L’Oréal Flat Iron That Won’t Fry Your Hair: Tech Demo or Overhyped Hype?

At CES 2026, a robot arm straightened hair without burning it—L’Oréal infrared flat iron is the future of styling, or just another overhyped gadget?

L’Oréal’s Light Straight flat iron uses infrared light, building on the Airlight Pro hairdryer’s tech introduced at CES 2024. The device claims to straighten or curl hair in one pass at a maximum temperature of 320°F, compared to typical tools that exceed 400°F. It promises three times faster styling and twice-as-smooth hair.

A robot arm demo at CES 2026 showed hair being curled and straightened without excessive heat, but real-world performance on diverse hair types remains untested. As one observer noted:

In the demo, I was able to see the robot curl and then straighten hair with a single pass — but the resulting hair wasn’t too hot to the touch.

Scheduled for a 2027 release with pricing undisclosed, L’Oréal plans to expand infrared tech to multi-styler tools like hairdryer/roller combos.

The Airlight Pro’s performance offers context, but the 320°F threshold’s actual impact on hair health remains unproven. If the demo’s results translate to human hair, the tech could be a meaningful advancement. If not, it may join the long list of overhyped styling gadgets.