I (the editor) have never been good at styling my own hair. I was either too scared of the hot curling iron burning my neck, or I'd somehow end up not getting defined curls that'll last. While hair straighteners just require me to align my hair, get clipped by the straightener iron, and pull them through (slowly), my arms do not have the strength and endurance to curl my whole head of hair with a traditional iron.
Thankfully, certain vacuum cleaner brands came up with the brilliant idea to use their own "wind" technology, engineer it into styling tools to "gather" hair, be heated with some strong yet gentle wind action, and style them accordingly (be it straight or curly).
In this article, we'll be sharing our take on the Shark Beauty's FlexStyle, which is a hair dryer cum styler that comes with a minimum of 3 styling attachments, and can do curls, blowouts, straighten frizzy hair etc.
Editor
Jodee Tan chevron_right
Table of Contents
Why Get This?
- Beginner friendly (to use and to avoid getting burns)
- Quite lightweight compared to competitors
- Intuitive controls that are easy to use
- Fair, acceptable price for a multistyler
- Blows-dry wet hair fast (5 minutes with paddle brush on 60% wet hair)
- Gentle on the hair (constantly regulates temperature)
In the one week that we've got to experiment with the Shark FlexStyle, we're convinced of its good value and use especially for beginners (like the editor herself). Our concern was that hot air (used to style the hair in order to minimize hot metal elements harming the hair) would damage especially fine Asian hair.
We're happy to say that in our case, after trying it out on freshly washed hair, about 8 hours old washed hair and 1 day old washed hair, we felt that the heat on this hair styler did little to no visible damage, and did not worsen hair texture (read: add a lot of frizz).
While our review unit did not come with a manual, we could easily find tutorials on how to use the tools. For those who have not tried an easy-wrap hair curler before; there will be a slight learning curve to it (tip: hold a strand of hair half way to easily let the ends get captured and be secured by the curler). Once you get pass that, everything is fun and a breeze to use.
Even if we were struggling to figure out the best direction to hold it while styling our hair, the weight of the product did not feel tiring to hold throughout our tests. Might we add that styling is also fast. For us to curl a strand of hair, it takes just 20 - 30 seconds top (on dry hair).
Something to think about if you're new to easy-wrap "wind" hairstylers; with how long lasting the style will hold, for curls in particular, it will vary based on hair type.
For longer lasting styles, we definitely recommend using a hair mousse to set towel-dried hair, blow dry hair until 80% dry (especially the scalp), then proceed with styling. Finish off with a hairspray when done!
[This product was tested on fine, long hair in the following state: wavy, straight, wet and dry.]
About The Shark FlexStyle
The Shark FlexStyle is designed to help transform your hairstyle (of any type, be it fine or thick) easily without damaging your mane. One can choose to style their hair to look straight, curly, frizz-less, volumised or simply wavy and natural, based on the head attachment you choose.
It also works as a powerful and fast yet gentle, no-heat-damage hair dryer to set your hair strands. This is all thanks to the cusomisability you can set from the 3 heat and wind levels. There's also a cool-shot button for you to style the hair safely so that your hairstyles can last longer.
For ease of handling, the dryer body allows you to twist/flex it (either to straight or an angled 90 degree bend) so you can style your hair much faster and in a more comfortable position.
With our FlexStyle hairdryer review unit, it contained 5 types of attachments. The set is priced at about RM1,799 and can be purchased at selected Malaysian Sephora outlets (see below) as well as Sephora.my.
Available for purchase at:
- Farenheit88
- The Exchange TRX
- KLCC
- Mid Valley MegaMall
- One Utama
- Sunway Pyramid
- IOI Putrajaya
- Gurney Paragon
- SouthKey Johor Bahru
- AEON Tebrau
- Imago, Suria Sabah
What's in our set:
- x1 Paddle brush (for smooth, detangled and healthy-looking hair)
- x1 Round Brush (for volumisation or a blow out effect)
- x2 Easy-wrap curlers (one for the left and one for the right)
- x1 Styling concentrator (for precised blowdrying and styling)
- x1 FrizzFighter Finishing Tool (for frizz-less hair)
Note: Our unit is the Asian version that comes with synthetic brush bristles (as the USA version brush attachments are made with part plastic part boar).
First Impression & Performance
Comfortable and fast to use
Overall, we find the build of the FlexStyle to be sturdy and comfortable to hold, even for small hands. In our experience, we could style the whole head of hair (dry) to curly/wavy in just under 10 minutes.
When it came to drying wet hair, we first blew our hair to about 60% dry with level 3 wind, no heat (about 5 mintues). We then proceed to use the paddle brush with level 3 wind, level 2 heat for 5 minutes. The result is a whole head of dry and soft hair with just 10 minutes!
(Note: Paddle brush is best used on at least 80% wet hair (20% dry) in order to avoid difficulty of detangling clumps of hair.)
Upon first use, the hair dryer body was intuitive to use when it came to twisting it in order to enjoy longer handheld usage, especially for blowdrying and styling hair strands from the top. When it came to attaching and detaching the styler tools, each one snapped into place easily with a satisfying click as well. We also liked the instructional detailing on the curlers which tells you which one is for which direction.
It's beginner friendly. Bye bye, burns!
Moreover, we realised that in the multiple 30 minutes per-session of use, we found the tools to not be scorching hot should we accidentally graze it. Additionally, although the tools took a total of 10 minutes to fully cool down after use, they are comfortable to be held just after 3 minutes later (like holding a warm cup of tea).
Beware; it can be loud
One quip we had with the styler was its noise when operating. This is a loud (and slight shrill sounding) hair dryer styler, as confirmed by other reviewers who tried other stylers from different brands. Nevertheless, the sound was bothersome mainly when we were trying to achieve a blowout with the oval brush near the bangs. Other than that, we find the sound to be tolerable.
Making a hairstyle last would need prep work
When it came to our experience without any hairspray or setting products to hold hairstyles: on our colleague's straight stubborn hair, the style would last about 1.5 hours before it turns into a wave and gradually back to straight. Meanwhile, a couple of us with wavy hair; the style lasted for about 2 hours before becoming soft curled volumes albeit more defined waves.
Therefore, preparation with hair-styling products should be applied first in order to get a long-lasting hairstyle.
To find out more about the Shark FlexStyle, check out the Shark Ninja Malaysia's official website, Facebook and Instagram.
Key info
- Ultra-versatile multi-styler and hair dryer - dries while styling the hair quickly and gently
- Available with 5 types of attachments to achieve unlimited hair styles
- Measures & regulates temperatures 1,000x per second to ensure consistent air temperature
- Useable on all hair types
- Cord length: 2.8m
- Dimensions: 1.8 in L x 1.8 in W x 13.5 in H
- Wattage: 1400W
- Weight: 700g
- Warranty: 2 years
- End of review -