"It can do less damage to your hair, but this straightener is more of an annoyance than an aid."
-
Very difficult
-
Cable loosens easily
-
Expensive
-
Cordless
-
Straightens with fewer passes
You may know it as the kings of the vacuum cleaner, but Dyson is nothing new to hair products. The company has developed one of our favorite hair dryers and produces an innovative hair curler.
His latest product, the Corrale straightenerwas developed to reduce the damage your hair suffers from straightening by half and to reduce the number of outliers by using special, flexible heating plates.
That sounds great, but I was wondering if this wireless hair straightener for $ 500 is worth the hype. I found the following:
Innovation and protection
One of the first things you'll notice about the Dyson Corrale are the unusual hot plates. They're not as firm as normal plates and are designed to wrap around every section of hair, so you get straight hair with fewer passes.
I can totally see how the Corrale would do less damage than a normal flat iron.
When I tried it, I found this to be true. A beat or two and my wavy hair was straight. If you are used to doing multiple passes to straighten your hair, I can totally see how the Corrale would do less damage than a normal flat iron.
Alina Bradford / Digital Trends
Another feature that can save your hair is heating control. There are three heat settings – 330 degrees Fahrenheit, 365 F and 410 F, so you can choose which setting best suits your hair type. The coarser your hair, the higher the temperature you will normally need. The Corrale then controls the plate temperature 100 times per second so that the heat never goes beyond the selected setting.
Battery benefits and problems
Alina Bradford / Digital Trends
Corrale's 4-cell lithium-ion battery can be used for 30 minutes without a plug. This is ideal for people who like to go up and down or have to check the kids while getting ready. The battery also has some problems.
First, the Corrale's battery makes it powerful. At 76.2 ounces, it's very difficult to compare it to a wired flat iron like the CHI G2 ceramic and titanium flat iron or a flat iron like the Conair Unbound Cordless Flat Iron. Both weigh approximately 16 ounces.
The corrale is almost five times heavier than a typical flat iron.
Most people would probably make fun of the difference in weight. It can't be that hard, can it? However, the corrale is almost five times heavier than a typical flat iron. It's the difference between a box of pasta and a bag of flour. Imagine how tired your arms will be when only half your hair is done. Ouch!
Another problem with the battery is charging. The battery lasts for 30 minutes and some of us are not able to do it properly. It will charge 90% in 40 minutes and fully charge in 70 minutes. It is a long time in which you have to get to work. I would say the answer would be to use the cable as soon as the battery is empty (it works when plugged in), but the cable makes the Corrale even heavier. It's 12.5 feet long!
One problem that the battery doesn't contribute to is travel. The Corrale has a special tab that you can use to turn off the battery and stow it in your hand luggage.
Our opinion
The Dyson Corrale is definitely not for those who only occasionally straighten their hair. It straightens the hair very well, but it is heavy and more uncomfortable than I expected. Plus, it costs around $ 5oo. That seems way too much for a hair tool if you can get similar results with a hair straightener that is a fifth of the price (and weight). The only reason I can pay $ 500 is if you straighten yourself every day, need to reduce the damage to your hair, and are ready to draw from gravity.
Is there a better alternative?
That is hard to say. There are many cheaper, high-quality cordless flat irons that weigh less, such as the Conair Unbound Cordless Flat Iron. However, there are no flat irons for these plate types. So if Dyson is right and the plates do less damage, there's probably no better alternative in this regard.
How long it will take?
The Dyson Corral appears to be very well constructed in most aspects, but the tab you pull to put it into travel mode appears to be easily damaged. This affects me because the straightener does not work if the tab cannot be used correctly.
Should you buy it
It pains me to say that because I had high expectations for the Dyson Corral, but no, you probably shouldn't buy it. It's too expensive and too heavy to make it a good option.
Editor's recommendations