Is it a dupe? Our review of the Shark FlexStyle and Dyson Airwrap

Here at The Post, we are sharks when it comes to finding the perfect dupe.

From Doc Martens to the viral Home Depot 12-foot skeleton, we are always on the hunt to save you money and find twinning products to beloved items that may not be as attainable for all shoppers.

One of those coveted items is the Dyson Airwrap, with an extreme inventory issue and $600 price tag. We personally love our model, but even the New York Post struggled to get our hands on one for many months.

During that time, we rounded up some dupes for the viral hair dryer, but as of Sept. 6 there is a new multi-styler in town that was rumored to blow the rest out of the water.

We’re talking about the new Shark FlexStyle, which we covered earlier in August when it was released for preorders. The hair tool starts at just $250, which is less than half the price of its main competitor.

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For a brief refresher, the Shark FlexStyle uses the same Coanda airflow technology to wrap the hair automatically, resulting in frizz-free curls without the typical kinks left by traditional curling irons. The styler also comes with options for other attachments like a paddle brush, oval brush, styling concentrator and a curl-defining diffuser.

Lastly, unlike the Dyson, the FlexStyler can bend at a 90-degree angle to become a hair dryer and diffuser with the attachment. This flex (we understand the name now!) is great to get the best angle when drying hair, and also is far more comfortable on the wrists when dealing with a lot of hair.

Our review of the new Shark FlexStyle:

Can it curl like the Dyson Airwrap?

Since we now have both the Dyson Airwrap and the new Shark FlexStyle on hand, it is obviously time for a curl-off.

The auto-wrapping ability of both devices is really what all of the buzz is about, and since they both use Coanda airflow to make alleged perfect ringlets, this was the perfect test to compare the two multi-stylers. Both require hair to be 80-90% damp, and both need to be fed sectioned pieces of hair, so for this review I simply split my hair down the middle (Gen Z is loving the middle part right now anyway) and got to work.

To note from the start, while both the older model of the Dyson and this new Shark styler use two different barrel attachments to curl air to the left and the right, the new Dyson Airwrap Complete for 2022 uses only one, with the ability to switch directions — one point to Dyson there.

The curling process itself was relatively the same, aside from having to switch the Shark barrel a few times. Both models have options to adjust the heat and the power of the air, as well as a button for a blast of cool air to set the curl. The Dyson is a bit easier to use, as the buttons are all closer together, while the Shark takes two hands, or at least more practice to learn where all the buttons are.

After curling the hair on either side, what do you think?

I personally didn’t see too much of a difference, and for $350 more, I don’t think the Dyson side looks $350 better than the Shark side. However, when used on longer, heavy hair, the Dyson does have more curling power, as seen in the photo above. For looser waves, the Shark can be used, and you may want to pick up some hairspray should you want the tighter curls that Dyson produced.

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