The Dyson Airsmooth blow-dry brush has landed in a market that, according to ShelfTrend, is valued at approximately $2.25 billion in 2025 and growing at 7.1% annually, and Dyson’s timing is deliberate. The Airsmooth Styling Dryer Brush, priced at $250, is the company’s first standalone blow-dry brush, designed to take hair from wet to dry in a single pass.
Pre-launch footage showing the tool used on tight curls drew a lukewarm response online, but actual hands-on testing across four hair types tells a more layered story. The device is not a universal miracle worker, but it does several things its competitors do not.
Why Dyson Built a Standalone Brush
Kavya Nair, a design manager at Dyson based in Singapore, says the decision to build a dedicated tool came down to category size and a gap in the product line. Blow-dry brushes have one of the largest user bases among all hot tools, she notes, and the Smoothing Brush and Round Brush are among the most popular Airwrap attachments. Dyson simply did not have a standalone version.
There was also a deliberate effort to reach hair types the company felt it had underserved. ‘I think one of the key things that we wanted to solve, or attempt to solve,’ Nair 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. That admission shaped the engineering choices behind the bristles.
Nair says two complaints came up repeatedly during research, particularly from users with finer hair and coily hair: breakage and discomfort. Ball-tipped bristles, standard on most hot brushes, were identified as a key culprit. They tend to snag knots rather than work through them. The Airsmooth uses two purpose-built bristle types instead: AntiSnag bristles with a looped structure designed to flex and release knots, and thinner PivotFlex bristles that bend up to 90 degrees and feature an open base to diffuse airflow and reduce frizz.
The teardrop-shaped brush head is part of the same logic. The narrower edge improves access to roots; the flat sides handle smoothing and straightening. Getting the geometry right for both fine and coily hair simultaneously took significant development work. ‘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 are like, “It’s painful for me,”‘ Nair says.
Dyson Airsmooth Blow-Dry Brush: What the Testers Found
Matt Collins, a Los Angeles-based hairstylist and global styling ambassador for Dyson, says type 2 and type 3 hair with more volume sits in the sweet spot. He ‘really noticed the super-smooth blowout with not much work’ on those textures, with results that were ‘beautiful flip and bounciness.’ Finer hair is achievable as a quick general dry, but Collins says a large-barrel curling iron will still give better bounce for that hair type. Carlyn Griscti, a New York City-based hairstylist, agrees: rough-drying and following up with a curling iron is the stronger move for fine hair chasing a serious blowout.
Cataanda James, also a New York City-based hairstylist, says type 4 hair ‘could be successful in using this brush and getting a nice fluffy blowout,’ particularly with small sections and the right products. Not a silk press, but solid stretched length and reduced drying time.
Among the Allure reviewers who put it through its paces, a contributor with 4a-4c hair called it ‘a game-changer when it comes to timely at-home drying,’ adding that it was ‘the smoothest my hair has maybe ever looked after just using an air-dry brush.’ A reviewer with long, fine, wavy hair managed a sleek blowout in under ten minutes. One reviewer with long, thick, wavy hair finished her whole head in under 15 minutes and found the experience ‘the most seamless I’ve ever had’ with a hot-air brush, though she noted her Airwrap already gives her a result she prefers.
The travel case for the Airsmooth is real. Unlike the Airwrap, which is voltage-specific to the region where it was purchased, the Airsmooth works anywhere in the world with a plug adapter. That distinction matters to anyone who has tried to use a North American Airwrap in a European hotel room.
Dyson sold over 20 million products globally in 2024, according to Dyson’s own financial results, achieved despite what the company described as challenging economic conditions. The Airsmooth, released into a category with that scale of existing demand, is pitched as the accessible entry point into Dyson’s styling ecosystem, less versatile than the Airwrap Co-anda2x, but lighter on complexity and usable wherever you happen to be unpacking your bag.
The Dyson Airsmooth blow-dry brush is available now at $250 from Ulta Beauty and Sephora.
