I Tried the Viral Shark FlexStyle on My Fine, Short Hair, Here’s How It Went Down
Jas is the former Senior Content Specialist at Adore Beauty. A beauty admirer turned certified addict, she brings a sharp editorial eye and pop-culture pulse to everything she creates. Her words have appeared in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, and Broadsheet. When she’s not producing viral content or podcasting about skincare, you’ll find her thrifting for vintage treasures or binging Bravo (strictly for research, of course).
If there’s one thing to know about me it’s that I love a bargain.
Point programs, Aldi Special Buys, the dollar produce bags at the market… I’ll always sniff out a discount.
It’s a talent and a skill that I take pride in. And credit wholeheartedly to my mum, accountant by day, penny-pincher by night. Or sale, whichever comes first.
So when I heard that Shark – the affordable appliances brand behind the viral FlexStyle – was launching at Adore, the tight-arse in me perked right up.
Six attachments, wet-to-dry styling, and a clever, compact design for under $500? I’m listening…
I’d had my eye on a certain cult multi-styler for some time now, but its bougie price tag sadly didn’t make the budget cut.
There are some things I can justify spending my savings on, but an $850 hair tool in cozzie livs is just not one of them. She’s got a wedding to pay for, people!
Anyway, enough yapping about me. Allow me to introduce you to Shark.
What Is Shark Beauty?
To those uninitiated, Shark is a relatively new player in the beauty industry, having expanded from their well-known vacuum cleaner business a few years ago.
It’s Shark’s mission to “Democratize premium hair tools For All Hairkind™,” leveraging their expertise in airflow technology to make salon-quality hair tools accessible to customers at home.
Until recently, Shark Beauty was only available in the US (where it's from) and the UK, but that didn’t stop the rest of the world (aka us) from drooling over their cult hair products.
Particularly the Shark FlexStyle, which has 105.1 million videos on TikTok and counting.
What’s all the hype behind the Shark FlexStyle? Let’s find out.
- Retails at $499.99.
- Includes a comprehensive 2-year warranty.
- Super lightweight, weighing just 700 grams.
- Designed for all hair types: straight, wavy, curly, and coily.
- Transforms from a powerful hair dryer into a versatile multi-styler with a simple twist.
- Measures and regulates temperatures 1,000 times per second to prevent heat damage.
- Customisable with four temperature settings and three airflow settings, plus a cool shot button to lock in styles.
- Includes six attachments: Auto-Wrap Curlers, Oval Brush, Paddle Brush, Styling Concentrator, and Curl-Defining Shark Diffuser for diverse styling needs.
FlexStyle aside, there’s also the Shark SpeedStyle, a high-speed hairdryer with different finishing attachments, and the Shark SmoothStyle, a heated comb and blow-dry brush.
For now, let’s take a closer look at the Shark FlexStyle Air Styling & Drying System Hair Styler Silver
Below, you’ll find my honest thoughts on the snazzy new hair styler and if it’s worth the hype.
My Shark FlexStyle Review.
Before we dive into my review, a quick vibe check.
My hair is growing faster than my hair styling skills. We’re out of the safe zone (read: bob) and in the wild, frantically trying to learn new looks so not all hairstyles end up as a slicked bun.
Needless to say, I’ve got my ‘L’ plates on when it comes to hot tools.
Now when I tell you the Shark FlexStyle took my hair from wet to bouncy, touselled curls in just 20 minutes, you can go ahead and knock off at least five minutes and know this tool is *it*!
It did take a little practice to perfect the process. I found it best to use smaller sections of hair at a time, preferably at a consistent length. But once I mastered this, it was rinse and repeat.
You'll see what I mean in this video...
The tool is easy enough to put together, with a simple twist mechanism that instantly switches it from a hair dryer to a versatile styling system.
It’s also super lightweight, a feature my lanky limbs and I are particularly fond of.
The FlexStyle includes four heat and three airflow settings that are easily adjusted to your preference, with a cool shot button to help lock in styles.
In saying that, I still found my fine hair struggled to hold shape, but I think that has more to do with the finishing products I use rather than the FlexStyle itself (note to self: investigate this in a future Beauty IQ…).
As for the other attachments, the Oval Brush was great for adding volume from the root.
Despite its design being a tad big for my thin hair, it made it super fast to get a bouncy blowout as I could basically fit half my head on the brush at a time.
It would no doubt work even better on thicker hair.
The Styling Concentrator was also good for smoothing straight styles for a frizz-free finish, particularly taming flyaways at the root.
I didn’t really use the Paddle Brush as my hair is already quite naturally straight, and I also skipped the Curl-Defining Diffuser.
If you want to see the former in action, you can watch five AB staffers try the tool below.
Suffice it to say, the Shark FlexStyle is going straight into my buy-now basket.
Or birthday wishlist, if any of my friends or family are reading this (hint, hint).
Final Verdict.
The Shark FlexStyle definitely delivered on the hype front, making it a worthy hair-vestment for anyone with fine to semi-thick hair looking for a more affordable tool for their tresses.
The time it saved my morning routine is enough alone to convince me of its cart-worthiness.
And you know what they say, time is the most precious resource there is.
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