Shark HyperAir vs Dyson Supersonic: Which hair dryer is better?

Table Of Content

• Size and Design
• Light, nimble, and powerful
• Shark Flexstyle vs. Dyson Airwrap: Curlers
• Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer
• Shark FlexStyle Vs. Dyson Airwrap: How Are They Similar?
• Shark FlexStyle vs. Dyson Airwrap Complete: Which Hair Tool Is Better for Travelers?
• The FlexStyle is also a traditional hair dryer
• Shark FlexStyle System

However, we feel this call is completely based on personal preference and could easily see someone preferring the Shark’s shape and design. Carrie-Ann Skinner was formerly Homes Editor at TechRadar, and has more than two decades of experience in both online and print journalism, with 13 years of that spent covering all-things tech. Carrie specializes in smart home devices such as smart plugs and smart lights, as well as large and small appliances including vacuum cleaners, air fryers, stand mixers, and coffee machines. We've reviewed both the Shark HyperAir / Style IQ and Dyson Supersonic in our own homes, to blow dry our wet locks. Both the Airwrap and the FlexStyle use Coanda airflow technology, which factors into patents that Dyson owns related to the Airwrap (PDF)—intellectual property that Shark parent company SharkNinja says it has not infringed. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

Shark FlexStyle Review 2024: Is 'Dyson Airwrap Dupe' Worth It? - Cosmopolitan

Shark FlexStyle Review 2024: Is 'Dyson Airwrap Dupe' Worth It?.

Posted: Mon, 29 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Size and Design

Both the Shark and Dyson tools set themselves apart from the pack with their high-tech use of air-manipulating technology and multiple attachments. They each use the Coanda effect, which takes a spinning vortex of air to wrap hair around the curvature of the barrel, curling and giving it volume and shape. Both tools are streamlined and durable, and switching from one attachment to the next was as easy as it gets. Like all hair dryer brushes I tested, both feature a cool shot, which works well for locking in the style. Both the Airwrap and FlexStyle dried my sopping-wet hair in 15 to 20 minutes, giving me a fresh-from-the-salon blowout I could otherwise get only from a professional.

Light, nimble, and powerful

As someone with relatively long hair, my hand is often this close to cramping from holding such a weighty hair dryer. And if your hair is thicker or even longer, and requires a slightly longer dry time, this could potentially be a deal breaker. And though the motor might be powerful, it’s quiet, clocking in at 79 decibels, according to my Decibel X app (to test, I hovered the phone about ten inches from the hair dryer). That’s about as loud as the pleasant sloshing sounds of a washing machine. Other models can clock in as loud as 90 decibels, according to Hearing Science. For reference, this is about the same amount of noise generated by a leaf blower.

Shark Flexstyle vs. Dyson Airwrap: Curlers

We also like that it was one of the quietest vacuums (73 decibels) we tested and has some fun, high-tech features, including a sensor that automatically adjusts suction and a laser headlight that illuminates dust in dim corners. While I wouldn’t consider the Dyson Supersonic to be heavy (it weighs 1.8 lbs), it can get a little uncomfortable if you’re styling for a while. I wouldn’t call that a con, but it in my book it is something worth noting. Just choose your desired settings, snap your attachments into place, and go.

At 1.3 pounds, it’s noticeably heavier to hold than the W8less, especially after several minutes of drying. We took basic stats on our dryers, using a weather meter to test the speed and heat and a postage scale to weigh them. If you can’t or don’t want to leave the house with wet hair, you need a hair dryer. In the battle between the Shark FlexStyle and Dyson Airwrap there sadly isn’t a stand out winner.

Setting it apart from the competition, Dyson’s impressive array of varying brushes cater for all hair types. Plus, the use of air rather than direct heat – dubbed the “coanda effect” – styles with minimal damage. This works by attracting hair to the surface of your chosen attachment, with the tool projecting air along each sectioned strand to smooth, before you set your style with a burst of cold air. This applies to both curling with the barrels and straightening with the smoothing hair brushes.

Shark FlexStyle vs. Dyson Airwrap Complete: Which Hair Tool Is Better for Travelers?

We look out for things such as frizz and shine, and the overall finished effect that both the hair dryers have left our manes in after blowdry. The cable length, handy features such as hanging loops and cool shot buttons are also design elements that we look out for. The FlexStyle uses an air jet design (in three heat and three speed settings) that claims to be less damaging to hair than traditional styling methods. One analysis by our Beauty Lab product testing pros revealed that the Shark reached 183ºF on average, compared to curling irons and hair straighteners that can reach temperatures of 350ºF and over. The first includes the dryer with the two Auto-Wrap curlers, the oval brush, the styling concentrator and diffuser.

While both performed well, the Dyson attachment ever so slightly pipped Shark’s in that it created a sleeker and softer look. Unlike the style iQ, the supersonic doesn’t recognise the attachment you’re using. This is a slight bugbear as you have to play around with the heat and airflow settings to assess which one works best for your hair. Both attachments are magnetic – the concentrator attached without any problems, but we did find the diffuser a little more temperamental. For best results when testing both hair tools, we towel-dried our hair and loosely blowdried before starting. Much like the Dyson, the heat and airflow buttons are situated on the barrel, while the power switch is on the handle – this means you’re unlikely to accidentally switch buttons mid-way through a blow-dry.

Shark FlexStyle System

Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). When looking at both of these multi-stylers purely based on price alone, the Shark Flexstyle is clearly the more affordable option. It sells for about $299, which is nearly half the price of the newest version of the Dyson Airwrap, which retails for close to $600. At 9 feet long, it’s an average length, but the cable feels slightly thicker than others and more difficult to maneuver. For this reason, I keep a portion of it wrapped in a figure eight loop to lessen any drag and make the styling process easier to maneuver.

It essentially works by taking in air from all sides, then forcing it through the center of the ring for a powerful blast of air. This design feature prevents hair from getting tangled in the air inlet grille, a whole fiasco which used to happen to me regularly with more traditional, vented hair dryers. The Dyson Supersonic is a powerhouse hair dryer that dries your hair quickly and well. It’s designed for five different hair types and—like all of Dyson’s hair tools—promises a healthier hair styling experience by forgoing the use of extreme heat. The retro-looking Conair Pro Yellow Bird Hair Dryer is one of the hottest dryers we’ve tested (reaching over 245 °F).

Cosmetic chemist Ginger King previously told Allure readers to look for heat-protecting products whose formulas feature ingredients like meadowfoam seed oil and VP/DMAPA acrylates copolymer. Familiar additives like aloe and argan oil help, too, sealing the hair cuticle for extra defense. We also tried the Hot Tools One-Step Detachable Straight Dry Paddle Dryer and the Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Styler, both of which were clunkier, heavier, and slower to dry hair than the Conair. Their designs also made it difficult for us to directly reach hair roots compared with the other paddle-style hair dryer brushes we tested.

Although this dryer is just as fast as pricier models, it’s the heaviest of our traditional hair dryer picks, and its attachments can be hard to remove. The whole process is time-consuming and overly complex – it took us more than 20 minutes to style hair on the first time using the Auto-Wrap curlers, and a little over 12 minutes with the Dyson. There’s a lot of turning the dryer on and off, multiple wrapping attempts, waiting, holding curls and separating sections. The fact the curls then don’t hold for long, in our experience, after all that effort is disappointing. In the case of the Airwrap barrels, swirling airflow is blown out of slits across the attachment and causes the Coanda effect to attract and make strands of hair “cling” to its surface. This hair is then wrapped around the curler and remains in place until the dryer is switched off.

However, if you don’t mind paying more, the Dyson is certainly a status symbol on your bathroom counter. For about half the price, the FlexStyle is a solid purchase, and in the end I found myself reaching for it whenever I wanted to style my bangs or shorter face-framing pieces. To prevent hair damage, the Dyson Supersonic uses intelligent heat control that measures the airflow temperature over 40 times per second.