What’s all the fuss about?
So earlier this month, Shark ran an offer for their Flex styler and I got one, having contemplated buying one forever.
It’s the - much - cheaper alternative to the Dyson Airwrap, and after reading approximately 3,000 Reddit reviews and watching a dizzying number of comparison videos, I decided to give it a punt.
And OH MY GOD.
I bought the ‘build your own’ option, where you pick the 4 extensions that suit you best from a dizzying array of options
These are:
Round Brush 43mm
Concentrator nozzle
Curlers
Narrow Curlers
Diffuser
FrizzFighter Finishing Tool
Oval Brush
Paddle Brush
Wide Tooth Comb
A hairdryer is included as an integral part of the bundle; the 4 add-ons are additional to this.
I got the paddle brush (to give me flat, straight hair), the oval brush (for volume), the curlers (for… I mean, I can only do so much for you) and the concentrator nozzle (for targeted blowdrying of wet hair).
I have a lot of fine hair. A LOT. SO MUCH. Anyone with whom I’ve been intimately involved has, at some point, spluttered through a faceful and muttered “How can anyone have this much hair?” Hairdressers take fistfuls of it and say “This is a lot of hair.”
Blowdrying it completely dry1 with a Parlux takes about 20-25 minutes, then I’d typically go over it for another 10 mins with straighteners. I have mostly straight hair, with a wavy section at the back that drives me up the wall. That back section typically needs re-doing daily with straighteners.
With the Flex Styler, the whole thing done to a much higher standard in 15-20 minutes and it lasts for DAYS. Days. I keep stroking the back of my head to check for bumpy bits, but there are none. Usually this only happens when I get a professional blow-dry.
I do the roots with the concentrator nozzle, then section off the front and do the back with the paddle brush, then the top section with the oval brush. If I’m feeling sprauncy, I do the curlers over the top section too.
It’s also around 20ºC cooler than my current hairdryer/straightener combo
It feels like a tiny miracle. And def worth every penny.
What’s the offer?
Shark have repeated the discount for the BH weekend, so it’s £209.99. BUT, you can sign up for their newsletter2 and get a 15% off code which you can use on sale items. That makes it £178.50. I won’t pretend that’s a small amount of money, but the price per use is minuscule.
US People - it’s also on offer over there, but you only get to pick 3 attachments3.
There are also offers on other configurations of the Flex Styler that may suit you better. It really depends on your hair type and ambitions.
But what about the Airwrap?
Ok, so the latest version Dyson is £580. That is an extraordinary amount of money. I have owned cars that cost less than that4.
The main benefits5 of the Airwrap are:
It’s slightly lighter and slightly less noisy (emphasis on slightly, in both instances)
The buttons are more ergonomic and more sensitively placed
On the Shark Flex Styler, you have to swap the curlers out for each side of your head (they only rotate in one direction). The Airwrap has a dual-rotation function, which means you don’t have to do this. The internet is divided between this being trivial (the swap on the Shark takes seconds) and it being of vital importance. It wasn’t material to me.
There is a chasm of dissent between people swearing that one gives better/longer-lasting results than the other. Again, from having watched more videos than I probably care to admit to, the differences seemed to be negligible and driven mainly by hair type/skill/hair products than the devices themselves.
Am I being incentivised in any way to tell you about this?
No. I wish. 😂
I was going to write about this as part of a wider article about things I’ve recently been influenced to buy, and when I saw the offer was being repeated, I decided to bang this out to give you the chance to buy one.
Do I have before and after photos?
No, this is a miss on my part6. But if you know me and have seen me recently, you’ve already told me my hair looks great.
You still have questions
All good. Ask away. That’s what the comments are for.
Until the next time! x
From towel-dried
Obviously unsubscribe afterwards, if you’d rather not get endless air fryer promos. Although an air fryer is the only way to make a sliced chicken breast delicious. Don’t @ me.
Admittedly not this decade :)
From the many, many reviews referenced above. I have never owned/used a Dyson Airwrap.
I feel like an absolute wanker making that kind of content. Probably to my detriment.
But, EASTER EGG FOR THE FOOTNOTE FAITHFUL: here it is at time of writing. It’s 5 days old, needs a wash, hasn’t been brushed today (I know, this is quite the picture I’m painting of my current state of grooming 😂) and was taken under unflattering lighting in the British Library. And it still looks pretty great.
And yes, I have to wear reading glasses basically all the time now. My eyes, annoyingly, can’t get Botoxed.