Dyson Airwrap i.d. Review: Six Months With the Smartest Hair Tool Yet

The Airwrap is no longer the only multi-styler worth buying — but the new i.d. model is the first that actually adapts to your hair as you use it.

What Makes the i.d. Different

The previous Airwrap was a brilliant tool with too many attachments and no guidance. The i.d. flips that: the app asks about your hair length, texture, and goals, then locks the wand to the optimal heat and flow settings — and ships you only the attachments your hair actually needs.

For our test, we paired the app with three different hair types: fine straight (length-of-jaw), medium wavy (mid-back), and coarse curly (shoulder-length). After answering a 4-minute questionnaire, the app generated a routine guide, suggested a starting heat preset, and let us save styling sequences as one-tap recipes on the device itself.

The Curated Kit

Where the original Airwrap shipped 6+ attachments and let you figure it out, the i.d. ships 3 attachments matched to your hair profile. Our fine-straight kit got the smoothing dryer, 1.2″ curling barrel, and the firm brush. The curly kit got the diffuser, soft brush, and 1.6″ barrel. No more attachment FOMO, no more drawer clutter.

30-Day Real-World Test

We styled 4-5 times per week across all three testers. Heat presets paired via Bluetooth in under 10 seconds and persisted between sessions. The biggest day-to-day improvement: switching between attachments now sets the heat automatically instead of you fiddling with the dial.

Coriolis airflow — the marquee technology that bends hair around the barrel without a clamp — performs identically to the previous model. Curls hold the same length of time (about 8 hours in moderate humidity for our medium-wave tester), and frizz reduction matches what we measured in our 2024 Airwrap review.

Where It Actually Saves Time

If you have a styling routine you do regularly, you can program it as a recipe (e.g. “smooth dry → 1.2″ curl → cool shot”). Tap once on the device, and it walks you through each step with the right heat and airflow already dialed. This took a 25-minute styling session down to 18 minutes for our curly tester, which over a month is hours saved.

Heat & Hair Health

The i.d. measures airflow temperature 40 times per second and limits it to 150°C max — the same as the previous Airwrap, but with tighter regulation. We measured external surface temperatures across all three barrels and got peak readings of 148-152°C, with no spikes during use. For comparison, a typical curling iron runs 180-230°C.

After 30 days of near-daily use, none of our testers reported the dryness or split-end increase that’s common with chronic heat styling. This isn’t a peer-reviewed study, but it matches what we’ve seen with other low-heat tools.

The Bluetooth Question

You don’t need the app after initial setup. The device works fine standalone with whatever presets it remembers. But you do need to pair once, and the app does a lot of the heavy lifting (recipe building, hair-profile recalibration, firmware updates). If you actively avoid app-based devices, this is a real friction point.

Who Should Buy It

If you style your hair regularly and don’t already own an Airwrap, this is the easiest recommendation we can make. The guided experience makes the learning curve genuinely shallow, and the lighter attachment kit removes the “what does this one do” anxiety.

If you own the previous Airwrap and like it: the i.d. is better, but the upgrade isn’t dramatic. Stick with what you have unless the smart features genuinely appeal to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Foreo Bear 2 Review: Three Months of At-Home Microcurrent

The Bear 2 sells facial sculpting through microcurrent at one-tenth the cost of an in-office treatment. We ran it daily for 90 days to see if the science actually shows up in the mirror.

The Microcurrent Promise

Microcurrent devices send low-level electrical pulses through facial muscles to stimulate ATP production and muscle contraction. The theory: regular use can tighten and “tone” the muscles underlying your skin, similar to how strength training shapes your body. The peer-reviewed evidence supports modest tightening with consistent use — but consistent here means 5+ days per week for 8+ weeks.

The Bear 2 is Foreo’s second-generation device, refined from the original Bear with stronger current (up to 200 microamps), five intensity levels instead of three, and a re-designed dual-prong electrode head that sits flatter on the face.

90-Day Testing Protocol

Two testers (ages 34 and 42) used the Bear 2 five mornings per week for 90 days, alternating sides on certain weeks to A/B test against the untreated side. We documented with the same lighting, distance, and camera each Sunday morning.

Sessions were 4-5 minutes total, covering jaw, cheek, and forehead zones at intensity level 3-4. We used a water-based hyaluronic serum as the conductive medium instead of Foreo’s proprietary gel.

Week 4: Nothing Visible

Neither tester saw any measurable change in the first four weeks. Skin felt slightly more “lifted” immediately after sessions, but the effect faded within 30-60 minutes. This matches what every honest microcurrent reviewer reports: don’t expect results before week 6.

Week 8: First Real Difference

Our 34-year-old tester showed clear improvement at the jawline on the treated side. The pre/post photos shot under identical conditions show a tighter mandibular contour and slightly more lifted brow. The 42-year-old tester showed similar but more subtle results.

Week 12: Plateau

By week 10-12 the visible improvement plateaued. Continued use maintained the gains but didn’t extend them further. This is consistent with the microcurrent literature — the device tones the muscles, but muscles only tone so much.

Anti-Shock System & Comfort

The Bear 2 measures skin conductivity 100 times per second and adjusts the current pulse so you don’t get the sudden “zap” sensation that older microcurrent devices were notorious for. In practice this works — we never felt anything sharper than mild tingling, even on the highest intensity setting with thin gel coverage.

That said, on dry skin with no conductive medium, the device automatically dials back the intensity, which is the right safety behavior. Always glide on properly hydrated skin.

App, Routines & the Real Learning Curve

The biggest barrier to results isn’t the device — it’s technique. The Foreo app walks you through proper glide patterns, contact angles, and zone timing. The app routines cut our learning curve from “completely guessing” to “consistent technique” in about three sessions.

The downside: the app is mandatory if you want guided routines, and it nags you to use Foreo-branded conductive gel. Skip the gel marketing. Any water-based serum (we used a $12 hyaluronic acid from The Ordinary) conducts just as well.

Bear 2 vs. NuFACE Trinity+

We’ve tested the NuFACE Trinity+ extensively. Side-by-side: NuFACE delivers slightly stronger current (335 microamps peak) and a longer battery life on full power. Bear 2 is smaller, lighter, has a smarter app, and costs $200 less. Results after equivalent use are very close. For first-time microcurrent users, the Bear 2’s smaller form factor and lower price make it the easier on-ramp.

Who Should Buy It

If you’re 30-50 and want to maintain or modestly improve facial muscle tone, the Bear 2 delivers real results — but only with consistent use over weeks. If you’re hoping to erase deep wrinkles or visible sagging, no consumer microcurrent device will do that. See an aesthetic professional.

If you’re under 30, the gains are marginal because there’s less to lift. Spend the $349 on sunscreen instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector Review: Eight Weeks on Color-Treated Hair

Olaplex No.3 is the most-recommended at-home bond repair treatment in beauty. We ran it weekly for two months on chemically processed hair to see if the cult following is earned.

What Olaplex Actually Does

The chemistry behind Olaplex No.3 isn’t marketing fluff. The active ingredient — bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate — was patented in 2014 and has independent peer-reviewed studies showing it reforms broken disulfide bonds in hair. Bleaching, coloring, heat styling, and even mechanical damage all break these bonds; No.3 chemically links them back together.

The catch: it’s a treatment, not a conditioner. Most one-star Amazon reviews are from people who slapped it on, expected silky softness, and got nothing visible. That’s using it wrong.

The Right Way to Use It

Apply to damp (not wet) hair, work through from mid-length to ends, and leave on for at least 10 minutes (we tested 10, 20, and 40 — diminishing returns past 20). Then shampoo and condition as normal. Do not skip the shampoo and conditioner. No.3 needs to be rinsed and followed up with the rest of your normal routine.

The official guidance is weekly. We tested weekly and twice-weekly. Weekly works fine for moderately damaged hair; twice-weekly is overkill for most people and only helped our most damaged tester (bleached blonde to platinum, six rounds in the past year).

8-Week Testing Protocol

Three testers with different hair states ran the No.3 protocol:

• Tester A: Color-treated brunette, monthly root touch-ups for two years, mid-shaft damage. Length: shoulder.
• Tester B: Bleached blonde with toner refresh every 6 weeks, significant breakage. Length: bra-strap.
• Tester C: Virgin dark hair, no chemical processing, heat styled 2-3x weekly. Length: mid-back.

We measured strand-by-strand tensile strength (force required to break a single strand) at week 0, 4, and 8, using a small spring scale and 20 hairs sampled from the same region each time.

Tester A (Color-Treated): Strong Yes

Breakage on the comb dropped noticeably at week 4. Tensile strength measurement improved 18% on average from baseline by week 8. Visible difference: more uniform shaft from root to ends, less mid-shaft frizz when air-dried.

Tester B (Bleached): Strongest Yes

Started with the highest damage and showed the largest improvement. 22% strength gain, dramatic reduction in breakage during brushing, and the elasticity of bleached ends visibly improved (the “stretchy when wet” feeling disappeared by week 6).

Tester C (Virgin): Marginal

Only 4% improvement in strength. Subjectively softer hair but no visible difference in photos. If you don’t chemically process or significantly damage your hair, No.3 doesn’t have much to repair.

Olaplex No.3 vs. K18 Leave-In

K18 is the buzziest competitor — a leave-in peptide treatment with peer-reviewed efficacy of its own. In our parallel test (different testers), K18 delivered comparable structural improvement faster (visible at week 2-3) but at a higher cost per use. Olaplex wins on price-per-treatment; K18 wins on speed-to-result. Neither is dramatically better.

Counterfeits Are a Real Problem

Olaplex is the most-counterfeited prestige beauty product on Amazon. Counterfeits look identical, smell similar, but contain none of the active ingredient. Buy only from Olaplex.com, Sephora, Ulta, or a licensed salon. Skip Amazon entirely.

Who Should Buy It

If your hair is color-treated, bleached, or chemically straightened — yes, this is one of the best $30 you can spend on hair care. The improvement is genuine and measurable.

If your hair is healthy and unprocessed — skip it. A good leave-in conditioner will give you similar surface softness for less money.

Frequently Asked Questions