Shark is known for their vacuums and steamers and they too jumped onto the hair-styling bandwagon when they released the FlexStyle this past September. It’s marketed as most similar to the Airwrap in terms of attachments and the many different ways it can style your hair. Both tools also use air and heat, which can be less damaging to your hair compared to traditional heat stylers. Styling attachments: 5 • Auto-wrap barrel curlers • Oval brush • Paddle brush • Concentrated nozzle • Diffuser Speeds: 3 Heat settings: 4 Styling attachments: 6 • 1.2-inch curling barrels • 1.6-inch curling barrels • Firm smoothing brush • Soft smoothing brush • Round volumizing brush • Pre-styling dryer Speeds: 3 Heat settings: 4 *Note: The photo above is the first-generation model I use, which is a slightly older version of the Airwrap. The current model has one new attachment — the Coanda smoothing dryer. • How do the prices compare to one another? • Is either one worth its price tag? EFFICIENCY • How long did it take to blow dry my hair? • Was it easy or cumbersome to use and switch out the attachments? STYLING • How long did my blowout last? • Did it make my hair smooth and silky? Any frizz? • How often did I have to touch up my blowout? FUNCTIONALITY • How noisy was it? • How hot did the tool get? I was incredibly impressed with how well the FlexStyle worked on my hair. I went in with low expectations since I really have loved the Airwrap for the past two years. However, I think the price of the Shark is incredible for how well it works. I was able to dry and style my hair considerably quicker with the FlexStyle. That was because of the size of the round brush, which is what I primarily used to dry my hair. My hair was super bouncy and voluminous, and despite some frizz that came about on days two and three — I was overall really happy with the results. My Shark curls held and lasted longer compared to my Dyson curls, and I didn’t feel the need to touch up my Shark hair as often as I do with the Dyson. Overall, Shark really made a very impressive product that is way more affordable with just as good — if not better — results than its competitor. Dyson Airwrap: I’ve always been a loyal fan of the Airwrap, and I still believe it’s an excellent product. However, now that I have a similar tool to compare it to, I learned that my Airwrap blowout doesn’t last as long as I’d like. Also, because of the smaller size of the round brush and the amount of thick, long hair I have — it takes me just as long to blow dry and style my hair using the Dyson as it did when I was using a regular blow dryer and round brush. I did achieve a smooth blowout, but it lacked the volume and bounce I personally love.
