Review Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606

Review Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606

One minute review

Hot brushes and air stylers are far from new - we have fond memories of our mums using them in the early 1990s - but the arrival and popularity of the Dyson Airwrap saw the trend come back with a vengeance in los últimos años. Without embargo, at € 449.99 / € 549, the Airwrap is too expensive for much and it is extremely difficult to follow at this time; Be sure to check out a Dyson Airwrap en nuestro artículo.

So rival brands are finding different ways to offer Airwrap functionality without Dyson's hefty price tag. This is certainly the case with the Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606, known as the Remington Pro Rotating Hot Air Styler AS8606 in the United States. For a relatively low price of $64.99 / $79.99, it's among the best Dyson Airwrap alternatives we've tested.

It comes with four attachments: a concentrator nozzle, a 40mm rounded soft bristle hot air brush, a hot paddle brush and a 30mm cylindrical hot air tong. Each can be twisted through the hair using two twist knobs on the side of the styler. There are three heat settings to choose from (low, high and cool) and a 2,7m cord.

You can use this styler like a standard hair dryer, with the nozzle attached. For a smooth, sleek look, the paddle brush will calm frizz and smooth hair as it dries, while the heated brush creates a voluminous, voluminous blow-dry finish. The hot clip is then used to create tight, loose curls or waves.

For most looks, this styler is easy to use and highly versatile. Using the heated tweezers takes some practice and due to the bulky design of the styler it can be a bit unwieldy. However, despite its large size, it is a lightweight styler, and as it comes with a carrying case as standard, it is easy to store the styler with its accessories when not in use.

The biggest draw of the Remington Airstyler is its similarity to the Dyson Airwrap, in accessories, versatility and results, while costing €385/€469 less.

The Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606 with the paddle brush attachment attached next to the Dyson Airwrap with the same attachment attached

(Image credit: LaComparacion)

Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606 price and availability

The Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606, known as the Remington Pro Rotating Hot Air Styler AS8606 in the US, is priced at €64.99 / €79.99.

It's part of the larger Remington Curl and Straight Confidence range, which also includes a hair dryer and straightener.

The Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606 handle with all the accessories around it

(Image credit: LaComparacion)

Integrated

The Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606 comes in a black cloth case and inside there are elastic slots for the styler itself, as well as its four accessories: a concentrator nozzle, a hot air brush, a rounded soft bristle brush 40mm, a hot paddle brush, and a 30mm cylindrical hot air nipper all included as standard.

Although the small size of the carrying case suggests that the mains powered Remington Airstyler is a compact device, this is far from the truth. The main part of the shaper is bulky, measuring 23 x 7 x 5 cm / 9 x 2,8 x 2 inches (H x W x D) with a circumference of 14 cm / 5,5 inches. It is similar in size to the Dyson, which itself is a thick 27 x 8 x 5 cm (10,5 x 3 x 5) with the same circumference. However, this bulk combined with the Remington model's position of the buttons on the side makes it difficult to grip comfortably, especially without accidentally pressing those buttons. Fortunately though, this is a lightweight shaper at 315g / 0.7lbs, even when you add the various attachments. For comparison, the Dyson Airwrap weighs 415g / 0,9lb.

Two rotation knobs are located under the top of this barrel and sit above a slider switch that allows you to control the Airstyler's three heat settings: low, high, and cool. Its 2,7m cable extends from the bottom.

Each of the four attachments inserts into the top of the barrel and is secured by twisting and locking in place. They are easy to install, change and remove, but be sure to allow them to cool before twisting them as they require a bit of force to move and could burn.

The nozzle is curved and made of smooth black plastic, just like the flat brush which also has stiff plastic bristles. The 40mm round brush and 30mm heated tweezers are made of rose gold colored metal. The brush features rows of soft nylon bristles, while the clip has large vent holes set into the barrel with a hinged hand clip at the bottom. When stored in the case, the heated brush comes with a plastic cover to protect the shape of the bristles.

The nozzle is designed to be used every time, to remove most of the water from wet hair. You can also use the flat brush to achieve the same effect. Once the hair is about 80% dry, meaning it looks dry from a distance but is still slightly cool and damp to the touch, you can add your desired styling accessory. The accessories and the order in which they are used will depend on the look and finish you are going for.

Close-up of the controls on the Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606

(Image credit: LaComparacion)

Performance

To put the Airstyler to the test, we spent a month using it exclusively. We do our hair for everyday events, for meetings and for parties. Some days we were big and bouncy, others we were straight and sleek. We also style our hair with waves and curls.

The easiest look to create with the Remington Airstyler is straight and sleek. To achieve this finish, run the paddle brush down and through your hair in sections until each section is dry and smooth. If you want to add volume, you can place the brush at the roots and run it through the bottom of the hair, before smoothing it out on the outside.

It doesn't create the same finish as a pair of straighteners, but it also doesn't expose your hair to as much heat exposure and potential damage. It also gives you more control over how much volume you want.

If what you are looking for is a large and moving dryer; the kind you get at a salon, opt for the round bristle brush. You can wear this accessory from wet to dry if you want maximum volume. This method is also great if you have fine, flat hair and want a style that lasts all day. That said, we prefer to straighten and blow-dry the hair to 80% with the flat brush to straighten hair before using the round brush to volumize at the roots and bounce to the ends.

You can use this brush as a standard hot brush or use the twist knobs to mimic the curling and straightening action that hairdressers make so easy. In fact, it takes a bit of practice, but once you get it right, the finish is almost indistinguishable from what we get in the salon.

The downside is that the brush's 40mm barrel is on the long side. We have shoulder-length hair, so this large size, while giving us the volume we want, lacks versatility. We imagine that people with longer hair would have more options. That is, they could use the brush to wrap the ends more tightly to create big curls or quick movements, for example.

The Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606 held in one hand with the drying attachment attached

(Image credit: LaComparacion)

The accessory we were most excited about using, and the one that takes this styler from a standard hot brush to a Dyson Airwrap duplicate, were the hot tongs. After drying our hair to 80% and dividing it into four large sections, we methodically moved around the head, curling small sections of hair one at a time.

It is possible to do the curling step manually, by holding the handle open and wrapping the hair around the clip by hand, however to get the most out of this styler we recommend taking advantage of the rotating barrel and clips. To do this, clip the end of the hair to the barrel before pressing the rotation buttons to rotate the hair clockwise or counterclockwise.

If you want loose curls, apply the lowest heat setting to larger sections of hair and twist each section in alternating directions. For example, if you wrap the first strip toward the face (counterclockwise), you wrap the next strip away from the face (clockwise). For tighter, more defined curls, or if you have thicker hair, increase the heat level to high and curl smaller strands of hair in alternating directions.

For waves, repeat the above using the highest heat setting (to ensure the wavy style stays), but this time twist each curl in the same direction, either towards your face or away. This will create curls, but if you wait for the curls to cool and then brush them out with a wide-tooth comb, you'll get smooth, even waves.

For all three styles, we held the clip in place for about 10 seconds at a time, but that will depend on your hair type, how it holds the curls, and how damp it is.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done. While the flat brush and heated brush were intuitive to use, the heated tweezers required more practice. For all the manual control Remington's hinged clip gives, unless you grab the ends of the hair and wrap it around the barrel first, you're left with kinks at the bottom. These creases become even more apparent if your hair is too wet.

Also, if you haven't cut enough hair to begin with, as soon as you start turning the barrel, the hair will fly out. We fixed this by making sure the ends of our hair were completely dry, even if the rest wasn't, and manually turning the barrel around the end of the cut hair before pressing down on the rotary knobs. .

Using the Remington Curl and Straight Confidence Airstyler AS8606 with the curling iron attached to curly hair

(Image credit: LaComparacion)

The bulky design of the body makes it difficult to hold the styler and open the clip at the same time. Meanwhile, the high position of the rotary controls means it's easy to accidentally press those buttons and have the styler spin in different ways.

We managed to get some volume and bounce on our first try, but the curls were all over the place. In...