Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer Review: Does the £300 Dyson Airwrap dupe fair up?

SHARK FlexStyle has a similar design to the legendary Dyson Airwrap, but with a £200 cheaper price tag.

I set out to test out the question on everyone's lips - is it a worthy match? I was pleasantly surprised by the results and found I was able to achieve a close to perfect salon-quality finish from home.

Overall Rating: 4/5

• Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer, £300, Argos -

Pros 

• Well organized and more portable travel case
• Lightweight 
• Twist to change styler and dryer 
• Large curlers and volume wand gives better effect
• Diffuser included as standard 
• Easy to use
• Cheaper than the Dyson Airwrap

Cons

• Takes a while to cool down 
• Controls at bottom make it harder to use 
• Hard bristles on brushes 
• Curls don’t last 

Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer Review: First Impressions

4

• Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer, £300, Argos -

I had been excited to try the Shark FlexStyle as I'm a longtime fan of the Dyson Airwrap, and was curious to see how this much cheaper model from Sharl would fair up.

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Firstly, I was a big fan of the Shark FlexStyle’s case. In a smart black zip up vanity case, it’s easy to store, with smart, organised compartments.

Each of the five stylers has it's own compartment it’s easy to help keep them clean and safe, and when you’ve spent £300 on a styler you want it to last.  

I loved the range of styling attachments, with Auto-Wrap Curlers, Paddle Brush, Oval Brush, Concentrator, and Diffuser all included.

It’s not too loud, but is still powerful and lightweight, able to dry your hair quickly without turning into an impromptu bicep workout.

However, the controls are at the bottom of the drying wand which I found made it cumbersome when switching between settings.

It's difficult to find and accuratly switch between heat, and power settings as they also use a button motion, where a switch would have been easier.

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Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer Review: Performance

The big question, will a cheaper price tag than its major competitor affect performance significantly?

Let’s cover the basics, it’s hot, powerful and delivers great results but isn’t so heavy you get an arm ache.

The twist design means you can use it in the configuration which works best for you - a helpful design feature if you’re not blessed with fine tuned styling skills.

It works best on hair that is 80% dry, so after rough drying it I then finished it with the concentrator. 

The twist design helps you to easily turn the styler into a traditional dryer, which works well and makes it much easier to use in this way than the straight design. 

Whilst the styler feels large when in the straight styler mode, it feels compact when using in the hair dryer configuration. 

It’s powerful, and with the hottest and most powerful setting, it makes quick work of my thick hair which can often take a long time to dry.

4

• Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer, £300, Argos -e

I then moved onto the straightener attachment, which gave my hair a lovely straight finish and tamed flyaways with ease.

As previously mentioned, these attachments are larger and are helpful when styling because wide paddle design is able to smooth a wide section of hair at once.

Moving on to the curlers, my favourite feature.

The large barrels delivered glamorous, blow dried curls that I was frankly obsessed with. 

Grabbing the hair is easy, and even those who struggle to style their hair will be able to deliver a fabulous curly look. You simply hold the curlers close, and the style grabs the section and wraps it round. 

This is where the larger shape really helped, as they were able to grab more hair, and style it at once. And would give a wider curl, which gives a sleek, modern look. 

However, I noticed that the curls would drop quickly and it was fiddly trying to find the cold blast button to set the curl when in use as was at the bottom of the styler. 

This was a common problem, so if you were switching between heat, power it was harder to find the right setting.

4

• Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer, £300, Argos -

A common theme, the volume hot brush end also packed extra punch due to its size, helping to give a blow dried look with ease.   

I then used the diffuser to blast with cold air, which is a tip I'd been given by hair stylists to help the curls last. As my hair is naturally straight it is unlikely to be my most used styling attachment, but I think it’s great to be included for those with curly hair.

And thanks to using hot air rather than hot plates, my hair felt soft and sleek afterwards and not damaged.

However I was not a fan of the harder bristles, which felt stiff when using and easily pulled on my hair.

The Verdict: Is Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer Worth it?

4

• Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler & Dryer, £300, Argos -

The Shark FlexStyle is a great hair tool and thanks to its multitude of stylers it’s a great option for those looking to invest in just one product. 

And thanks to the fact it uses hot air rather than heated plates your hair suffers less damage and you’re able to see this from the start, my hair looked sleek and shiny. 

It’s easy to use, so even the most unpractised hair stylists amongst us will be able to grasp it and style blow dries with ease. 

I was a huge fan of the lightweight, large design and powerful performance, which translated into fabulous, modern results. 

And the storage, and vanity case means you’ll be able to use it at home and on the go. 

However, due to some design choices, I can’t help but compare it to the Airwrap - which whilst smaller and more expensive was slightly easier to use. 

However, with these small choices resulting in a £200 saving, it’s a must for beauty fans who want to create beautiful, salon fresh blow out looks with ease. 

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Where to buy the Shark FlexStyle 5 in 1 Hair Styler

There's quite a few retailers who stock the Shark FlexStyle, including: