Thinking about taking the plunge into the wonderful world of Dyson hair tools? Here’s what to know before buying Dyson hair straighteners.
The Dyson Corrale launched in 2020, promising a high-tech, cordless straightener that minimises damage to the hair. If you’re someone who rarely goes a day without reaching for their best straighteners, then you’ll agree that these specs tick a lot of boxes, with some people (like our Digital Beauty Editor, Aleesha Badkar,) counting them as a desert island essential. But, the reviews haven’t all been rave, and there are some niggles (like short battery life and bulkiness) that have been enough to put others off.
If you’re not sure which side of the fence you’ll sit on, allow me to help you, with a list of ten things I’ve learned from testing the Dyson Corrale that I think you’ll want to know before investing.
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What you need to know before buying the Dyson Corrale hair straighteners, from a beauty tool expert
1. The battery life isn’t great
One of the biggest selling points of the Dyson Corrale hair straighteners is that they are cordless, but the problem is that the battery doesn’t last very long at all.
70 minutes of charging will reward you with 30 minutes of cord-free styling, so you are essentially styling against the clock. Any time spent sectioning the hair, brushing it through or adjusting your mirror is time wasted – and even then this half-hour timeframe won’t be long enough to fully straighten some hair types and lengths.
Unless you’re out and about and that’s not an option, it’s easier (and less stressful) to just use them attached to the charging cable.
2. They’re pretty heavy
When you’re buying anything from Dyson, whether that’s a hair tool or a vacuum, you’d expect it to be slinky and sleek, rather than cumbersome, so it’s quite a surprise when you feel just how heavy the Corrale is. If you have thick, coarse or long hair that takes a considerable amount of time to style, then this could be a dealbreaker for you – unless, of course, you’re keen on multi-tasking with an arm workout too.
Dyson does address the heft of the styler on their website and attributes the extra lbs to the “advanced battery technology inside”, which is required to make the tool cordless. In my opinion, they’re so heavy that they’re not really portable, which renders the cordless feature redundant.
3. There’s a choice of three heat settings
Most straighteners now give you the choice to vary the temperature depending on your hair type and needs. For example, if you have very fine, fragile hair or strands that you want to smooth rather than straighten, then there’s no need to bring out the big guns with scorching temperatures – a lower one will more than do the job and be much kinder on your hair.
Equally, if you have frizz-prone hair with a persistent wave, you’ll want higher temperatures to wrangle it into sleekness. The Dyson Corrale can be set to either 165°C, 185°C or 210°C to give you more control when styling.
4. Higher temperatures mean they work really well on frizz-prone hair
While we’re on the subject of heat, our Digital Beauty Editor finds that even the best ghd straighteners aren’t hot enough to leave her hair as straight and sleek as she’d like.
Settings on all the ghd hair tools are set to an unadjustable temperature of 185°C, so the option to turn the Dyson up by an extra 35 degrees is a welcome one for some hair types, especially post-wash when strands tend to be particularly stubborn.
5. The magnetic cord falls off easily
Unlike some cordless straighteners which don’t have the option to be used when charging, you can (as we’ve already mentioned) use the Dyson when it’s attached to the mains. The problem is, that this charging cord attaches via a little magnetic circle at the end which falls off if you move the styler at the wrong angle.
It’s just another thing to think about when straightening your hair and means you can’t move as freely as you can with a standard wired tool. Not so much of a problem when straightening, but more of a pain when bending the tool to create waves or curls.
6. They have a special aeroplane setting
The Dyson Corrale hair straighteners are powered by a particular kind of battery called a lithium battery, which can also be found in things like your phone, laptop and vape. Lithium batteries in general have garnered some press recently for catching fire during flights, which is obviously a non-ideal start to anyone's holiday. The good news is that these straighteners have a “flight ready” feature that enables you to disconnect the battery by turning a tab on the side of the tool.
Just be aware that rules and regulations vary by country, and currently, Japanese airports will not let you fly in or out with these straighteners even with the safety mode, so check the rules before you travel. It’s also worth noting that when I first used my Dyson Corrale it was pre-set to flight mode (presumably to avoid issues when shipping) but meant I couldn’t for the life of me work out why they wouldn’t turn on – a lesson learned to read the instructions more carefully next time.
7. They make a crunching sound when straightening
No one wants to snag or pull at their hair when straightening, and even though the Dyson Corrale straighteners don’t do that, they do unfortunately make a sound that makes you think they might be.
This slightly off-putting crunching noise is down to the flexing plates that bend around your hair to reduce breakage. Ultimately, it’s not a big deal, but just something to be aware of before the first use.
8. The plates are quite wide
If you’ve taken the time to learn how to curl hair with a straightener, then keep in mind that the plates on the Dyson Corrale are quite wide, which means you’ll get a looser curl or wave than you would with a narrower tool.
I think that’s quite a good thing, as the finish is more modern and relaxed than a very traditional ringlet, but whether that appeals to you or not will depend on personal preference and how you like to wear your hair.
9. You can’t get super close to the root
There’s a bit of a gap between where the plates end and the edge of the Dyson Corrale which, combined with the fact that the sides are curved and quite thick, makes it difficult to get right to the root when styling.
This is problematic if you have hair like mine that’s naturally curly (it leaves a tell-tale wave at the top of my head) and also if you have a short hairstyle like a pixie haircut or a chopped bob, as it’s not easy to reach all of those shorter lengths and layers.
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