Shark FlexStyle or Dyson Airwrap: Which Styling Tool Is for You? Reviews by Wirecutter

Table Of Content

• Best-buy multipurpose hairstyling tool
• How we test and review products
• Shark HyperAIR vs Dyson Supersonic: Design
• Best Blow-Dryer Brush: Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer
• Dyson Airwrap vs Shark FlexStyle: which is the best premium multistyler hair tool?
• How Long Does It Take To Dry Hair With The Dyson Supersonic?

There’s also a nifty internal thermometer that measures the air temperature more than 40 times per second to regulate the heat and prevent damage to the hair. In terms of airflow, there are three settings – high, medium and low – and there’s no denying it is powerful. This attachment is designed to create smooth, shiny, straight blowouts. The Dyson Supersonic comes with five attachments to address various hair types. This is great if you’re looking for a versatile product or if multiple people with different hair types will be using the hair dryer (in a household, for example, or if you’re a hairstylist).

Best-buy multipurpose hairstyling tool

We took basic stats on our dryers, using a weather meter to test the speed and heat and a postage scale to weigh them. Often our own readings disagreed with the manufacturer-stated specs. If you can’t or don’t want to leave the house with wet hair, you need a hair dryer. In the battle between the Shark FlexStyle and Dyson Airwrap there sadly isn’t a stand out winner. They both have their flaws and, interestingly, many of these flaws are the same across the two stylers. We’re still to be convinced about the Coanda effect – we’ve seen countless videos of people who have achieved fantastic results but we’ve not yet managed it.

Shark FlexStyle Review 2024: Is 'Dyson Airwrap Dupe' Worth It? - Cosmopolitan

Shark FlexStyle Review 2024: Is 'Dyson Airwrap Dupe' Worth It?.

Posted: Mon, 29 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

How we test and review products

For reference, I live in New York City, where the air is humid and muggy in the summer and drier in the winter, fall and spring. I use the Flyaway one more frequently in the summer months, when my hair has gone haywire, and the Gentle air diffuser in the winter months, when frizz is less of an issue. Conair covers the InfinitiPro with an impressive four-year warranty (PDF). Dyson’s Airwrap (left) features sliding toggles on the top of the handle, while the Shark FlexStyle ... Even though it costs significantly more, it performed better across the board in terms of design, attachment range, styling and finish. However, if you can’t or don’t want to, then the FlexStyle is a worthy alternative.

Shark HyperAIR vs Dyson Supersonic: Design

If you’ve ever owned a Dyson hair product, you know its distinct whistle-like sound. Shark shares the same distinctive sound at an almost identical noise level. Its sound waves measure 82.3 hertz, while Dyson’s come in at 77.8 decibels, about the noise level you’d experience inside a car. The longest attachment on the FlexStyle is the 6-inch Auto-Wrap curler which, when in use, takes the total length of the styler to a somewhat cumbersome 17.5 inches (44.5 cm). The longest attachment on the Dyson is the 7.5-inch long AirWrap curler, taking the total styler length to 17.75 inches (45cm).

The Shark SpeedStyle weighs 1.67 pounds, which is lighter than the average hair dryer and slightly lighter than the Dyson Supersonic, though the difference is negligible. It has four heat settings, which is more than the average hair dryer (usually three). When it comes to the Dyson, the multi-styler is more expensive, but Teich appreciates that it was found by the Beauty Lab to operate at a cooler temperature, compared to the Shark, which makes it less damaging to hair over time. The newest version of the Dyson has a new larger round brush that is outfitted with tightly packed pin bristles. This allows the brush to be able to get hair smooth without the need for boar bristles. Shark’s offering features a more oval-shaped round brush that has both boar and pin bristles.

Best Blow-Dryer Brush: Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer

Dyson in 2023 introduced a pared-down package, the Supersonic Origin, which includes only the dryer and a concentrator attachment. Something I immediately loved about the Dyson Supersonic was how quiet it is. I can use it while my toddler and baby are napping without waking them up, and I don’t think I need to explain how huge that is. When I went to turn on the FlexStyle for the first time, I was curious how its noise level would stack up.

Dyson Airwrap vs Shark FlexStyle: which is the best premium multistyler hair tool?

Unlike other blow dryers, which use fan blades to draw in air, the Supersonic instead uses what Dyson calls its proprietary Air Multiplier Technology to dry hair. It essentially works by taking in air from all sides, then forcing it through the center of the ring for a powerful blast of air. This design feature prevents hair from getting tangled in the air inlet grille, a whole fiasco which used to happen to me regularly with more traditional, vented hair dryers. The retro-looking Conair Pro Yellow Bird Hair Dryer is one of the hottest dryers we’ve tested (reaching over 245 °F). But at a pound and a half, it also ties for the heaviest dryer we’ve looked at.

How Long Does It Take To Dry Hair With The Dyson Supersonic?

Unlike on other dryers, the cool-shot button is wide, so holding it down for several seconds isn’t uncomfortable. For those who are unfamiliar with the FlexStyle, it’s very similar to Dyson’s viral Airwrap. Like the oh-so-popular Airwrap, the FlexStyle comes with a number of different styling attachments that you can use to achieve different looks. One of the big draws to this tool is that you can (in theory) dry and style your hair simultaneously, saving time all while doing minimal damage to your hair.

Shark Flexstyle vs. Dyson Airwrap: Price

There are five attachments to play with depending on the hairdo you’re after – from straight, sleek locks to beachy waves – all of which are easy to attach to the dryer. The different options add to the tool’s versatility and work to justify the high price tag. When using the concentrator, for example, you’ll notice the dryer changes to high airflow and high temperature, while the diffuser alters these settings to low. This takes the guesswork out of blowdrying your hair, which we found to be really useful.

The times were 3 minutes 45 seconds, 3 minutes 49 seconds and 3 minutes 2 seconds. This is highly impressive given that each one is also styling and smoothing as it dries. It takes some time to figure out the best ways to use the attachments — especially as a first-time multi-styler user — but I got the hang of it more and more with each try.

But if you do want to experiment with the different options, you can manually adjust the settings too. It fits comfortably into the hand, and at just 730g it is one of the lightest hair dryers we’ve used, rivalled only by Dyson’s supersonic. It’s also unveiled a range of different accessories for the style iQ, including a diffuser and concentrator. Better still, the dryer automatically adjusts the heat and airflow settings based on what you attach. Since Dyson is renowned for its Coanda-effect curlers (which use airflow to wisp hair around the barrel as the airflow dries and sets hair), I was most intrigued by whether Shark's iteration could stand up against it. The FlexStyle comes with two curlers that swirl hair clockwise or counter-clockwise, depending on the section you're working on.