Dyson Airwrap vs. Shark Flexstyle hair styler review 2024

Although I’m at all times testing new hair tools, I’m removed from an knowledgeable on the subject of the strategies and styling methods for nailing a salon-worthy blowout at residence. I’m simply not coordinated sufficient to concurrently deal with a spherical brush and blow-dryer, and I’m frankly fearful of damaging my hair with tremendous scorching instruments. Thankfully, multi-stylers just like the Dyson Airwrap and Shark Flexstyle utterly modified the sport. Outfitted with a bevy of styling attachments and options, each instruments mix drying and styling know-how to streamline your hair routine, so you’ll be able to blow-dry, fashion and set your hair all with one gadget.

While there at the moment are a bunch of multi-stylers available on the market, the Airwrap and Flestyle stay essentially the most sought-after. I’ve been utilizing each for practically two years, so I’ve had loads of time to evaluate their professionals and cons.

Dyson’s Airwrap makes use of enhanced Coanda airflow know-how to make styling surprisingly fast and straightforward, whether or not you are going for a smooth and straight look or a volumized and bouncy blowout.

A dryer, roller, volumizer and smoother multi function, the Shark Flexstyle additionally makes use of the Coanda impact for good hairstyling. The hair device is obtainable as a set with 4 attachments at main retailers. Shark’s web site additionally gives a six-piece bundle or a custom-made decide of 5 from eight out there attachments.

The Airwrap and Flexstyle market themselves as hot-tool options which can be more healthy for the hair than conventional hair dryers, curling irons or smoothing programs due to temperature-measuring know-how. According to Dyson, the Airwrap measures airflow temperature greater than 40 instances per second, guaranteeing that the gadget stays below 302 levels Fahrenheit. The Flexstyle additionally consistently measures airflow temperature (Shark says 1,000 instances per second), and includes a no-heat setting so you need to use the gadget to hurry up your air-drying time.

In phrases of feel and appear, each are smooth and complicated. They take up about the identical quantity of area; nevertheless, the Airwrap comes with a handy storage case to maintain the attachments and gadget organized between makes use of, and the Flexstyle solely features a case in case your order the Build-Your-Own version directly from Shark.

Because my hair is of course stick-straight, thick and lengthy, I usually have a lazy method to hairstyling and go for air drying most days due to the effort and time it takes to utterly fashion my hair. I discovered each instruments simple to make use of and sturdy, and it was a breeze to change from one attachment to the following, making it really feel like one smooth-sailing course of, reasonably than an concerned routine with a bunch of separate steps.

Along with my practically two years of expertise with the Airwrap and Flexstyle, I examined them for this story in a side-by-side comparability, utilizing the Shark Flexstyle on the correct aspect of my head and the Dyson Airwrap on the left aspect of my head. Read on to see how every attachment measured up and my total evaluation of the instruments.

The Airwap and Flexstyle each boast a hair drying characteristic, which lets you minimize down the variety of hair home equipment in your routine. (The two manufacturers additionally occur to make tech-driven hair dryers too, the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer and the Shark HyperAir Hair Dryer.) The Airwrap options one Coanda smoothing dryer attachment, whereas the Flexstyle’s dryer is constructed into the physique of the gadget after which comes together with your chosen dryer attachments primarily based in your hair kind (the set for straight and wavy hair comes with a concentrator, whereas the set for curly and coily hair comes with the concentrator and a diffuser however no smoothing brush). Both suggest beginning with towel-dried hair, after which tough drying the hair to 80% earlier than utilizing one other styling attachment to complete your look. Each gadget dried my hair to that 80% state in about 5 minutes, utilizing the max warmth and velocity settings.

Between the 2, the Flexstyle’s drying characteristic impressed me essentially the most. To activate its hair dryer, the highest of the gadget rotates and locks in place at an angle. This provides extra management to your styling, and virtually feels such as you’re holding an ordinary hair dryer. With the facility on full blast, it felt simply as sturdy as a typical hair dryer too.

Since my hair is straight, I usually use a concentrator attachment on my common hair dryer to maintain it {smooth}. Having the concentrator attachment on the Flexstyle gave it the identical performance and management.

The Airwrap’s Coanda dryer attachment, however, isn’t fairly as intuitive. It options two modes, Drying and Smoothing, with the latter using the Coanda know-how. The Drying mode includes a shot of targeted airflow, but it surely didn’t present as a lot management as I’m used to with an everyday hair dryer. According to Dyson, the Smoothing mode is for already dry hair, is finest for naturally straight or wavy hair and can assist tame flyaways. With the Airwrap’s different smoothing attachments, nevertheless, I didn’t see a necessity to make use of this on already dry hair, and as a substitute tried the Smoothing mode to complete drying my hair. While my hair regarded straight and {smooth}, I didn’t discover any main distinction from how it could take care of utilizing an ordinary dryer.

The Flexstyle has one smoothing brush attachment that options quick and lengthy bristles, whereas the Airwrap has two, the Soft smoothing brush and the Firm smoothing brush. I used these to complete my traditional straight styled look on 80% dry hair, after utilizing the dryer attachments.

On the Dyson’s smoothing attachments, the airflow is extra concentrated and makes use of the Coanda know-how to attact the hair, nevertheless, the Flexstyle’s dual-length bristles gripped my hair the most effective out of any of the smoothing attachments. Since my hair is of course straight, I didn’t see any main variations within the ultimate outcomes throughout the gadgets — each delivered a straight, smooth look.

To add quantity to your ‘do, the Flexstyle offers a large-barreled oval brush, while the Airwap has a round volumizing brush. The Flexstyle’s volumizing attachment extra carefully resembles the fan-favorite Revlon One-Step Volumizer, whereas the Airwap’s barrel is nearer to a conventional spherical brush.

Again, I examined these on 80% dry hair. I discovered that the Dyson’s smaller barrel gave extra outlined curls, making my hair seem fuller and bouncier. The Shark’s barrel added some quantity and a little bit of bend to the ends of my hair, however not any super-defined fashion. Since I’ve thick hair, I think about the Flexstyle would make extra of a noticeable distinction on high-quality hair.

For me, the Dyson undoubtedly received this spherical. The spherical brush was simple to make use of and gave a cultured blowout with minimal effort — I really love the outcomes each time and this has turn out to be my most-used Airwrap attachment. In the previous, I had tried maneuvering a spherical brush with a conventional hair dryer and it was at all times a battle. My hair would get caught within the brush and I’d finally hand over and simply go along with straight hair. The Airwrap’s spherical drying brush combines the 2 steps, and my hair pulls by means of simply. I like to make use of it so as to add only a little bit of curl to the ends of my hair, giving me a extra pure, laid-back end than the curling attachment. I by no means thought I’d be capable to give myself a blowout in below quarter-hour, however right here we’re!

The Coanda impact curlers are what make these hair instruments so particular. Both the Shark and Dyson characteristic this know-how, which routinely wraps the hair across the barrel of the roller because the airflow dries and units the hair. Unlike the wand curlers of my youth (those that got here with a glove to guard your hand as you maintain your hair to the 400-degree device), there’s no fear of burning any digits with these. The Flexstyle has two 1.25-inch barrels, which direct the curls clockwise or counterclockwise. Switching between the 2 barrels as you’re doing all of your hair is a little bit of a hiccup within the consumer expertise, however nothing main.

The first mannequin of the Airwrap additionally had separate barrels to change the route of the curls, however the present model is ready to change the route of how the hair is wrapped in a single barrel (a knob on the high will be twisted to decide on the route). Now, the Airwrap comes with two sizes of barrels, a 1.2-inch and 1.6-inch, each with this rotating tip. Dyson additionally gives two lengths of curling barrels, with one made particularly for lengthy hair. For this story, I examined the Airwrap’s 1.2-inch barrel towards the Flexstyle’s curling barrel, since they’re closest in dimension.

As with the opposite attachments, the Flexstyle and Airwrap basically offered the identical perform with the curlers. However, I discovered that the Dyson dealt with my thick hair a lot better than the Shark. I used to be in a position to fashion my hair with the Airwrap at medium velocity, excessive warmth, working in 1-inch sections and it created voluminous, unfastened curls.

For the Flexstyle, I began out with the identical settings — medium velocity, excessive warmth, 1-inch sections — however needed to change it to excessive velocity as a result of it was struggling to wrap my hair. I additionally tried utilizing it with smaller sections, however this gave me a much less cohesive look total. As you’ll be able to see within the image under, the aspect styled with the Flexstyle doesn’t look as outlined and the items are intertwining, whereas the aspect styled with the Airwrap present outlined curls which can be {smooth} and uniform.

The skinny on the brand new Dyson Airwrap i.d. and Shark FlexFusion — and if you happen to ought to improve

Since my unique review, Dyson launched the Airwrap i.d., an app-connected model of the multi-styler, and Shark launched the FlexFusion, an analogous mannequin to the FlexStyle however with a deal with straightening the hair. I’ve spent the previous month familiarizing myself with these instruments too.

The Airwrap i.d. is a useful improve, and it comes at no further value in comparison with the common Airwrap. The greatest advantage of the Airwrap i.d. is its custom-made, timed “i.d. curl” sessions. You join the multi-styler to the MyDyson app by way of Bluetooth, then reply a bunch of questions on your hair kind and styling wants. At the top, it creates a custom-made profile and “i.d. curl” protocol, which then connects to your Airwrap i.d. When you will have an Airwrap attachment locked in, you’ll be able to see your “i.d. curl” settings on the app, which routinely instances the gadget’s wrapping, styling and chilly shot cycles for each bit of hair (you can even customise these timings if you want). You merely hit the i.d. change on the gadget to have your “i.d. curl” session run. This takes any guesswork out of how lengthy you need to maintain a chunk of hair to the Airwrap, and ensures a constant, lasting fashion each time. I used to be very impressed by this characteristic and assume it’s completely price choosing the Airwrap i.d. because it’s the identical value as the usual Airwrap.

On the opposite hand, the brand new FlexFusion fits totally different hairstyling wants than the Airwrap or Flexstyle. With moist or dry hair smoothing or straightening attachments, I believe it’s a precious device for these with naturally wavy or curly hair. It’s extra carefully associated to the Dyson Airstrait or ghd Duet Style, which I’ve also tested. As a multi-styler, it additionally comes with Auto-Wrap Curlers and hair drying attachments so you’ll be able to absolutely fashion your hair in a single go. If you’re somebody searching for a moist or dry straightening device, I’d look into the Flex Fusion Build-Your-Own bundles since you’ll be able to select between a Fusion Brush or Air Straightener mannequin. I examined each and love the sleekness they every delivered to my hair, however take note it was solely reinforcing my naturally straight hair texture. It’s additionally price noting that the FlexFusion will run you about $100 greater than the FlexStyle.

While the Flexstyle’s hair drying options high that of the Airwrap, Dyson’s gadget outperformed it total. The Airwrap’s capacity to create next-to-professional-level kinds that final — in below 20 minutes — is actually spectacular.

Taking hair kind into consideration, I may see that the Flexstyle would work with finer, lighter hair. Since I’ve thick, heavy hair — and a number of it — it normally takes extra time and energy to get kinds to set. I personally love the Airwrap i.d. improve and suggest choosing the brand new mannequin if you happen to’re planning on utilizing the curling characteristic so much. The timed cycles assist streamline the method and create a profitable look each time. However, if you happen to’re not nice with know-how or don’t wish to hook up with an app to curve your hair, the unique Airwrap performs simply as nicely.

Of course, price range comes into play. With the Airwap at twice the worth of the Flexstyle, I’d nonetheless suggest Shark’s possibility for these searching for a extra budget-friendly multi-styling device.

NCS Underscored editors totally take a look at all of the merchandise we cowl and supply full transparency about how we take a look at them. We have an skilled group of writers and editors who’ve a few years of testing expertise and guarantee every article is rigorously edited and merchandise are correctly vetted. For this story, magnificence and trend editor Sophie Shaw examined the Dyson Airwrap and Shark Flexstyle multi-styler instruments. In addition to a side-by-side comparability, she used each instruments for over a yr to fashion her hair, testing all the totally different attachments within the course of. Shaw has 5 years of expertise protecting magnificence merchandise and has been writing product critiques for over two years.