For a recent Hamptons getaway, I packed not one… not two… but three hot tools in my carry-on bag: a Dyson Supersonic blow-dryer, a GHD Platinum flatiron, and a Dyson Airwrap. All three were necessary to bring along. (Hold any eye-rolling, please.) All three were, in fact, used to style my hair throughout the long weekend. And though I’m not a light packer—evidently, I like to be fully accessorized—I would happily only pack a single tool if it could create the different styles (straight and polished, a voluminous blowout, soft waves) I regularly wear and keep my bangs sleek. T3’s brand-new Aire 360 might just be the solution.
At first glance, T3’s pretty-in-pastel-pink gadget looks familiar. To the Dyson Airwrap (I hold both side-by-side) and the numerous other air stylers on the market, certainly, but also to the brand’s existing Airebrush Duo that launched in 2021. That’s because it’s a similar concept: there’s a base complete with three heat settings, a cool shot function, and three speed settings, plus four attachments (a concentrated dryer nozzle, an oval brush—it’s the same design as the 2021 version—and two curling barrels for creating waves in opposite directions). What makes it unique: “Our barrels are ceramic, not plastic, so the heat management is different,” T3 cofounder Julie Chung tells me at the launch event. She emphasizes, “It’s not tech for the sake of tech.”
What that means: the Aire 360 gets HOT. (Warning: Do not touch the attachments after styling—except on the heat-proof ends—or they will burn you.) But not too hot for your hair: T3 did independent testing on the tool to determine exactly how high they could turn up the heat to lock in a style—without causing hair damage. According to the brand’s research, tools over 320 degrees Fahrenheit will cause damage, specifically to wet hair. The highest setting on the Aire 360 is well under that at about 237 degrees Fahrenheit (Remember to keep your fingers—and ears—at a distance from the barrels!), whereas most curling irons reach nearly 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Even so, prepping with a heat protectant is still imperative to shield your hair from potential damage.
And like most other “blowout brushes,” heated air is flowing through the attachments, but “air is not just air,” says Chung. Like the brand’s other Best of Beauty-winning dryers, the SoftAire Drying Concentrator attachment emits ion-enriched air to speed up drying time.
When I went to put the Aire 360 to the test on my fine, wavy hair, I was impressed before I even pulled the tool out of its millennial pink vegan leather storage bag. Each attachment has a dedicated pocket in the pouch. Chung tells me it’s called the “Ashley bag” internally, named after her friend who expressed the need for a proper, non-bulky, and elevated place to keep all the gadgets (because, with most hot tools, you get a bulky box… or nothing) between uses and easily on the go.
