Dyson Airwrap vs Shark FlexStyle, Tested and Reviewed

Table Of Content

• Conair Compact Hair Dryer with Folding Handle
• What should I look for in the best hair dryers?
• Shark HyperAIR vs Dyson Supersonic: Verdict
• The Best Hair Straightener
• Our Indigenous-Owned Beauty Favorites (& Brands You Should Know About)
• InfinitiPRO by Conair Frizz-Free Hot Air Brush
• What Are the Key Differences Between the Dyson Airwrap and the Shark FlexStyle?

While this may not be a deciding factor for everyone, for those who travel frequently and are looking to bring their hair dryer on the road, I’d have to recommend the Shark. Before I compare these two styling tools, I feel it’s important to note that I’m truly a fan of both. In other words, if you’re debating between the two, you really can’t lose. But if you’d like to make the most informed decision possible, read on to learn more.

Conair Compact Hair Dryer with Folding Handle

You get a styling concentrator, a flyaway attachment, and a wide-toothed comb, plus a “gentle” air attachment and a diffuser. Overall, both tools perform beautifully–they gave me shiny, bouncy, commercial-worthy hair every single time for every single look I styled. The Shark pulled through, however, simply because it offers a wider range of hairstyles and caters to more hair types and textures, courtesy of its included diffuser. Both products have three airflow settings, but we preferred the increments on the Dyson to those on the Shark. While the Dyson’s three heat settings increased in regular increments with a good balance between them, we noticed a significant difference between the Shark’s Medium and High settings. In our experience, the Medium setting was a bit too low to get hair dry quickly.

What should I look for in the best hair dryers?

This dryer has an unusual design that makes it extraordinarily nice to use. To do the same on the Airwrap, you have to attach the Coanda smoothing dryer and twist the knob on the top of the attachment to switch between Drying and Smoothing mode. The Drying mode acts as a styling concentrator for wet hair, while the Smoothing mode is for use on dry hair to smooth flyaways. We love that a single attachment offers multiple options but it can be a little fiddly and feel a little awkward as you move the wand around your head. Regularly $299, the Shark FlexStyle is more in line with the price of a fancy blow dryer or flat iron, but with way more bells and whistles.

Shark HyperAIR vs Dyson Supersonic: Verdict

In our experience, the FlexStyle’s round barrel is easier to hold and feels more comfortable than Dyson’s barrel. In addition to the various color options available across both the Shark and Dyson range, there are a number of similarities, as well as some notable design differences between the stylers. With these similarities in mind, we’ve put both models to the test to see how they compare on performance, usability, design and price.

Drybar Baby Buttercup Travel Blow-Dryer

The Airwrap and FlexStyle are not hair dryers or curlers alone, but a new category of tools entirely. They have a singular, corded base that any of the included attachments can be twisted onto to achieve different styles, with customizable heat and speed settings (plus a cool shot). The respective styling systems from Dyson and Shark each have brush attachments, Coanda curling barrels, and unique extras like smoothing tools and diffusers. Their higher price tags still serve as somewhat of a deal — getting several hair tools for the price of one.

The Best Hair Straightener

The former is designed to suit curly hair types, while the latter is best suited for people looking for straight styles. When conducting our Shark HyperAIR vs Dyson Supersonic comparison we have tested them exactly the same. This means that we have assessed how quickly they dry below-the-shoulder length (or longer) hair on all the heat and speed settings available to us on the device.

Dyson Airwrap Dupes 2024 - Forbes

Dyson Airwrap Dupes 2024.

Posted: Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Better still, the dryer automatically adjusts the heat and airflow settings based on what you attach. Dyson’s Airwrap launched in 2018, intriguing beauty enthusiasts everywhere with a bevy of styling attachments and multi-styler technology that allows users to dry, style and set their look with a single tool. Since then, Shark has released its own version, the FlexStyle, with the same styling abilities, similar attachments and near identical stats—right down to the distinctive sound—but at around half the price. When using the Airwrap, my style held up the longest, but the more affordable FlexStyle has very similar features, and I favored it to style my bangs and shorter face-framing pieces. Kaitlin Clark is a senior beauty commerce editor at Byrdie whose ultimate goal in life is to rock 90s supermodel hair every day.

InfinitiPRO by Conair Frizz-Free Hot Air Brush

Plus, the Dyson comes with two sizes of curling barrels — a 1.2-inch and a 1.6-inch barrel to shape tighter curls or looser waves, respectively — depending on which look you’re going for. And though the motor might be powerful, it’s quiet, clocking in at 79 decibels, according to my Decibel X app (to test, I hovered the phone about ten inches from the hair dryer). That’s about as loud as the pleasant sloshing sounds of a washing machine. Other models can clock in as loud as 90 decibels, according to Hearing Science.

This attachment functions like a diffuser but is more beneficial for straight hair (while a diffuser works better on wavy, curly or coily hair). Our tester, who has naturally straight hair, enjoyed the option of the gentle air attachment. To prevent hair damage, the Dyson Supersonic uses intelligent heat control that measures the airflow temperature over 40 times per second. However, as the Shark HyperAir is slightly more affordable, this is the better choice for most users - particularly if you have curly hair or are unsure about the settings you should be using when blow-drying for different styles. When it comes to choosing the best hair dryer, both the Shark HyperAir and the Dyson Supersonic can dry hair quickly and ensure plenty of smooth shine - we found ourselves leaving the house with a satisfying bounce when using both models.

It really depends on your hair’s length and texture, as well as how wet your hair is when you start blow drying. If you have fine mid-length hair like mine, it should take approximately three to five minutes. Since I began using the Dyson hair dryer three years ago, I’ve noticed much less breakage and fewer flyaways around the crown of my head. You know the type...those pesky baby hairs that emerge from ponytails, making themselves known even after multiple spritzes of hairspray. I’ve also noticed my hair shaft has remained quite shiny even though I’ve become more lax with my regular trims and deep conditioning treatments. We also advise working in four or more sections to maximize the impact of your blow-dry.

However, TikTokers love this bag for storing their FlexStyle and attachments. Having ordered one myself, I can throw my enthusiastic endorsement into the mix. It’s worth noting that both the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer and the Dyson Airwrap do come with storage cases. The device, particularly if you’re just after the hair-drying capabilities, is significantly smaller and offers a sleeker design.

However, the Dyson Supersonic does come with a very steep price tag of $430. The Shark SpeedStyle at $200 would be a great option for anyone looking for a luxury model at a lower price point. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).

They dry my hair quickly without causing unnecessary damage and both are just plain fun to use. However, if I had to pick a winner, I might have to go with the Shark FlexStyle. As for its performance, when comparing the two blow-dries quite literally side by side, the Dyson supersonic gave a slightly more sleek finish, with fewer stray hairs and less frizz. Similarly, the Dyson flyaway attachment worked wonders and revived our day-two and day-three hair. As for the all-new flyaway attachment, we were very impressed with how quickly it transformed our day two bed-head hair, taming our frizzy locks and bringing back that newly blow-dried look. The attachments are the essence of these multi-stylers, and both brands feature slightly different ...

When you throw in the fact you get a host of other styling options for a relatively cheaper price, it makes the FlexStyle a worthwhile investment. Especially if you have curly hair and having a diffuser is important to you. For curly hair styles on the FlexStyle, we rotated the barrel and used the standard hair drying feature to knock out about 50% of the water from our hair. We then manually scrunched curls with our hands before attaching the diffuser and holding these curls in place inside the attachment.