Air stylers are being sold as a one-size-fits-all solution for 'healthy curls' — but that's just not accurate, says major haircare brand founder

Air stylers are very much the hot hair tool of the moment. When Dyson's first Airwrap hit the shelves in 2018, it felt like we were immediately hooked. We watched, entranced, as this wand-shaped styler grabbed a limp piece of hair, span it around, and left a perfect curl in its wake. And all without any extreme heat? It felt too good to be true.

And maybe it was. When I spoke to Dr Julie Chung, co-founder of major haircare brand T3, she advised that we take a much more cautious approach to the air styler phenomenon than we're used to hearing.

"This device is not for all hair types," she tells me. "And for any company to say, 'Oh, this is for all hair kind', 'this is for every single woman', it's simply not true."

She talks about how cool air-styler tools look on social media, but how, after the initial curl-creation magic has been captured, many women will find the styles just don't last on their hair.

"The more that I would watch women use this device on social, the more I saw women being very, very upset that they spent $600 on a device that created a curl for maybe a minute. They'd be in the mirror, it looks great, then they turn away for two seconds, look back and the curls have fallen," she recalls of the early days of air stylers.

One size does not fit all

Dr Chung is clear that even T3's own air styler — the Aire 360 — isn't for everyone. "Curls in general… it depends on the woman's hair type," she explains. "Some women can use a Dyson Airwrap with no product and be able to curl their hair and it'll stay. But that's because these are women whose hair tends to hold a curl really, really well.

"A woman with fine hair, for example, will dm me and say, the Shark didn't work. The Dyson didn't work. Should I get the Aire 360? And I would tell her, no. Just like Brandy Melvilles [a fashion brand that's been criticized for only offering clothing in one, small size] one size does not fit all. I can't even get the shorts over one leg."

So you might have hair that will naturally hold an air styler curl with no further effort required. Or you might need to add product, and take time to cool and set the air-styler curl.

Alternatively, a curling iron might give you much better and longer-lasting results (Dr Chung is also of the belief that 'heat has been demonized incorrectly — but that's a different subject), or you might need to use a curling iron to create ribbon curls. Dr Chung mentions T3's CEO, whose hair won't even hold a curling iron curl, and who needs a hot-roller set.

Your needs will be shaped not just by your hair texture, Dr Chung explains, but all manner of other aspects, from your lifestyle to the kind of climate you're living in, to your hair cut, and whether it's been colored, and the products you're using on it. There's a full spectrum of needs, and a full spectrum of tools.

She adds: "I've always said this to both consumers and editors alike: I can help you find the tool that will work for you, but that one tool that you're looking at, that some companies say it's for everybody. It's not for you. "I'm not going to sell you something that you'll come back and say it didn't work because I knew it wasn't going to work. I don't think that's some mind-blowing concept."

Dr Julie Chung is the co-founder of haircare brand T3, and played a central role in conceptualizing the brand's breakthrough hair dryer. She returned to T3 in 2023, following a break during which she completed her undergraduate studies and established herself as a renowned eye surgeon, specializing in glaucoma, and is currently steering the brand through its next phase of growth.

Ruth is TechRadar's Collections Editor, responsible for masterminding TechRadar's approach towards the new Collections format — a themed, curated selection of product recommendations designed to provide readers with an exciting new way to shop for the very best new gadgets and gizmos.