Dyson airwrap vs Done total styler: Which hair tool comes out on top?

Temperature: 55C to 105C

Styling attachments: Four

We hadn’t heard of Done Hair until we discovered this styler, and it made one hell of a good first impression.

Promising “unlimited styling options”, it has four different attachments to combine powerful airflow with the moisture in your hair to simultaneously dry and style. These attachments cover all of the styling basics, with one to blow dry, two to brush through hair and another to curl.

The three different air flow settings make the blow drying attachment suitable for any hair type. It isn’t overly powerful, so we suggest first towel-drying your hair until it’s mostly dry. You can also use the flat, paddle-style brush head for super straight, sleek styles, brushing through hair at a slight angle to give it more lift at the root. We recommend using a similar technique for the rounded brush attachment for extra oomph.

The results of both brush attachments were solid, making quick work of even our tester’s frizzy, curly hair. However, we were most excited to try the curling attachment. This uses Done Hair’s jet stream technology. Designed specifically to reduce heat damage, it uses air flow to magically wrap your hair around the barrel without any effort on your part.

There’s only one barrel size available, giving you quite a loose curl that can easily be transformed into a wave once brushed through with a comb. It takes a moment to get to grips with the technology and completely forfeit control, but once you do you can easily tackle a whole head of hair in a matter of minutes. Forget awkwardly reaching around to catch those forgotten sections at the back of your head; as there’s no need for you to manually manipulate your hair, you get an even style with minimal fuss. Those with longer hair might find it a struggle to curl the entire length of their strands though as the barrel isn’t very long.

The finished looks of all the attachments lasted for similar lengths of time, but the curls didn’t quite make it through the night unscathed. However, when it’s so easy to create more, this isn’t a dealbreaker. There’s also the added bonus of it drying as it styles and posing less risk of breakage as it uses air, not extreme heat (while it has three heat settings ranging from 55C to 105C, this is still significantly cooler than most curling wands). We just wish there was a cool shot option to help set your finished look.

Overall, we were really impressed by this tool. It isn’t the most powerful hair dryer and it does feel a bit cheap material-wise, but this gives it the advantage of being lightweight and easy on your arms. However, it packs some impressive technology considering the cost, and is a marked step up from most styling tools.

Temperature: Maximum 150C

Styling attachments: Six

We’ve been obsessed with Dyson’s hair tools from the moment they dropped the supersonic hair dryer, but were still completely blown away by the airwrap when it was first released.

Before the airwrap, you had to juggle the desire to style your hair with not wanting to not fry it with excessive use of heat tools. But the coanda effect changed everything. This is the technology behind the device, using air rather than high temperatures to set your style. It works by attracting hair to the surface of the styler and projecting air along each strand to smooth and set your look.

It’s been over two years, but we still get excited every time we use it. The complete airwrap set comes with six different attachments, including four barrels for curling (two 30mm and two 40mm, with one clockwise and one counter-clockwise of each), two smoothing brushes, a volumising brush and a pre-styling dryer.

The latter is nearly as good as the actual supersonic hair dryer, but it’s the styling barrels that are really impressive. While the firm smoothing brush is designed to create a straight style with minimal frizz, the round brush gives you a more voluminous look. Both work similarly – simply brush through your strands, pulling up and away from the head for more bounce. We’re usually useless at replicating salon-worthy looks at home, but the design of these attachments make it easy. The air flow mimics the angle of a hairstylist’s technique, directing air down rather than up as is normally the case when styling your own hair, giving you that super sleek finish.

Of course, the crowning jewel of the airwrap is its curling barrels. Using them can be tricky at first. We recommend holding the device about 3cm away from the end of your hair and bringing the barrel underneath to let the hair wrap around it. Don’t get tempted to try and work it around the barrel like you would a styling wand, it’ll just end up a tangled mess. Hold it in place for a few seconds, press the cold switch to set the curl, turn off the device, pull it away, and voila – perfect, bouncy curls. For the most natural results, just remember to switch to the barrel moving the air in the opposite direction for the other side of your head.

Once you’ve perfected the technique, this cuts the usual time spent curling hair in half. Not only can you eliminate the blow dry stage as it simultaneously dries and styles damp hair, but it also does all of the hard work for you and creates a more consistent curl pattern than a wand. There’s also no need to worry about accidental burns – while the device has three temperature settings up to 150C, it adjusts the temperature over 40 times a second to prevent damage to both your skin and hair.

There’s no glossing over the fact the airwrap is expensive. Included in the cost is the years of development required to perfect this kind of advanced technology, and you can sense that when you use it. The results aren’t as long-lasting as they’d be with a curling wand or straighteners, but this is the price you pay for healthier hair. You’d also struggle to find any curling device or technique that could create salon-standard hair so seamlessly.