Since its 2018 launch, the Dyson Airwrap has been the go-to sizzling air multi-styler – when you can afford it. However final 12 months, Shark launched a extra budget-friendly different, the FlexStyle.
The FlexStyle comes with an analogous variety of equipment – together with the easy-to-use hot-air curlers, which Shark phrases auto-wrap curlers and Dyson, after all, calls its airwrap know-how.
Each stylers may give you an analogous vary of hair styling choices, so must you save your cash and go for the FlexStyle, or put money into the Airwrap?
We examined each side-by-side to see how they examine. You’ll be able to learn our critiques of the Airwrap and the FlexStyle for extra detailed ideas on every one however for a comparability between the 2, learn on.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
What’s within the field?
The very first thing to ascertain is, whenever you purchase one among these multi-stylers, what do you truly get? Your hair kind might play a task in selecting between these two merchandise.
Airwrap equipment
The Airwrap could be customised so that you get a set of equipment that can work along with your hair kind. In case you head to the Dyson web site, you possibly can reply questions in your hair – its kind, size, thickness and talent to retain a method – and Dyson will recommend a set of hair instruments.
That is notably necessary in case you have curly or coily hair, by which case among the commonplace instruments might not work properly for you.
Take the quiz at Dyson US or Dyson UK.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The usual-issue package, nevertheless, contains:
- Corded deal with
- 30mm Airwrap barrel
- 40mm Airwrap barrel
- Agency smoothing brush
- Tender smoothing brush
- Spherical volumising brush
- Coanda smoothing dryer
- Filter cleansing brush
- Storage case
The Airwrap additionally is available in plenty of color choices, together with the acquainted nickel and fuchsia, in addition to black and purple, vinca blue and rosé, and copper and nickel however you will have to buy round – and even wait round – to get the colourway you need.
FlexStyle equipment
The FlexStyle choices are slightly completely different and embrace methods to customize your package, but it surely 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 regular 4 equipment every. Or, for $20 much less, you possibly can select the three styling equipment that greatest fit your hair kind. 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 package or a extra specialised (and £20 cheaper) 4 accent package for both straight and wavy or curly and coily hair. You’ll be able to see all of the choices on the Shark web site.
The opposite choice is to customize your personal package. You’ll get to decide on 4 equipment and it additionally prices £20 lower than the 5 accent package. Nonetheless, there are not any brief and lengthy barrel choices for various hair lengths like there are for the Airwrap.
In case you go for the usual 5-in-1 package, these are the equipment you’ll get:
- Styling deal with/ hairdryer
- Two 1.25in auto-wrap curlers (every rotates in numerous instructions, for both aspect 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 non-compulsory 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/ £49.99.
Greatest options
One of many key causes to purchase both styler is the recent air curling tech. The rollers are far simpler to make use of than a standard curling iron, as they use airflow to attract a strand of hair across the roller – they usually gained’t burn both your fingers or your hair.
The button placement on the Dyson is extra intuitive, with the chilly shot positioned on the facility button, slightly than as a separate factor that it’s essential to hunt for as on the FlexStyle. It additionally doesn’t assist that the buttons are proper on the backside, as this isn’t the place you’d sometimes maintain the comb.
The FlexStyle can also 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 an extended 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
By way of 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 accessible 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 could be straightforward to muddle up), you possibly can change the course 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 suitable 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 sophisticated to measure due to its twist design. Prolonged, it’s virtually 44cm (17.3in) with a diameter of 14.5cm (5.7in). In hair dryer kind, it’s a compact 22cm (8.7in) lengthy. It weighs virtually 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).
Efficiency
For the head-to-head, we pitted all of the attachments that each gadgets have towards one another: the dryer attachments, the curling barrels (the 30mm model for Dyson), the straightening brushes (the smooth smoothing model for Dyson) and the blow-drying brushes.
Most individuals put money into a sizzling air styler like these for the curling attachments. Dyson’s field contains two measurement choices as commonplace, 30mm and 40mm. Nonetheless, Shark solely contains one measurement choice (clocking in at 31.75mm), which implies much less versatility.
There are nonetheless two barrels, however it is because it’s essential to change them out to alter the airflow course. Dyson’s outdated Airwrap was like this, however the model we examined has a brand new modern construct that lets you change the airflow mid model – a giant tick for Dyson right here.
Regardless of Shark’s instrument feeling hotter, the Coanda impact on the Dyson coaxed extra hair onto the barrel than the FlexStyle did. I used each instruments on excessive warmth and medium airflow, however often 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 aspect of my head as you’re wanting on the picture beneath was styled utilizing the Airwrap, while the right-hand aspect was completed 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 aspect of the photograph) Vs Shark FlexStyle (proper aspect of the photograph)
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The outcomes are largely comparable right here. Each give a good stage of quantity and definition. As a result of barely greater measurement 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 here are the outcomes in spite of everything these actions, round 5 hours after initially styling:
Put up exercise – Hair styled by the Dyson Airwrap (left aspect of the photograph) Vs Shark FlexStyle (proper aspect of the photograph)
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 might have helped with that.
In terms of drying your hair, the FlexStyle has the benefit. The modern 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 quicker.
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 sort of definitely the kinder instrument. The Airwrap can nonetheless dry my hair comparatively rapidly, simply not fairly as speedily as Shark’s instrument.
The straightening brushes produced very comparable outcomes, though they don’t replicate the identical stage of sleekness as a flat iron. Shark’s brush head took much less time to run by my hair resulting from its bigger measurement, although the inclusion of the prickly bristles implies that it isn’t fairly pretty much as good at gliding by 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 sometimes use for blowdrying, while Shark’s is far bigger and appears to take inspiration from the Revlon OneStep, with a mixture of completely different bristles.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Whereas each give a stunning bouncy look to the hair, the general end will come all the way down to your desire. If you would like 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 measurement. It’s additionally higher when you model your fringe/bangs this fashion.
Nonetheless, when you’d choose 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.
General, 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 fashions
After studying our comparability rundown, chances are you’ll already know which multi-styler to go for. However when you’re nonetheless undecided, their worth factors might 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 accessible is for lengthy hair, however you possibly can take the quiz at Dyson to customize your styling package.
Within the UK, the Airwrap will set you again £479.99 and it’s accessible 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 out there within the US from $279.99 when you select your personal three equipment from Shark. For $299.99, you’ll get 4 equipment, and you may go for both the straight and wavy or the curly and coily set. You should purchase the FlexStyle from different retailers but it surely tends to be costlier and you may’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 construct your personal mannequin, and goes as much as £299.99 for the 5 accent set with a case. You’ll be able to see all of the choices on the Shark web site. We’d advise shopping for from Shark to get extra selection – and, on the time of writing, there’s a sale on that can internet you £28-£30 off, relying on the mannequin you select.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Verdict – which is best, the Dyson Airwrap, or the Shark FlexStyle?
Taking all issues into 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 must be much less damaging to your hair, with out sacrificing on the longevity of favor. The 30mm and 40mm barrels additionally imply you’ll get versatility when creating curls.
That being stated, the Airwrap is sort of double the worth 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 might even be a greater choice when you prefer to protect your pure waves or curls because of the diffuser attachment.
Nonetheless can’t make up your thoughts? Try 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 the perfect hair dryers and greatest hair straighteners we’ve examined.