy a mid-range hair dryer, straightening brush and hot brush separately for about the same price, if not less than the Air Wand. Granted they wouldn’t feature BaByliss’ tech or the Air Wand’s design so if these things, coupled with convenience matter to you, the Air Wand will be good value for money.
- Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5
BaByliss Air Wand review: design
- Hair dryer element built in
- Thin, well-balanced handle is easy to maneuver
- Controls could be more intuitive
One of the main reasons why the BaByliss Air Wand draws comparisons with the Dyson Airwrap is its shape and design. It has a long, relatively thin handle with a filter at the base, and the hot air element built into the side, at the top. The hot air element can be used on its own, as a standalone hair dryer, or you can attach one of the Air Wand’s two brushes to it.
It’s a small touch but I appreciate the fact the Air Wand has the hair dryer component built in. On similar multi-stylers the hair dryer component is a separate attachment and this adds to the storage space they occupy, not to mention the fact it’s one more thing to lose.
The Straightening Brush combines plastic bristles with a series of ceramic plates built into the brush head. The bristles separate the hair and help the plates glide through and smooth each strand. While the Curved Blow Dry Brush has a classic, oval shape designed to lift and add volume to the hair. Both fix to the base via a click-and-release system.
There’s only one color option for the Air Wand and it’s navy and gold. I’m a huge fan of this color combination and it, once again, reminds me of Dyson’s blue and copper hair styler design. This color scheme gives the Air Wand a professional, high-end look, with LED lights that add a touch of flair.
In terms of ergonomics, the BaByliss Air Wand is comfortable to hold and easy to move around your head, despite its 12″ / 30.48cm length. This is both because the handle, at 2.5″ / 6.35cm wide and 3″ / 7.62cm deep, is thin enough to grip, and because it’s well-balanced. The motor and filter at the base of the styler balances out the heating element at the top. This comfort and ease of use is also down to the Air Wand weighing just 0.84lbs / 380g. This makes it one of the lightest hair dryers and stylers I’ve tested – by comparison, the Dyson Airwrap weighs 1.3lbs / 581g and the FlexStyle is 1.5lbs / 680g.
The controls are positioned and designed in such a way that you can easily access them mid-style, but not change the settings accidentally. This is no mean feat. These controls consist of a sliding switch to turn the device on and off, and separate buttons to adjust the airflow and temperature settings.
The airflow button has three white LEDs above it that correspond with the three airflow speeds, while the temperature button has three small, red LEDs that correspond with the three heat settings. To set the temperature, or airflow, you press the corresponding button repeatedly until you reach the desired temperature, or speed. Pressing the temperature button a fourth time activates the Cool shot function, and pressing and holding this button turns on Advanced Care mode. In this mode, the dryer alternates between hot and cold air to reduce heat damage, reduce frizz and set your style.
Activating these settings isn’t immediately clear or intuitive – I had to search the instruction manual to find both – but the use of LEDs looks impressive at least.
Finally, the styler has a 8.2 ft / 2.5m cord. This is slightly shorter than average but it’s more than long enough for home use.
BaByliss Air Wand review: performance
- Super-fast airflow
- Improved hair condition over time
- Mixed styling results
I had high hopes for the BaByliss Air Wand’s performance, given its price and its well-thought out design, but I ended up feeling slightly let down.
There’s no denying the airflow is fast, with a top airspeed of 123km/h, and that it dries hair quickly, but this does mean it has a tendency to blow your hair all over the place. I was able to rough dry my hair in just five minutes and 45 seconds, on average, but it was left knotted and frizzy from being almost blasted into submission.
When using the Air Wand to blow dry my hair using the hair dryer element and a separate barrel brush, the drying time was almost double. This was largely because I found it awkward trying to get the styler in the best position each time. However, the results were much better and my hair looked smooth and was full of body.
In terms of additional settings, the Cool function works well, and I like the fact that once it’s activated it stays on until you disable it. Most hair dryers require you to press and hold a Cool shot button, and this can be awkward and uncomfortable. I didn’t see a huge difference to the finish or feel of my hair while using the Advanced Care Mode. However, over time, the condition of my hair did improve while using the Air Wand. I can’t attribute this directly to the Advanced Care Mode but it was noticeable and welcome.
One of my favorite features of the Air Wand is its memory function. It’s a small but impactful feature that stores your preferred temperature setting. This means that when you turn the Air Wand on, it returns to whichever speed and heat setting you used last time so you don’t have to manually set it each time.
Swapping attachments is easy when the styler is off, or when the attachments haven’t been recently used. You just push and click them into position, and press a release button to pull them off. This also prevents them moving about while styling. However, trying to swap attachments mid-style borders on dangerous because they’re too hot to grab. I found myself having to switch to the Cool setting for a minute or so before removing them, which is inconvenient and adds to the styling time.
Speaking of attachments, the results from each brush varied. When the brushes are attached, they stick out quite considerably. This is less of a problem with the volumizing brush because it helps to lift the hair and the bristles on this brush grip the hair really well. However, when straightening your hair it’s near-impossible to get the brush and plates close to your roots, leaving you with frizz, or roots with kinks in them. The straightening brush also didn’t work as well as I had hoped and I often resorted to my regular straighteners to finish my style. That said, if you simply want to smooth second-day hair it works really well. I did try to use the Air Wand to curl my hair but all I managed were some uneven waves.
Conversely, the Curved Blow Dry Brush is a standout. It’s excellent for adding volume and creating a polished blow-dry finish. It effectively lifts the roots and adds a natural bounce to the hair. Drying and styling with this attachment typically took me about 11 minutes but once I’d finished I was ready to leave, no further styling or finishing required and I was often complimented on how I looked.
Overall, the BaByliss Air Wand performs well. The fact that it’s lightweight and easy to use helps counteract some of the longer drying times. When you have time to style your hair properly and in sections, the Air Wand excels and my styles lasted noticeably longer than normal. I also like its versatility. However, if you’re buying this styler to save time or because you think it’s a Dyson Airwrap dupe, you may be disappointed.
- Performance score: 4 out of 5
Should you buy the BaByliss Air Wand?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
How I tested the BaByliss Air Wand
The BaByliss AirWand was my go-to hairdryer throughout the duration of the review period. It replaced my Revlon Volumizer brush. I used the AirWand as a standard dryer every day after getting out of the shower. I also used the volumizing brush to finish my style, and the straightening attachment to smooth the finish. Many of these hairstyles involved using both attachments, the dryer function on its own, and involved cycling through each mid-style.
Throughout the review period I used all of the heat, and speed settings plus a combination of them all to see how effectively they dried and styled my hair. I also used the Cool Air function, and the hot and cold air setting designed to reduce hair damage. I monitored the feel and look of my hair throughout the review.
Read more about how we test
First reviewed June 2024
source: https://www.techradar.com/home/hair-care/babyliss-air-wand-review
