Since its 2018 launch, the Dyson Airwrap has been the go-to sizzling air multi-styler – when you might afford it. However in 2022, Shark launched a (considerably) extra budget-friendly various, the FlexStyle.
The FlexStyle comes with an identical variety of equipment – together with the well-known, and famously easy-to-use hot-air curlers, which Shark phrases auto-wrap curlers and Dyson, after all, calls its airwrap know-how.
Each stylers can provide you an identical vary of hair styling choices. However the way in which they work and the equipment they arrive with are barely completely different. So, must you save your cash and go for the FlexStyle, or spend money on the Airwrap?
We examined each side-by-side to see how they examine. You may learn our critiques of the Airwrap and the FlexStyle for extra detailed ideas on each however for a comparability between the 2, learn on.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
What do you get if you purchase?
The very first thing to determine is, if you purchase certainly one of these multi-stylers, what do you truly get? Your hair sort could play a task in selecting between the 2 instruments.
Airwrap equipment
There are two choices if you purchase the Airwrap. You may choose for the standard equipment – and we’ll let you know what’s in that in a second. Or, you possibly can customise the instruments you need so that you get a set of equipment that may work together with your hair sort.
The best way to do that is to go to the Dyson web site and take its quiz. After you’ve answered a sequence of questions in your hair – its sort, size, thickness and talent to retain a method – Dyson will recommend a set of hair instruments.
It’s notably vital to do that if in case you have curly or coily hair, wherein case a number of the commonplace instruments could not work nicely for you.
Take the quiz at Dyson US or Dyson UK.
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However when you go for the standard-issue equipment, that is what you’ll get:
- Corded deal with
- 30mm Airwrap barrel
- 40mm Airwrap barrel
- Agency smoothing brush
- Mushy smoothing brush
- Spherical volumising brush
- Coanda smoothing dryer
- Filter cleansing brush
- Storage case
The Airwrap is available in various color choices. These will change over time and you might have to buy round – and even wait round – to get the colourway you need.
FlexStyle equipment
The FlexStyle choices are somewhat completely different and embrace methods to customize your equipment, however it varies relying on whether or not you’re within the UK or the US.
Within the US, consumers can select a straight and wavy set or a curly and coily set. These include a typical 4 equipment every. Or, for $20 much less, you possibly can select the three styling equipment that greatest fit your hair sort. In addition to the equipment listed beneath, you possibly can go for a large tooth comb, a spherical brush and two 0.95in curlers. All choices can be found from Shark.
UK consumers have the choice of a complete 5-in-1 equipment or a extra specialised (and £20 cheaper) 4 accent equipment for both straight and wavy or curly and coily hair. You may see all of the choices on the Shark website.
The opposite choice is to customise your FlexStyle kit. You’ll get to decide on 4 equipment and it additionally prices £20 lower than the 5 accent equipment. Nonetheless, there aren’t any quick and lengthy barrel choices for various hair lengths like there are for the Airwrap.
If you happen to go for the usual 5-in-1 equipment, these are the equipment you’ll get:
- Styling deal with/ hairdryer
- Two 1.25in auto-wrap curlers (every rotates in several instructions, for both facet of your face)
- Oval brush
- Paddle brush
- Diffuser
- Styling concentrator
The diffuser is a win for Shark, as Dyson doesn’t embrace this as an elective accent.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
There are solely two color choices: black and rose gold, or beige and gold. The black and rose gold colourway is the one one which comes with a storage case.
If you wish to purchase it individually, the case prices $49.99/ £39.99.
Which has one of the best options?
One of many key causes to purchase both styler is the new air curling tech. The rollers are far simpler to make use of than a conventional curling iron, as they use the Coanda airflow impact to attract a strand of hair across the roller. This implies they received’t burn both your fingers or your hair.
The button placement on the Dyson is extra intuitive, with the chilly shot situated on the facility button, somewhat than as a separate button that it is advisable hunt for as on the FlexStyle. It additionally doesn’t assist that the buttons are proper on the backside of the FlexStyle’s deal with, as this isn’t the place you’d usually maintain the comb.
The FlexStyle can be louder than the Airwrap, which is surprisingly quiet.
Hannah Cowton & Henry Burrell / Foundry
Past that, the FlexStyle’s greatest function is its hair dryer transformation. A twist of the deal with turns it from a protracted styler into an easy-to-use, 7-shaped dryer. Nonetheless, the hinge implies that the system feels much less sturdy than the Airwrap.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
When it comes to equipment, the FlexStyle’s diffuser is adjustable for various lengths of hair, which is a pleasant contact.
Among the many Airwrap’s greatest options – and solely out there in newer fashions – are the curlers themselves. As a substitute of getting one which rotates clockwise and one anti-clockwise, because the FlexStyle does (and which will be simple to muddle up), you possibly can change the path of rotation on the Airwrap’s curlers.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The Airwrap additionally wins hands-down on the subject of the storage case. It’s a lot sleeker and better high quality than the one which’s appropriate with the FlexStyle – and it comes with each mannequin.
Weight and dimensions
The Dyson Airwrap measures 27 x 4 x 4.8cm (10.6 x 1.6 x 1.9in) and weighs 611g (1.3lbs) with the wire included.
The FlexStyle is a little more difficult to measure due to its twist design. Prolonged, it’s nearly 44cm (17.3in) with a diameter of 14.5cm (5.7in). In hair dryer type, it’s a compact 22cm (8.7in) lengthy. It weighs nearly 700g (1.5lbs), together with the wire and plug.
The Airwrap comes with a 2.62m (103in) swivel wire. The FlexStyle additionally has a swivel-set wire, which is 2.44m (96in).
Which performs greatest?
For the head-to-head, we pitted all of the attachments that each units have in opposition to one another: the dryer attachments, the curling barrels (the 30mm model for Dyson), the straightening brushes (the comfortable smoothing model for Dyson) and the blow-drying brushes.
Most individuals spend money on a sizzling air styler like these for the curling attachments. Dyson’s field contains two dimension choices as commonplace, 30mm and 40mm. Nonetheless, Shark solely contains one dimension choice (clocking in at 31.75mm), which suggests much less versatility.
There are nonetheless two barrels, however it is because it is advisable swap them out to vary the airflow path. The older Airwrap mannequin is like this – so bear that in thoughts when you’re shopping for refurbished or sceondhand – however the model we examined has a brand new revolutionary construct that means that you can swap the airflow mid type. That’s a giant tick for Dyson.
Regardless of Shark’s instrument feeling hotter, the simpler airflow on the Dyson coaxed extra hair onto the barrel than the FlexStyle did. I used each instruments on excessive warmth and medium airflow, however I needed to whack up Shark’s system to full, as I used to be not getting as a lot hair wrapped round it as I’d have favored.
The left-hand facet of my head as you’re wanting on the picture beneath was styled utilizing the Airwrap, while the right-hand facet was finished utilizing the FlexStyle. This was on hair that had been dampened to 80% dry, with warmth safety spray and a few salt spray for maintain.
Hair styled by the Dyson Airwrap (left facet of the picture) Vs Shark FlexStyle (proper facet of the picture)
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The outcomes are largely comparable right here. Each give an honest degree of quantity and definition. Because of the barely greater dimension of the Shark barrel, the curls are ever so barely looser – however we’re fairly actually splitting hairs over how small the variations are.
For the stress take a look at, I went out and about on a sizzling night in London, and did a (comparatively sweaty) pilates class, for which I put my hair in a unfastened ponytail. Listed below are the outcomes in spite of everything these actions, round 5 hours after initially styling:
Publish exercise – Hair styled by the Dyson Airwrap (left facet of the picture) Vs Shark FlexStyle (proper facet of the picture)
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
As you possibly can see, my hair has dropped fairly a bit with each, as I’d anticipated. Nonetheless, there may be barely extra definition from the Dyson – though the smaller barrel could have helped with that.
On the subject of drying your hair, the FlexStyle has the benefit. The revolutionary folding function makes navigating round your bonce a lot simpler, and there may be merely no denying that this system feels hotter – and science dictates that extra warmth dries your hair sooner.
Science additionally tells us that extra warmth equals extra injury, so if the well being of your hair is a significant concern, the Airwrap is nearly definitely the kinder instrument. The Airwrap can nonetheless dry my hair comparatively shortly, simply not fairly as speedily as Shark’s instrument.
The straightening brushes produced very comparable outcomes, though they don’t replicate the identical degree of sleekness as a flat iron. Shark’s brush head took much less time to run by means of my hair attributable to its bigger dimension, although the inclusion of the prickly bristles implies that it isn’t fairly pretty much as good at gliding by means of knots as Dyson’s brush.
The blowout brushes are fairly completely different designs. Dyson’s is principally like a small barrel brush that you simply’d usually use for blowdrying, while Shark’s is way bigger and appears to take inspiration from the Revlon OneStep, with a mixture of completely different bristles.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Whereas each give a beautiful bouncy look to the hair, the general end will come all the way down to your choice. If you need extra management over your flicks and the choice so as to add a couple of unfastened blow-dried curls, then the Airwrap is the winner for its compact dimension. It’s additionally higher when you type your fringe/bangs this manner.
Nonetheless, when you’d want a sleeker blowout that takes much less time, the FlexStyle is the higher choice – though this brush does really feel barely harsher on the hair than the Airwrap.
Total, the Airwrap has the sting on the subject of longevity and efficiency, however solely simply. You’ll nonetheless get glorious outcomes from the FlexStyle.
Pricing and equipment
After studying our comparability rundown, you could already know which multi-styler to go for. However when you’re nonetheless undecided, their worth factors could sway you.
Airwrap
The Dyson Airwrap prices $599.99 within the US and we’ve discovered it in inventory at Dyson, Greatest Purchase and Kohl’s. The mannequin mostly out there is for lengthy hair, however you possibly can take the quiz at Dyson to customize your styling equipment.
Within the UK, the Airwrap will set you again £479.99 and it’s out there from Dyson, Very and Boots. However you possibly can take the hair diagnostic take a look at at Dyson to customize your equipment.
FlexStyle
The FlexStyle is offered within the US from $259.99 when you select your personal three equipment from Shark. For $299.99, you’ll get 4 equipment, and you’ll go for both the straight and wavy or the curly and coily set. You should buy the FlexStyle from different retailers however it tends to be costlier and you’ll’t at all times get your selection of equipment.
Within the UK, the FlexStyle begins from £269.99 for the 4 accent straight or curly units or the build your own mannequin, and goes as much as £299.99 for the 5 accent set with a case. You may see all of the choices on the Shark website. We’d advise shopping for from Shark to get extra selection – plus, there are common gross sales on that may get you cash off.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Which is best: the Dyson Airwrap or the Shark FlexStyle?
Taking all issues under consideration, the Dyson Airwrap has the sting.
Like different merchandise from the model, it comes with a premium construct high quality that’s sturdier and extra intuitive than the FlexStyle. The truth that it produces much less warmth means it needs to be much less damaging to your hair, with out sacrificing on the longevity of fashion. The 30mm and 40mm barrels additionally imply you’ll get versatility when creating curls.
That being mentioned, the Airwrap is nearly double the value of the FlexStyle, so it’s solely an choice when you’re ready to make an funding. You’ll nonetheless get spectacular outcomes from Shark’s sizzling air instrument – and it could even be a greater choice when you wish to protect your pure waves or curls due to the diffuser attachment.
Nonetheless can’t make up your thoughts? Take a look at our critiques of the Airwrap and the FlexStyle. Or, for suggestions for extra hair care know-how, take a look at our round-ups of one of the best hair dryers and greatest hair straighteners we’ve examined.
