Can’t get your hands on the Dyson Airwrap? Here’s the best alternatives.
It’s no secret that the Dyson Airwrap is a coveted, holy grail product for many. But why? Is it really that good? After years of testing several hair tools on the market, we’d go out on a limb and say the Airwrap is worth it, is that good, and is one of the best multi-stylers we’ve ever tried. That being said, it’s also no secret that this tool is pricey and always sold out. Whether you don’t want to spend the pennies on a $600 hair tool, already have a Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer (spoiler alert: there’s an Airwrap Barrel dupe for that!), or just can’t get your hands on the Airwrap, you’ll find something that works for your lifestyle in this article.
Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler Complete
WHAT IS IT?
Dyson Airwrap is a multi-styler that dries, curls, smooths, and waves hair with its various attachments. This hair tool styles with air, not extreme heat, to prevent hair damage so that you can dry, smooth, and style simultaneously. Airwrap is powered by the Dyson digital V9 motor as well as an aerodynamic phenomenon called the Coanda effect. The Coanda effect uses air to attract and self-wrap hair to the barrel or surface. All attachments are safe for any hair type and texture, and they are backward-compatible from new bases to old. Dyson has multiple attachments that suit either long or dry, fine or thick hair to get the best styling experience for you.
See the individual hair tool post(s) for more details and comparisons to the hair tools, and to the original Dyson Airwrap system.
Shark FlexStyle Air Styling & Drying System
WHAT IS IT?
Shark FlexStyle is an Air Drying & Styling System, allowing you to dry and style hair simultaneously. Because it is an air-dry system, there is no extreme heat damage to worry about. FlexStyle provides a fast hair drying option while maintaining low heat, as it measures and regulates temperatures 1,000x per second to keep levels consistent. The hair tool weight is just under 1.5lbs and has a user-friendly ergonomic design allowing the handle to flex for easy use. Shark FlexStyle has multiple hair attachments, ranging from barrels to curl, brushes to smooth and defrizz, and a concentrator to focus on hair drying. The barrels use something called Coanada Technology, an aerodynamic phenomenon that pulls in the surrounding air on curved geometry with proper airspeed and pressure. This allows hair to ‘auto-wrap’ safely around the barrels for easy curling. With 4 heat, 3 airflow settings, and a cold shot button, your hair drying and styling can be customized.
HOW IT COMPARES TO DYSON AIRWRAP
If you’re looking for the results that the Dyson Airwrap gives, but are on a budget, FlexStyle would be worth looking into since it is over half the cost (i.e. dupe). Dyson gets major props for being first to use Coanda technology in the hair world, and Shark directly copied this effect with FlexStyle. Both styling tools dry and style hair, allowing for various hairstyles from straight to curly, and both protect the hair from extreme heat damage. Although, we should mention that Shark does run much hotter at the high heat setting, but it does have one extra heat setting above Dyson. Another big difference with the Shark FlexStyle is its ergonomic handle design. The base bends to allow for easier, more comfortable styling.
ion Luxe 4-in-1 Autowrap Airstyler
WHAT IS IT?
Dry, curl, wave, smooth hair with ion Luxe 4-in-1 Autowrap Airstyler. This hair tool uses air and Autowrap™ Technology to simultaneously style and dry hair to cut your hairstyling time in half. It has 3 heat settings, a cool shot button, and 3 airflow settings to customize drying and styling. The styler comes with 2 barrels for left and right curl/wave directions, a diffuser, and air concentrator nozzles for drying. It also features ionic technology that helps to dry hair faster by sealing the cuticle, reducing frizz and flyaways.
HOW IT COMPARES TO DYSON AIRWRAP
The ion Luxe 4-in-1 is almost like a hybrid of the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer and Airwrap system. The body design is similar to that of Supersonic, but you also get similar Airwrap barrel attachments. ion Luxe 4-in-1 curl barrels work in the same manner as the Airwrap, guiding and automatically wrapping hair around the barrel. At only $149.99, you’re getting a pretty great deal since you are getting both typical hair dryer, plus Airwrap-like attachments. However, this one doesn’t have all the same advanced technology that Dyson does. For these reasons this is a dyson airwrap dupe system – there is nothing original in this hairstyling system.
- Pro’s
- Cheap
- Uses coanda principles
- Not loud
- Is a hair dryer as part of the system
- Great controls
- Con’s
- Has only one setting for the curling barrels (@250F)
- barrel gets extremely hot
- Airflow is not great through the barrels
Best Adapter for Dyson Hair Dryer
WHAT IS IT?
This nifty adapter tool requires you to already own a Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer, but allows you to attach the Airwrap Barrels directly to the Supersonic. The adapter has a magnetic interface that attaches to the hair dryer nozzle. Then, you can actually attach the legit Dyson Airwrap barrels and other attachments to use. Or, you can pick up some Dyson Airwrap dupe attachments from Amazon (keep scrolling for our recommendation on which barrels we have tested). The only negative about this coupler is that it’s designed to attach the barrels by using a force fit. Unfortunately this will wear down the coupling elements of the barrels and other attachments. We also found that some of the original dyson attachment required a lot of force to couple them with the adapter.
Please note that Dyson does not endorse or back this adapter piece. It is made and sold through a third party entity.
- Pro’s
- Very Cheap
- Uses coanda principles
- Made for Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer
- Can couple all the Dyson airwrap attachments (we do not recommend brushes)
- Can couple many aftermarket attachments
- Con’s
- Force fit coupling system to the attachments
- The coupling elements will wear down
- some attachments are really hard to couple
Best Barrel Dupe For Dyson Hair Dryer
WHAT IS IT?
A quick Amazon search reveals several third party brands making their own Dyson Airwrap Barrel dupes. These work with both the original and new Airwrap base and are a lower cost alternative, as well as much easier to get your hands on! Another way to use these barrels is with the adapter listed above and your Dyson Hair Dryer. You can find several after market, third party dupes on Amazon, but we have personally tried these and can attest they work.
HOW IT COMPARES TO DYSON AIRWRAP
These third party barrels look very similar to the actual Dyson Airwrap brand barrels, with the same pink and grey design (dyson barrel dupes or copies). You can get them in both the shorter 1.2 inch and longer 1.6 inch lengths. They use the same (or at least near identical) Coanda technology to attract and ‘wrap’ hair around the barrels, creating bouncy curls. While the Dyson still provides the best results, these are a great option for someone who buys an Airwrap base from a resale site like eBay or Mercari and can’t get their hands on the actual Dyson barrels that are always sold out!
Please note that Dyson does not endorse or back these barrels. They are made and sold though a third party entity. These are aftermarket parts that can void equipment warranty.
Best Airwrap Barrel Attachment Dupe For Dyson Supersonic Hair Dyer
RATING BREAKDOWN
WHAT IS IT?
It’s begun: third party brands are starting to make Dyson Airwrap Barrel dupes. But, these in particular will only work for you if you already have the Dyson Hair Dryer. The barrels have a magnetic interface that attaches to your Dyson Supersonic. Included is two barrels that go in two different directions so that you can style your hair with different curl ways. The Amazon product pages note to use small sections, because wrapping too dense of hair sections will result in the hair dryer overheating.
HOW IT COMPARES TO DYSON AIRWRAP
These Airwrap barrel dupe attachments for Dyson Supersonic work pretty much the same as the actual Airwrap barrels. They use the same Coanda principle/air-dynamic laws to attract hair and ‘wrap’ it around the barrel for curling. Of corse, the execution of the actual geometry and technology of the barrel is sub-par in comparison to the Dyson airwrap. The coanda effect does not word as good as on the Dyson Airwrap system.
The other difference is that this does use a lower temperature on the hair. We recommend using it for longer time period on each section of hair, and then using the cool shot button to set the curl, just like you would with an Airwrap. If you already own a Dyson Hair Dryer and want the coveted Dyson curls, this could be a great option for you since the barrels are under 40 bucks!
Please note that Dyson does not endorse or back these barrels. They are made and sold though a third party entity.
Best Dyson Airwrap Refurbished

RATING BREAKDOWN
WHAT IS IT?
One simple place to get a discount on a Dyson Airwrap hair styler is on Dyson website itself. There are advantages to it, you know it was refurbished with proper level of quality. Dyson stands behind their refurbished products. This is not exactly a Dyson Airwrap dupe, but you do get a discount. Which takes us to the next point, the only thing we do not like about it is that refurbished products do not get enough of a discount.
Pro’s
- Dyson stands behind it
- Quality refurbish
Con’s
- Small Discount
- Refurbished products still have more risk of breaking
- Usually out of stock
Best Dyson Airwrap Used

RATING BREAKDOWN
WHAT IS IT?
Another great option to look into is a used Dyson Airwrap. Just like with refurbish option, this is technically not a dupe for Dyson Airwrap, but you do get a bigger discount. Obviously, the biggest market for used products is eboy. You can find variety of used Dyson products, but it is safer to use ebay sellers with high reviews because they pride themselves on providing great customer service. Furthermore, you could buy just the base and then purchase just the attachment you would like. This would include a variety of individual attachment, starting with the original attachments from Dyson, to any aftermarket attachments sold on amazon and so on…
Pro’s
- More attachment options
- You can find great discounts
- In stock
Con’s
- Dyson does not stand behind these products
- Have to be careful for scams
- have to consider lower quality
What Are MILABU PICKS?
MILABU PICKS are makeup products that lead the industry in their price categories (i.e. value, pro-grade, luxury) and product type. These products are reviewed and chosen by the Milabu team on a yearly basis. Many of these makeup products exceed the industry standard favorites, and some of them are, to this day, the industry standard leading the makeup industry.
Edited by Maddie
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