Babyliss Air Wand review: a cheaper alternative to the Dyson Airwrap

Ergonomics

Recently, the hair dryer market has seen the emergence of new hybrid devices: stylers. Popularized in 2018 by the Dyson Airwrap, these tools are used to both dry and style hair. No more need to use different devices, stylers rely on the all-in-one.

Since then, several manufacturers have launched their own hair dryer/styler. Recently, Babyliss has positioned itself on the market with the Air Wand. Like its competitors, the device adopts a tube format that is very easy to carry thanks to its width of 9 cm and only 425 g. With this featherweight, this Babyliss ranks among the lightest hair dryers in our comparison at the moment (the Rowenta Maestria Ultimate Experience remains in pole position with 363 g). The Air Wand is comfortable to hold and the device does not weigh down the arm.

Unlike the Airwrap, the air outlet is lateral and not placed at the end of the tube. It is therefore easier to dry your hair this way, without having to point the device towards the scalp. This is also why we preferred the grip of the Shark FlexStyle which has a pivoting head to better direct the air towards the hair.

Despite everything, the Babyliss’s breath remains poorly directed. By placing our hand in front of the mouth of the hair dryer, we feel almost non-existent air flow. To identify its presence, you must position yourself slightly above it, ultimately at an angle. In use, this is not always practical, obviously.

Either. Two styling tips can be attached to this air outlet. The first is made up of ceramic plates and is used to straighten the hair, while the second is simply an oval brush to add volume to the hair. It must be said that they are not the easiest to attach to the Air Wand. You have to observe common sense, which is not easy, then push one side, then the other. Everything works once you get the hang of it, but we would have preferred a magnetic system, like that of the Supersonic Nural.

The Babyliss Air Wand is controlled by three buttons to turn it on/off, adjust the heating intensity and the ventilation intensity, both distributed over three levels. A hidden mode is revealed by holding the temperature control for 3 seconds and alternates hot and cold air. You have to click on the buttons to obtain the desired configuration, which is not always practical when drying. This is why we favor simple selectors, which are more intuitive in everyday life.

Finally, to avoid restricting the user in their movements, the Air Wand has a large 2.5 m cord.

Drying efficiency

As written above, the air flow is offset from the outlet of the Air Wand. We therefore shifted our measuring tools slightly upwards. Without accessories and 20 cm from our anemometer, we then recorded 10.8 m/s at low intensity and 16 m/s at the highest. Confronted with our temperature probe, the Babyliss continues to be a little weak since we record 54°C at maximum, while most of its competitors blow an additional 10°C.

Without a concentrator, we carried out the rest of our tests with the straightening tip intended to offer a similar result. The Babyliss gives the impression since 16.4 m/s is recorded by our anemometer. Other competitors equipped with a real concentrator did less well, such as the Remington Ionic Dry 220 and its 14 m/s. In terms of temperature, the tip conducts heat without excess and we note 140°C, which is reasonable compared to the 179.9°C of the GHD Helios.

Finally, after a few minutes of use, we noticed that the upper part of the Air Wand heats up, so much so that it is not pleasant to hold the hairdryer there. Be careful not to be surprised by the heat.