I love reviewing tech. I love reviewing tech mainly because I get to play with lots of toys. From time to time, a new gadget puts me outside my comfort zone and I have to learn on the job. I love these reviews more than any other which is why I was delighted to see a hair straightener land on my desk to review. The Dyson Corrale is typical of what you’d expect from Dyson in every aspect, but is it worth the fairly hefty price tag that comes with it? Let’s see.
What Is The Dyson Corrale?
In simple terms, the Dyson Corrale is a hair straightener. That’s a flat iron if you’re in the United States. It uses heat to make wavy curly hair, straight. But because the Corrale is engineered by Dyson, it does a lot more than that. Dyson is a world leader when it comes to developing products which not only achieve a goal, but also removes many of the issues which arise from compromise. While the company has become famous for creating some of the world’s best and most recognisable vacuum cleaners, they’ve never been shy to take a look at other areas in need of a keen engineering eye.
The Dyson Corrale is the result of Dyson deciding hair straighteners weren’t good enough. But what does the Corrale do that’s so impressive?
The Wireless Hair Straightener
Ok, look. My comfort zone is the tech side of things and I will come to the hair side in a bit, but just let me start. Regardless of my experience using a hair straightener, I know that wires are annoying. At the best of times, they get in the way and with a very hot device like a hair straightener, it can feel like it’s just a matter of time before you melt your way through your cable.
The Dyson Corrale is wireless. This brings with it many benefits but if you’re in Ireland or the UK one benefit is simply huge. You can easily work with your hair using the Corrale in the bathroom. Yes, if you’re in another country reading this let me explain. Building regulations in Ireland and the UK do no permit for a power outlet in the bathroom. Only when you’ve gotten ready to go out in a German bathroom do you realise just how convenient a power outlet beside the big mirror is.
With a 4-cell lithium-ion battery and 40 minutes charging time to reach 90%, the Corrale offers up to 30 minutes of wireless hair straightening. That’s 30 minutes of time you can focus on your hair in the bathroom with all your usual hair accessories and products within reach. No more dragging everything into the bedroom.
Wires Are Optional
While the wireless feature is awesome, it’s also optional. Sometimes that gathering in the bedroom is a bit of a ritual. The Corrale ships with a near charging dock which is nice for when you do your hair near an outlet. You can enjoy the wireless life and keep the battery charging in between pauses or just plug the Corrale in. This is possible because the charging cable that comes with the Corrale can either be connected to the dock or the straightener itself. It’s connected with a strong magnet that remains flexible while charging so it’s not too restrictive either. Importantly, the cable doesn’t just pop out for sport.
The Smarts
I’m almost certain that the conversation in Dyson would have popped up at some stage about whether or not this hair straightener needed an app or not. Well, they reached the conclusion that it didn’t need one. The correct conclusion. And that’s what we get with Dyson. It’s thoughtful design. Nothing is included on the Corrale just because it’s a nice idea. It needs to be functional and helpful and this piece of kit includes just the right amount of smarts to go with that.
Temperatures
The Corrale includes a neat little OLED screen. Plenty bright to get you some important info but not over the top to waste power. When you power on the Corrale, you can choose between three heat settings:
- 165°C
- 185°C
- 210°C
Those temperatures are not estimates either. As you would expect from Dyson, this is all about precision with built in heat control double checking the temperature 100 times per second to ensure accuracy.
Another thing that blew me away was just how quickly the Dyson gets up to temperature. We’re talking like, McClaren F1, 0 to 60 levels of impressive. Once switched on, it takes less than the time of a short Tiktok to be at the first temperature setting and within 40 seconds you can hit 210°C.
Safety
Now there’s one thing, even as a guy who doesn’t need to straighten my hair, I know about flat irons. People live in fear that around the time of the second drink on a night out, the hair straightener may have been left on at home. Not to worry with the Dyson as it knows you’re not using it and turns itself off after ten minutes of inactivity. You’ll get some warning beeps too.
Dyson says you can indeed store away your flat iron in the heat-resistant bag that it comes with straight after using. But they do recommend allowing it to cool first if you can.
Travel With The Dyson Corrale
Travel. Remember that? Well, my better half and I actually did travel over the Christmas, just after this arrived in to review. Considering she would be my guinea pig for all of this, I figured the Christmas break would be the best time to test drive it. I was a bit worried because there’s loads of stuff in the box about flying with this straightener. A slip of paper says it’s “designed to meet ICAO regulations” and you can carry it on board. But then gives advice on what to do before travel, including contacting your airline before traveling.
I did this. Ryanair had no issues with it whatsoever, but did recommend I speak with Dublin Airport to ensure security knew what this was. So I did. Dublin Airport’s security “confirmed there should be no issues travelling with [the Dyson Corrale] in carry on luggage. Indeed that’s how Dyson recommend you storing it for your travels, not in your checked bag.
One critical thing to note here is that the Dyson Corrale has it’s own kind of Airplane Mode. There’s a small tag you pull out which disconnects the power circuit. There’s even a way to store it in the heat resistant bag.
On the way home, I totally forgot to contact Hamburg Airport. As I went through security, I saw my other half being taken to the side by security. Sure enough, they pulled out the Dyson and started asking questions. Turns out this team just hadn’t seen one but at heard of them. They also wanted to make a joke at the expense of a bald colleague so who were we to deprive them.
Is The Dyson Corrale Any Good?
Ok, I’ve been leaning heavily on the tech side of this review up until this point. I guess it’s time I talk about hair. We put the Dyson through some of the standard tests and it delivered. Whether it be straight hair or curls, styling wit the Corrale was relatively simple. This is mainly down to, unsurprisingly for Dyson, design.
Benefits For All Hair Types
The easy set variable temperatures are a great help too but it’s the plates themselves that steal the show. The huge plates gives you a massive surface to work with, allowing you to quickly move through more hair. These manganese copper alloy plates flex too which not only means less heat is needed to achieve results, but you get 50% less breakage. This is a unique selling point of the Corrale. If you shy away from hair tools because of light hair or because you fear damaging your hair, it’s a tick in the column of pros for the Dyson.
Because of lockdown, my hair is actually a little long right now. So in the interest of science I’ve used the Corrale a few times myself. It’s incredibly easy to use but there’s something even more important to note. The first time I used it, someone complimented my hair and that felt good. Never rule out owning one of these.
Designed To Use
I’m going to hammer home this point because this is what Dyson does. They design clever pieces of kit. It’s a really good hair straightener, but it’s not unique there. What makes the Corrale unique is how quickly it gets to heat. It’s how handy it is to use wirelessly, but if you have to how well it works wired. The rounded outer design means you can also achieve great curls, not just straight hair.
Even the charging dock that comes with the Corrale is handy. Despite several indications that this piece of kit is great for travel, it’s ideal use case is still probably sitting on a locker near a power outlet where someone can do their hair daily.
Which does bring me onto some of the negatives about the Corrale.
Dyson Corrale: The Negatives
I’ve been pretty excited while talking about the Dyson until now but myself and herself have jotted down a few annoyances.
It’s Heavy
It’s hardly surprising that the Dyson is heavy. Big plates and built-in batteries will do that to you. But at 561g. For prolonged use, if you’re chasing perfect curls, this could turn into a bit of a workout. Then there’s the fact I got travel vibes off this piece of kit when I unboxed it. I just don’t think it’s ideal for travel.
It’s Not Ideal For Travel
While the battery power might suggest straightening away from home is handy, with just 30 minutes run time, for anything more than one night away, you’ll need to bring the charger. The charger is unwieldy and quite like a laptop charger. Already, you’re losing more and more space in your carry on with plenty of space already being dedicated to the iron itself.
When I opened this box up I saw a slip of paper for travel instructions along with details on flight mode. In practice, getting through security and with all the bits you need, there’s a lot here.
The Corrale is ideal if you are going to a wedding. An overnight event and you want to do your hair the once or maybe freshen it up after dinner. I imagine most would still bring the cable, but you’d get away with out. If you’re going abroad for a few days, the Corrale will take up a bit of your carry-on allowance.
It Gets Hot
I love that I get to include this headline. Some people opt to wear hair straightening gloves to protect their hands. Don’t let the chunky curved design of the Corrale fool you. The outer casing gets quite hot. While it’s good news for curling, it’s not great for your hands if you slip up.
Dyson Corrale: The Verdict – Is It Worth €500
Sorry if you got this far and had no idea what the price was. I should have prepared you for that.
Yes, the Dyson Corrale is just under €500 (€491.87 from Dyson to be exact). There are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who are currently staring open mouthed at their screen and those who just went “of course”.
The Corrale follows the Dyson ethos or uncompromising design. Take the travel scenario out of it and you have the world’s perfect hair straightener. If you ended up reading this review because the wire of your hair straightener ruins your morning every morning, you’ll justify that price in a second. If, however, you do your hair once a month or only on special occasions, it’s hard to see this outlay being justified.
You’ll know yourself if you would pay for Dyson to bring their uncompromising design approach to your hair straightener. Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone how much you paid for it.
Massive thanks to my other half, Laura, for her help, expertise and insight for this review.
