Dyson Corrale review: is the high-tech straightener worthy of its reputation?

Looking for an honest Dyson Corrale review before you buy? We’ve got you.

It’s fair to say that Dyson’s foray into the world of haircare has been a successful one. The original Supersonic hair dryer was a runaway success, while the Airwrap appears to be spawning dupes left, right, and center. But what about the Dyson Corrale hair straightener? That seems to have been less of an all-out win.

The key selling point of the styler is that it offers enhanced styling with reduced damage, which, for any hair-straightening addict out there, is essentially everything you want from a flat iron. Team that with the fact that it’s made by Dyson (and is therefore gorgeous) and you’re onto a pretty coveted hair tool. So, does it live up to the brand’s hype as one of the best straighteners on the market today? We gave it a whirl to find out.

Our Beauty Editor’s Dyson Corrale review

First impressions

If you’re spending upwards of $400/£300 on a hair straightener you want (let’s be honest, need) it to wow you. And when it comes to first impressions, Dyson certainly makes a good one. In fact, we’d defy anyone to unbox the Corrale and not feel the kind of giddy, heart-fluttering excitement of a kid on Christmas day. The presentation box is really beautiful, with a luxe faux velvet lining. The shade of the packaging will vary depending on which colorway you’ve purchased the tool in, which at the time of writing could be blue and rose gold, pink and silver, copper and silver, grey and pink, or red and silver. In the box are the straightener, a magnetic charging cable, and a charging dock.

From a first look at the styler itself, it’s fair to say it breaks the mold of what you’d normally expect. Instead of the traditional gap in the middle from top to hinge, there’s only space between the two plates. This normally empty space is now home to a panel housing the power button, temperature controls, lock hinge, and an OLED screen that displays the battery level, temperature, and charging status during use. The Corrale doesn’t feel like your average straightener either – it’s a hefty chunk of technology that’s thicker and heavier than you’d normally expect.

Dyson Corrale hair straightener technology

The Corrale is brimming with fancy features, but the buzziest has to be its lack of cord. 70 minutes of charging will reward you with 30 minutes of cord-free styling, which should be more than enough for most hair types. If you’re lucky enough to have a thick, long hairstyle and half an hour feels like styling against the clock, you can also use it attached to the charging cable or dock. Both slot into the base of the tool via a magnetic connector. It's rare amongst even the best cordless straighteners to be given both of these options. We found that the former is best for travel, while the second is more practical for everyday use (and makes a display feature of your new purchase).

The biggest claim Dyson has made about the Corrale is that it causes “half the damage” which, when you read the fine print, is compared to using a version of the Corrale with solid plates instead of the flexing copper ones. The data was gathered after six months of styling, three times a week. The idea is that by flexing with the hair, the plates provide more tension where needed and less where it isn’t, so you don’t need to use quite as much heat. Good news for anyone who wants to prevent split ends.

Next up on our (lengthy) list of features are the adjustable temperature settings. Choose between 165°C, 185°C, and 210°C (for context, GHD stylers are set at 185°C) We must admit that the coolest setting barely did anything for our thick hair with 3B curl type unless we moved very slowly in very small sections, and the hottest setting didn’t feel that hot compared to other straighteners we’ve used. It’s probably a good thing, as no one enjoys that feeling of scorching, singed hair. Integrated sensors regulate the temperature of the plates 100 times per second to make sure that it never exceeds your chosen setting and changing between temperatures takes seconds.

We also love the flight-safe tool, a nifty tab on the back of the straightener that users can pull out when traveling to disable the lithium-ion battery. With fires caused by lithium-ion batteries becoming more of a concern, this extra peace of mind is much appreciated. On the same theme, the Corrale automatically switches off after 10 minutes of inactivity and can be locked with the safety toggle for easy storing straight after use. Three cheers from anxious types like us.

How well does the Dyson Corrale perform?

As with all things beauty, there are plenty of factors that impact someone’s personal opinion of a product. With straighteners, your hair type (straight, wavy, or curly), density (fine to thick), and hair health (virgin hair to over-processed and colored hair that's been treated with a home highlight kit) come into play. This is why, as a team, we were a little divided over this Dyson Corrale review.

Let’s start with what we do agree on. The Dyson Corrale does do a good job of smoothing and straightening, and those results last well between washes. What we don’t agree on is the time it takes to achieve this. Our tester with curly hair that’s not too frizzy found one slide delivered dead-straight hair, but our tester with thicker, frizzy hair found that it took a number of passes (at maximum temperature) to get the same effect. In fact, the first layer regained puffiness by the time we moved on to the second, so we had to go back over the same area, so we're not convinced these would be the best hair straighteners for thick hair. The tool is designed to minimize damage, but this repeated motion can't be great for the hair.

You can straighten generous chunks of hair at once, but you do need to move slowly to capture it all. As the tool is a bit chunkier we were worried that it might not be possible to get close enough to tame hairline baby hairs, but that wasn’t the case. The finished results are straight and smooth but do lack the mirror shine some other straighteners deliver. Hair retains more volume with this than other flat irons, which would be a plus for anyone with fine hair. We’d liken the results to a sleek blow-dry rather than looking like you’ve used two tools. On that note, the Corrale is great for creating waves and curls too, if you favor a bouncy blow-dry look.

What’s not so good about the Dyson Corrale hair straightener?

For the Dyson Corrale its Achilles heel is the battery life. For most, that half an hour is ample time for styling, but the time crunch does sometimes leave us with a faster heartbeat than we would hope for on wash day.

Our other gripe about the Corrale is how the flexible plates feel and sound. They make an unsettling crackling sound as you glide them through the hair, which is offputting as you imagine your precious hair being snagged and pulled. But the noise actually has nothing to do with the hair at all. It's the plates gathering around your hair in order to apply tension without the need to squeeze. Distracting for first-time users? Yes. But you’ll barely notice it after the second go.

Dyson Corrale hair straightener review: Our verdict

Now for the all-important verdict in our Dyson Corrale review. As long-time fans of the Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer (and the vacuums to be fair) we desperately wanted to love the Corrale. Although it has plenty of impressive features, the most we can say is that we really like it.

Hair health is the most important thing when choosing a straightener, and the variable heat settings combined with those clever flexible plates do work in tandem to preserve this. It’s difficult to quantify Dyson’s 50% less damage claim, but we have noticed less hair fall and fewer split ends since making the switch to the Corrale.

Although the tool is quite heavy, and in some cases, you need to work quite hard to achieve a sleek finish, we like that it doesn’t feel super hot even on max. This will be music to the ears of anyone who feels like a sweaty, melted mess by the time they’ve whipped their hair into shape. Our favorite feature has to be the ability to go cordless, giving you more freedom to create bends and waves (as well as straight locks) without feeling like a contortionist.

Ultimately, if you have a fair bit to spend and are after a tool that’s going to smooth your hair with minimal damage, and look absolutely gorgeous on your dressing table in the process, the Dyson Corrale is the tool for you.

You can also use woman&home's latest Dyson discount codes to make an even better saving on your purchase.