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Geek Review: The Dyson Corrale Is A Cosplayer’s Dream Come True (Works Like Magic!)

Natural hair and synthetic wigs may be the opposites of each other, but if there’s one thing they both fall victim to, it would be how frizzy they can become after a long day. Any cosplayer who has dealt with the nightmare of long wigs (or people with long hair) would love a quick-fix spell to straighten out the messy mop of flyaways.

Luckily, Dyson has worked its magic of putting a new spin on old things, and has introduced the Corrale Hair Straightener as everyone’s newest weapon of choice to tame the mane – unless you’re Jean-Luc Picard. Known for their high-tech vacuum cleaners, Dyson has made a strong entry into the beauty market by successfully incorporating their technological research within their hair products.

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Straightening is now straightforward as the Corrale is the world’s first hair straightener to be engineered with manganese copper alloy flexing plates. The device is Dyson’s newest addition to their popular line of hair styling tools (i.e. Supersonic hairdryer and AirWrap curling tool).

At a first glance, the Corrale looks no different from any other hair straightener in the muggle market. And like every high-end Dyson product launched in the last few years, one would be wondering if it was really worth the slightly high (S$699) price point. The body of the straightener is covered in Dyson’s iconic black nickel with fuchsia pink. Its size is just right for a comfortable grip around it when in use. The tips of the straightener is also insulated so you can hold on to it while styling.

Swish and flick the device however you please as the hair straightener is cordless, with up to an impressive 30 minutes of performance time. This was a huge lure for us as it meant easier maneuvering around while styling. However, this feature did result in the device being significantly weighty (561g) due to the 4 lithium-ion batteries that power it. 

Since we happened to have an unfortunately abused Luna Lovegood wig on hand, we decided to test out the Corrale on it. We tried out all 3 different temperature settings, 165oC, 185oC and 210oC. After turning on the straightener, the plates heated up pretty quickly, reaching even the highest temperature setting in under a minute.

The straightener itself is beginner friendly. With one flick, the straightener unlocks with a satisfying click. The power, “+”, “–” buttons and LED screen are all lined on the same side. By gently pressing down on the power button, the screen flickers to life, indicating the amount of battery power available. Next, the screen will show a prompt for you to press the “+” button in order to select your preferred temperature.

We were pleasantly surprised that even on the lowest temperature setting, the Corrale works like magic and could easily straighten out the frizz. Styling was almost effortless too thanks to the flexing plates, as the hair was easily gathered between the plates with little to no flyaway strands to grapple with. 

There was also less tension between the hair and the plates so less tugging was involved. This allowed for neat and quick passes over the long tresses. Without the usual struggle of needing to forcefully clamp the hair for even heating, your hands will definitely be feeling less cramped after your styling session.

And even on the highest setting, the heat from the straightener didn’t melt the fibers and it even made the fibers softer for easier styling and detangling. With how easy it was to tackle the tresses, we easily transfigured the wig from Hagrid’s lion’s mane to Lucius’ luscious locks.

Even when used on bleached damaged hair, the straightener is gentle and doesn’t do much harm to the strands. Lesser heat and lesser passes over the hair means minimal heat damage will be done to your locks, allowing them to stay shiny and healthy. Another remarkable feature is that Dyson Corrale is integrated with an intelligent heat control sensor system. This means that the temperature of the plates is constantly regulated and won’t overheat, thus staying at the temperature you set it at from the start.

Beyond its hair straightening capabilities, the Corrale can even be used to create fun hairdos. In fact, due to the ability to reach higher temperatures, the curls last longer. We managed to recreate the mythical mermaid curls meshed with a more carefree look by alternating between inward and outward curls. 

Unfortunately, the curling only works for natural hair as we were unable to achieve the same looks on the Luna Lovegood wig. 

We’d also love to share some life-saving styling tips:

  1. Curling tip: Don’t twist the hair around the curler, instead, clamp hair between the curler, and turn the curler 360o before pulling down to the ends of the hair.
  1. For less voluminous or finer hair, curl outwards to give some volume to your locks.
  1. For those who wish to keep it tame, curl inwards to neaten up that nest.

Also do note that the Dyson Corrale is a dry-to-dry styler, meaning that it has to work on dry hair. So, after massaging in the product, you must completely blow dry your hair before styling with the hair straightener.

Now that the wig is styled, we can finally put our look together! Here’s our completed Luna Lovegood cosplay with the freshly styled wig. 

Aside from the Ravenclaw robes which were assigned to us by Hogwarts, the other pieces can be easily bought by Muggles on a budget from various stores. The top can be found on Lazada.sg while the skirt was found from Shopee.sg. The lovely pink shades can be found here on AliExpress. (Disclaimer: These aren’t Luna’s actual shades, we had to improvise.) The constellation socks were an extra magical buy from Singaporean Gender-inclusive brand KosmicKult!

Now on to some last notes from us about the Dyson Corrale. A stand for the hair straightener is also generously included with the set, so you will have a convenient place to pop it back on to. What’s more, the stand has a charging point for you to recharge the battery while resting.

A little downside is that the battery doesn’t last up to 30 minutes when used on the high-temperature setting or when styling large bunches of hair at one go. It is better to use the hair straightener with precision styling so that the battery drains slower. 

That aside, the Corrale is easy to pack-and-go too. Simply power down the device and pop it straight into the pouch which comes with it. You no longer have to waste time waiting for the plates to cool down, so even if you have to fix up your wig while fighting for space in the crowded convention toilets, you can easily make a quick escape when you’re done.

A small tip is that the red flashing light on the power buttons that remains when the machine is off indicates that the plates are still hot. It will go away when the plates cool down. Also, after 10 minutes of inactivity, the device will automatically shut down, hence saving you some battery power.

If you’re always on the fly, the Corrale comes with a flight-ready mode. Just pull the tag marked with a small aeroplane symbol and there will be a physical disconnection from the battery to the heat plates. Do note that due to the lithium-ion batteries the hair straightener has to be brought on board in your carry on luggage and not be checked in.

For the price of S$699, the Dyson Corrale does indeed come with many innovative features. However, it is still considered one of the most expensive hair straighteners and people may want to consider other options if you’re going for simple styling. But those willing to pay a premium, this global tech company truly attempts to understand the root of the hair problem. With their hair research, the Corrale is ready to take on different hair types while maintaining healthy hair for all.

GEEK REVIEW SCORE

Summary

The Dyson Corrale Hair Straightener works its magic as it tackles the root of the problem for frizzy hair in order to straighten out all your frazzled styling troubles.

 

Overall
8.3/10
8.3/10
  • Aesthetics - 8/10
    8/10
  • Build Quality - 8.5/10
    8.5/10
  • Performance - 9/10
    9/10
  • Value - 7/10
    7/10
  • Geek Satisfaction - 9/10
    9/10
User Review
0 (0 votes)