Content created in partnership with Shark
My hair has multiple personality disorder. I switch between wanting smooth, swishy rich housewife hair to wanting to throw out all my heat tools and go full curly girl method. My hairdresser tells me the two are not conducive: heat damaged curls do not behave well, they need to be in top condition to live their best, defined life.
When I first saw an ad for the Shark FlexStyle, it looked like the magician's hat of hair tools - a diffuser, curlers that automatically wrap, a hair dryer that shape-shifts and multiple brushes all came out of one chic black case. Shark’s ‘Air Styling and Drying System’ also promises no heat damage. Could this be my holy grail?
Curl-defining diffuser:
I started with clean, towel-dried hair with a small squirt of mousse raked through. After letting it air dry for about 20 minutes, I rotated the Shark FlexStyle nozzle to hair dryer mode (an easy twist) and attached the diffuser head. It felt illegally lightweight to hold. Every setting is adjustable, so I started on low heat and medium air flow, working around my head bunching curls from the ends in the bowl of the diffuser. Once they felt dry, I flicked the lever on the diffuser to extend the prongs (Shark recommends doing this for more volume) and lifted my hair up at the roots to finish drying. Lastly, I switched the Cool Shot button to help seal in the style and add shine.
I was so impressed how defined my ringlets were - way more bouncy than when I air-dry, which takes hours rather than 20 minutes. My hair had mega volume, and although some frizz remained it was in a Carrie Bradshaw / Natasha Lyonne / Penny Lane in Almost Famous kinda way. All I need now is a rockstar suede coat…
Auto-wrap curlers:
I used the curlers two ways. First was the day after I diffused my hair, and I wanted to touch up my ringlets that had gone a bit straight at the ends. Using the low heat setting, I took pieces from the mid-lengths to the curling barrel pointed away from my face. The powerful airflow created a natural-looking curl in a few seconds, which blended nicely into my own.
The other way was after I had dried my hair straight using the Paddle Brush attachment. It was super smooth and silky - a little too polished - so I wanted to add a soft wave for a more beachy look. Because the barrels are extra long, it means I have enough space to style a relaxed wave rather than a ringlet. I took pieces of my (pre-straightened) hair and wrapped them around the barrel just from the mid-lengths to keep the curl loose. I used a medium heat setting followed by a Cool Shot blast which locked in the wave in a few seconds. I loved this style - it’s giving off-duty Olivia Rodrigo.
Oval brush: The volume blowout
Sometimes all I want is a basic glam blow-wave with tons of volume. I actually find this style more long-lasting and low-maintenance than styling my curls. After washing and detangling my hair, I rough-dried it using the hair dryer mode then sectioned it, attached the oval brush to the nozzle and got to work.
To build volume, I placed the round brush under my hair close to the roots and rolled the brush up and outwards, tucking it slightly under at the ends. Holding the cool-touch tip at the end as I rotated the brush made this easy. The bristles do a really good job at gripping my hair and keeping it taut - just like a hairdresser would. It took 20 minutes to completely finish my hair - the best part was that I used the medium setting, so my hair felt a lot healthier from absorbing less heat.
The verdict:
As someone with very basic hair skills, the Shark FlexStyle made me feel like an expert. The fact that I can embrace my natural curls, do professional blowouts and beachy waves all without heat damage is good news for my changing mood. Even with all its bells and whistles, I found the tool quick to grasp and easy to use. All you really need to do is section your hair, and it handles the rest. While it’s still an investment at $599, I think it’s definitely worth it if you like changing up your style, whatever your hair type. Plus, the Shark FlexStyle is about half the price of similar air stylers on the market, meaning I can maybe afford to get the suede coat after all…
The Shark FlexStyle Air Styling & Drying System (HD440S) is available now in New Zealand from leading retailers including Noel Leeming, Farmers, Harvey Norman, Sephora and sharkclean.co.nz at a RRP of $599.00.
