Dyson Airwrap vs Shark Flexstyle Hair Styler Review 2023

This article is part of our series battle of brandswhere we compare category-leading products to similar products to determine which ones are really worth the money.

Multi-styler technology has truly changed the game for at-home hairdressing, just as two vacuum cleaner brands are leading the way in innovative hair tools. The Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler Complete and Shark Flexstyle air drying and styling systems allow users to bring home salon-quality results with a range of styling accessories and features. Both tools combine drying and styling technology to simplify your routine, so you can dry, style and style your hair with one device.

On the surface, Airwrap and Flexstyle are more alike than different — but let’s see how they compare.

Airwrap and Flexstyle are multi-style tools that provide similar functionality. Thanks to temperature measurement technology, both position themselves as healthier alternatives to hot tools than traditional blow dryers, curling irons or smoothing systems. According to Dyson, the Airwrap measures the temperature of the airflow more than 40 times per second, ensuring that the device stays below 302 degrees Fahrenheit. The Flexstyle also constantly measures airflow temperature (Shark says 1,000 times per second) and has a no-heat setting, so you can use the unit to speed up your air-drying time.

In terms of look and feel, both are sleek and sophisticated. They take up about the same amount of space; however, the Airwrap comes with a convenient storage box to organize accessories and equipment with each use. Before we get into the accessories comparison, let’s take a look at the specs of each of these devices.

I tested the tools side by side by using the Shark Flexstyle on the left side of the head and the Dyson Airwrap on the right side of the head. Since my hair is naturally straight, thick, and long, I usually take a lazy approach to hairstyling and choose to air dry most of the time because it takes time and effort to fully style my hair. I found both tools to be easy to use and durable, and switching from one attachment to the other was a breeze, feeling like a smooth process rather than a complicated program with a series of discrete steps.

Both the Airwap and the Flexstyle have a hair dryer feature that allows you to reduce the number of hairdressing appliances in your everyday life. (These two brands also happen to make technology-driven hair dryers, the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer and the Shark HyperAir hair dryer.) The Airwrap comes with a Coanda smoothing hair dryer attachment, while the Flexstyle’s hair dryer is built into the body of the device, which is then outfitted with your choice based on your hair type. hair dryer attachment (straight and wavy hair sets come with a concentrator, while curly and curly hair sets come with a concentrator and diffuser, but no smoothing brush). Both recommend starting with towel-dried hair and blow-drying the hair roughly to 80 percent before finishing off with another styling accessory. Each device dried my hair to 80 percent in about 5 minutes, using the maximum heat and speed settings.

Of the two, the Flexstyle’s drying feature impressed me the most. To activate the blower, the top of the device rotates and locks into place at an angle. This gives you more control over your styling and almost feels like you’re holding a standard hair dryer.

Since I have straight hair, I usually use a concentrator attachment on my regular blow dryer to keep it smooth. Mounting the concentrator accessory on the Flexstyle gives it the same functionality and control.

Airwrap’s Coanda dryer attachment, on the other hand, isn’t quite as intuitive. It has two modes, dry and smooth, the latter utilizing cling technology. The dry mode features focused airflow, but it doesn’t offer as much control as I’m used to with regular hair dryers. According to Dyson, the smoothing mode works on hair that’s already dry, is best for naturally straight or wavy hair, and helps tame flyaways. However, with the Airwrap’s other smoothing attachments, I don’t see the need to use it on already-dried hair, instead try using the smoothing mode to finish blow-drying hair. While my hair looked straight and smooth, I didn’t notice any major difference compared to my hair after using a standard blow dryer.

The Flexstyle has a paddle brush attachment with short and long bristles, while the Airwrap has two, a soft smoothing brush and a hard smoothing brush. I use these on 80% dry hair for my usual straight styling after using the blow dryer attachment.

On the Dyson’s smoothing attachment, the airflow is more focused and uses Coanda technology to attack the hair, however, the Flexstyle’s dual-length bristles gripped my hair the best of all the smoothing attachments. Overall, there aren’t any major differences in the end result of these devices — both offer a straightforward, sleek look.

To amp up your look, Flexstyle offers a large tubular oval brush, while Airwap has a round volumizing brush. The Flexstyle’s volumizing attachment is more akin to the fan-favorite Revlon One-Step Volumizer, while the Airwap’s barrel is closer to a traditional round brush.

Again, I tested these on 80% dry hair. I find that the Dyson barrels give more defined volume and make my hair look fuller and bouncier. Shark’s barrel added some volume and a bit of bend to the ends of my hair, but without any ultra-defined style. Since I have thick hair, I thought the Flexstyle would have a more pronounced effect on finer hair.

For me, the Dyson definitely wins this round. The round brush is easy to use and creates the perfect smudge effect with minimal effort – I really love the results every time. In the past, I’ve tried manipulating the round brush with a traditional hair dryer, but it’s always been a struggle. My hair would get caught in the brush and I would eventually give up and just have straight hair. Airwrap’s round dry brush combines these two steps, and my hair is easy to detangle. I never thought I could give myself a blowout in 15 minutes, but here we are!

Coanda effect curlers make these hair tools magic. Both the Shark and the Dyson use this technology, which automatically wraps the hair around the barrel of the curling iron as the airflow dries and sets the hair. Unlike the wand curlers of my youth (the ones with gloves protect your hands when you put your hair on the 400 degree tool), don’t worry about burning any fingers with them. The Flexstyle has two 1.25-inch curling irons that curl in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Previous Airwrap models also had separate rollers to switch the direction of the curls, but the current version is able to switch the direction the hair is wrapped in a single roller (the knob on the top can be turned to select the direction of the curl). The Airwrap now comes with two barrel sizes, 1.2″ and 1.6″, both with swivel tips. Dyson also offers curling irons in two lengths, including one designed for longer hair. For this story, I tested the Airwrap’s 1.2-inch barrel versus the Flexstyle’s curling iron, since they’re the closest in size.

Like other accessories, the Flexstyle and Airwrap essentially provide the same functionality as a curling iron. However, I found that the Dyson handled my thick hair better than the Shark. I was able to style my hair using the Airwrap on medium speed, high heat, in 1-inch sections, and it created loose, loose curls. For the Flexstyle, I started with the same settings—medium speed, high heat, 1-inch sections—but had to switch it to high speed because it struggled to wrap around my hair. Even then, the curl isn’t as crisp as the Airwrap.

At the end of the day, the sides with the Airwrap design have relaxed into waves, while the sides with the Flexstyle design appear almost straight.

While the Flexstyle blows better than the Airwrap, Dyson’s device outperforms it overall. It’s really impressive that Airwrap can create a near-pro-level look in less than 20 minutes.

Considering the hair type, I can see the Flexstyle being suitable for finer, lighter hair. Since I have thick hair—and a lot of it—it usually takes more time and effort to style it.

Of course, budget is also important. Since Airwap is twice as expensive as Flexstyle, I would still recommend Shark’s option to those looking for a more affordable multi-style tool.