L’Oreal AirLight Pro hair dryer: two-minute review
The L’Oreal Airlight Pro is a professional-only infrared hair dryer that offers precise control and comes with a companion app. Set to be the next big thing in haircare, infrared hair dryers promise all the power of the best hair dryers but with less damage to the hair and scalp. Instead of relying on hot air, infrared dryers combine targeted airflow with ‘safe infrared light energy’ to dry the water on the hair’s surface. The process is similar to how the sun evaporates rainwater.
The technology was made famous by the likes of the Zuvi Halo; once dubbed the ‘Tesla of hair dryers’ and named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions. The Airlight Pro was designed in collaboration with Zuvi, and looks and works in an almost identical way, but with the bonus of the app controls.
At first glance, the AirLight Pro has a relatively simple and clean design. It’s noticeably heavier than many other hair dryers I’ve reviewed, and own, and caused my wrist to ache after a while. It goes some way towards compensating for this with a more robust build and additional professional-grade features, such as an extra-long cord and 1875W power. Plus, despite this bulkier size and weight, the AirLight Pro is still compact enough to pack into a bag or similar.
In my testing, the AirLight Pro dried my shoulder-length, fine hair in under five minutes – that’s similar to the speed of the Dyson Supersonic, but almost twice as long as my favorite hair dryer, the Revlon Pro. However, compared to both of these dryers as well as the Zuvi Halo, I found the condition, feel and look of my hair was noticeably better with the L’Oreal model – it added shine and softness while reducing frizz. Over time, my hair also seemed to get healthier while testing the AirLight Pro, too.
The dryer ships with two magnetic attachments: a diffuser and a concentrator nozzle. The dryer automatically detects which attachment is being used, and will adjust the temperature and airflow to the recommended settings for each. (The Dyson Supersonic Nural has similar capabilities, except that dryer remembers your last-used settings.)
There’s a multitude of setting options – three heats (plus cool shot), three speed options, and three presets (Sleek, Curly and Coily). Alternatively, you can manually adjust the speed and temperature, in increments of 5% for airflow and 15-20F for heat, using the AirLight Pro app.
Granted, the everyday user may not need that kind of precision, or know how to truly get the best out of such a high level of control. The app doesn’t have a huge number of features beyond these controls, either. However, the fact it even offers it at all puts the AirLight Pro ahead of other dryers in my opinion, because it demonstrates L’Oreal’s commitment to providing choice and versatility to those who want it.
The biggest downside to all of these settings is that the dryer can be a little overwhelming at first, and isn’t as intuitive to use as I would have liked. You can’t tweak the settings without the airflow being on, which can make it all a bit noisy and fiddly, not to mention hot. However, I did appreciate the on-screen prompts, including things like filter cleaning alerts.
Ultimately, the AirLight Pro is designed for professionals – people who are serious about hair health, work with a range of hair types, and understand how different heat and airflow settings can impact style. That’s not to say it won’t have value for the everyday user, but you may not need, or get the full benefits of, all the bells and whistles.
As a result of this pro positioning, it’s difficult to directly compare like-for-like with other dryers on the market, and it’s difficult to recommend. What it does though, it does with a lot of flair, performance and style. Excuse the pun.
L’Oreal AirLight Pro hair dryer review: price & availability
- $475 / €450 for AirLight Pro + 2 attachments
- Free app
The L’Oreal AirLight Pro is currently only available in the US and France for $475 / €450 (around £385 / AU$756.26), with more regions set to be announced at a later date. In France, it’s only available to professionals but in the US it’s sold to consumers via Ulta.
For this price you get the AirLight Pro’s two magnetic attachments – a diffuser, and concentrator nozzle – included with the dryer itself. The AirLight Pro app is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
This price puts the AirLight Pro firmly in the premium price bracket in between the original, $399 Dyson Supersonic and the scalp-friendly, $499.99 Supersonic Nural. It costs $125 more than the Zuvi Halo, the dryer upon which the AirLight Pro has been based.
Out of the group, the Dyson Supersonic ends up being better value for money because it ships with five attachments by default. This includes versions of a concentrator and diffuser attachment (the two sold with the AirLight Pro), as well as a Wide-tooth Comb and Flyaway attachment. Interestingly, the Zuvi Halo ships with a Gentle Air attachment for improved scalp protection, which the AirLight Pro is missing.
- Value score: 3.5 out of 5
L’Oreal AirLight Pro hair dryer review: design
- 3 speeds; 3 heat settings; 3 preset modes + Cool shot and app controls
- Heavy and bulky design
- Easy-to-use attachments
There was a time when hair dryers with short, circular barrels and long handles were the exception. Thanks to the popularity of the Dyson Supersonic, they are now the norm and the L’Oreal AirLight Pro fits firmly into this camp.
As with the Zuvi Halo and these Dyson rivals, the AirLight Pro’s shape is compact – measuring 10.4 x 3.9 x 3.3 in / 26.5 x 9.8 x 8.4 cm – with a slightly rounded barrel and well-proportioned handle. It’s not as well-balanced, ergonomically speaking, as these other dryers, and feels top-heavy. At 710g (EU) and 1.8 lbs (US), it’s also noticeably heavier than many other dryers I’ve reviewed, including the Halo, which weighs 546g (1.2 lbs).
This extra weight does make the AirLight Pro feel like a luxurious, robust and premium purchase, but it did strain my wrist quite quickly during styling, and could be even more of an issue if you have long or thick hair.
The infrared technology is this dryer’s standout feature, using low heat light to dry hair from the inside out, preserving moisture and leaving hair shinier and smoother. Depending on which regional L’Oreal site you look at, the brand claims the AirLight Pro dries either 14% faster than other premium dryers in the US, or 30% faster in the UK. It then either uses 11% less energy, or 28% less energy. L’Oreal told me this was because the devices are optimized for different regions, but it didn’t go into more detail than that.
Let’s take a look at the controls. On the front of the circular barrel is an air outlet surrounded by a pane of glass covering the infrared LEDs. Below this outlet, on the handle, you’ll find the small digital display, the Mode/Speed selection button, and the Power switch. On the rear of the barrel is the filter inlet, and on the rear of the handle is the Heat selection button. Long-pressing this button enables the Cool Shot function.
The small display shows the selected airflow speed and heat setting using colored blocks, as well as any active presets you’ve selected. The button directly below this screen is used to adjust the airflow, toggling between Low, Medium and High.
You then need to use the button on the rear to adjust the temperature, which again moves between Low, Medium and High options. The main heat levels range from 86 F / 30 C to 285 F / 140 although you can further tweak these settings using the AirLight Pro app. From your phone or tablet, you can increase or decrease airflow speeds in 5% increments, and change the temperature by 15-20 F at a time.
A long press of the Speed selection button on the front of the handle will switch you between Standard and Pro modes, where you can then select from either the Sleek, Coily or Curly presets.
The default Standard setting for the dryer is Medium heat/High speed. The presets are then as follows:
- Sleek: Sleek mode pairs High heat with High airflow to achieve smooth, straight finishes
- Curly: Curly mode uses Medium heat with Medium speed to maintain curl shape and reduce frizz
- Coily: Sets both heat and airflow to their lowest settings
The attachments follow suit. When the concentrator (used to create sleek styles) is attached, the heat and airflow automatically switch to High. When the diffuser is attached to dry curls, the heat and airflow is automatically set to Low. The use of these attachments is intuitive and the magnetic connector is strong enough to keep them in place during styling, but easy to remove and replace.
The styler itself is not the most intuitive dryer I’ve used, though. I often changed the temperature with the speed button and vice versa. One of my favorite features on the Zuvi Halo is the clearly named modes – Fast, Care, Soft and so on – and while L’Oreal’s options aren’t a million miles away, they’re not as easy-to-use at a glance.
The digital display on the AirLight Pro brings a level of intuitiveness back with on-screen prompts, as does the app. In fact, the app very easy to use and because it shows the settings on a larger phone display, I almost always defaulted to these controls when using the AirLight Pro.
I don’t love the fact you can’t tweak the settings without the dryer – and thus the airflow – being on, which can make it noisy and fiddly, not to mention hot, during use. Although I do love that the styler’s display and app shows cleaning alerts when your filter needs clearing and shows you how to switch between Modes if you get stuck.
The design of the AirLight Pro isn’t perfect. For all the way it’s functional and professional, it can also be frustrating. The heavier weight causes problems when drying your hair for long periods, and I don’t want to have to commit time to learning controls when all I want to do is just dry my hair. That said, these are relatively minor complaints when you factor in just how well it performs.
- Design score: 3.5 out of 5
AirLight Pro specs
| Wattage: | 1875W |
| Weight: | 1.8lbs / 816g |
| Settings: | 3 heat settings, 3 speeds, 3 presets + cool shot and app controls |
| Cord length: | 11.5ft / 3.5m |
| Attachments: | Concentrator, diffuser |
L’Oreal AirLight Pro hair dryer review: performance
- Fast drying times
- Great for curls
- Customized settings work best
To test the L’Oreal AirLight Pro, I experimented with different combinations of heat and speed and put each of the preset modes and attachments to the test on my long, fine, naturally curly hair.
Unsurprisingly, my hair dried the fastest with Sleek mode – High speed/High temperature – was selected. This mode took my hair from wet to dry in just under five minutes. That’s is similar to the speed of the Dyson Supersonic, but almost twice as long as my go-to hair dryer, the Revlon Pro. The problem with such quick speeds is that hair was blasted into submission and it lacked volume and movement, even if it did look sleek.
I could shave almost 45 seconds off this time when I rough dried my hair on this setting with the concentrator nozzle attached. However, this didn’t help the lack of volume. Plus, to get the most out of this nozzle, I needed to dedicate more time to blow-drying sections properly, which improved the finish but more than doubled the time.
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The Curly preset worked much better. It dried my natural curls faster than any other dryer I’ve used – you usually have to sacrifice time for gentle drying – and it left the individual curls looking defined and surprisingly smooth. I tried the Coily hair preset to see how it compared, but as I don’t have coily hair it was more for reference, and I didn’t see a huge difference between time and finish compared to the Curly mode.
The best results, however, came when I ignored all of the default settings and presets and used the app. After a bit of tweaking, I got the best balance of speed versus finish with the temperature set to 55 C / 130 F and the airflow at 65%. Any hotter and the hair didn’t feel as soft; any cooler and it took longer to style. The airflow was then strong enough to blow the hair effectively, but not so strong that it added frizz or knots.
Regardless of settings, however, the feel, condition and look of my hair was noticeably better with the L’Oreal AirLight Pro compared to all other dryers I’ve used and own. It added shine and softness while reducing frizz, which is no mean feat for blonde, naturally curly hair. Over time, my hair also seemed to get healthier while testing the AirLight Pro and I had less breakage and hair loss in the shower and from brushing.
In regards noise, L’Oreal claims the AirLight Pro is whisper-quiet, producing just 76dB. In my tests, the dryer never dropped lower than 85dB. That’s quiet enough to have a conversation while drying, so it’s still not loud, by any stretch, but it is quite a step up from what L’Oreal promises (as well as on the 78 decibels I recorded when using the Zuvi Halo).
In terms of noise, L’Oreal claims the AirLight Pro is whisper-quiet, producing just 76 decibels. In my tests, though, the dryer never dropped lower than 85 decibels. This was quite a step up – not just on what L’Oreal claims but on the o. That said, 85dB is quiet enough to have a conversation while drying so it’s not loud, by any stretch. It’s just louder than promised.
- Performance score: 4 out of 5
Should I buy the L’Oreal AirLight Pro hair dryer?
| Section | Notes | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Premium, but pro-level features and control help justify the price. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Design | Streamlined yet heavy and bulky design. Tons of precise control options, which can be fiddly to use. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Performance | Infrared drying left my hair shiny, soft and feeling healthier. Fast drying times and great for curls. | 4 / 5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
First reviewed: January 2025
