Babyliss’s new hair tool promises to do it all – but can it actually?

Ever since a certain air-powered hair tool landed on the market in 2018, fans of fancy at-home styling have been eagerly awaiting the launch of an affordable Dyson alternative and, as of this summer, our wishes have been granted: introducing, the Babyliss air wand (£120, Lookfantastic.com ).

It’s competitors? The ghd duet (£379, Lookfantastic.com ), the Shark flexstyle (£242.99, Lookfantastic.com ) and, of course, the Dyson airwrap . At IndyBest, we’ve already reviewed this trifecta of stylers so, when I began putting the Babyliss air wand to the test, I knew what I was up against. With more than 60 years of history, Babyliss is the brand behind your first hair dryer , the crimpers that were responsible for all your 90s hairdos and let’s not forget the crazy wrap braider circa 2003.

Now, its new air wand promises to act as a blow-dryer, straightener and giver of volume-boosting bouncy locks, all for less than £150. As The Independent ’s beauty writer, I have the lovely task of seeing whether the tool lives up to its lofty claims – here’s how I got on.

How I tested

With three different ways to use the air wand, I tested each different attachment (plus the built-in blow dryer) under different review criteria. For instance, starting with the drying tool, which comes as part of the wand itself without any add-ons, I proceeded to rough dry my wet hair while paying attention to the heat, speed settings and how quickly it got the job done. It’s also worth adding that I did take note of how loud and light the device was, too.

Once my hair was 90 per cent dry, I clipped on the straightening attachment. At this stage I was looking for glossy results, a brush that felt easy to comb through my hair and as short a straightening session as possible, again noting noise as well as the physical useability of the attachment.

Lastly, with the volumiser attachment, I initially went into the process hoping for a Matilda Djerf-esque bouncy blow-dry before realising that, unlike the Babyliss hot brush (£35, Lookfantastic.com ), this volumiser attachment aims to add dimension and “a voluminous finish” but makes no promise of soft curls. With this in mind, I tried to mimic the brand’s own results photos for this tool, teasing my strands into flicky ends with a flattering, face-shaping finish.

After completing this last step, I was aware that in an ideal world, I would have tested both the straightening and volumising attachments on 90 per cent dry hair and since my hair fully dried with the straightener, the latter results felt they had less staying power. For a more fair test, I then re-wet the front section of my hair with a water mister, styling again to test the final tool when used as directed.

The result of straightening

The result of the curved, blowout brush

Babyliss air wand hair dryer, straightener and styler all-in-one

The verdict: Babyliss air wand