Dyson is The high-end hair care brand everyone aspires to, but what if I told you you don’t need to spend a fortune to get Dyson-like quality from your hair tools? Shark has long been a competitor to Dyson’s vacuum cleaners, and recently entered the hair arena with its HyperAir hair dryer, which rivals Dyson’s Supersonic in looks and performance. Its latest FlexStyle hair system is designed to replace the Dyson Airwrap.
It’s a curling iron, hairdryer and blow-dry brush for $270, about $329 less than the Airwrap. You can choose from three attachments (don’t worry, two curlers count as one). But there are also bundles for curly and curly hair that include barrels, a diffuser, a concentrator, and an oval brush, and one for straight and wavy hair that swaps the diffuser for a paddle brush. You can get either of these separately if you realize you need another accessory later.it doesn’t work quite And Airwrap in some ways, but it’s pretty close.
shark week
Photography: Shark
The Dyson Airwrap has skyrocketed in popularity because unlike any other hair tool we’ve seen before, its self-wrapping curling iron uses less heat (and causes less damage to hair) than traditional curling irons. Curling irons are tempting, but the Airwrap has different brush attachments for blow drying and light drying.
FlexStyle uses the same Coanda effect that Dyson uses. This creates a vortex of air inside its 1.25″ barrel, attracting the hair that naturally winds around it to curl. Like the Dyson, the Shark uses less heat because it doesn’t need a scorching barrel to force the hair into shape. Heating your hair multiple times a day or even a week can lead to hair damage — and this will at least reduce some of the damage.
In my tests with the FlexStyle, my hair wrapped itself around the barrel almost as well as the Airwrap did, but I did have to force my hair here and there. FlexStyle includes two barrels, one for left curls and one for right curls. This is similar to the first version of the Airwrap, but the second version ditches them in favor of a single barrel that can switch direction by turning a lever on top. A bucket makes the hair styling process easier, but that alone doesn’t make it worth the Airwrap’s premium price.
Cost aside, I prefer the FlexStyle over the Airwrap for one reason: It also doubles as a blow dryer. My hair is curly and I don’t straighten it every day. I need a powerful hair dryer with a diffuser. Airwrap does not. Its drying attachment isn’t meant to keep brittle curls frizz-free.So Airwrap is the tool I only use when I want to straighten and straighten Then Curls my hair; I have to pay more to get a good dryer.
Shark’s HyperAir hair dryer has an impressive adjustable diffuser and is already one of my favorite hair dryers. You get the same diffuser as the FlexStyle, just slightly smaller. (For shorter hair, you can shorten the prongs of the diffuser and dry the ends, or for longer hair, lengthen the prongs of the diffuser and reach the roots.) When curling or brushing, you will use the handle directly up and down. To dry, twist the handle into the shape of the number 7, just like the hair dryers you know and love. There are four heat settings and three airflow settings, plus a cool button.
