For nearly 20 years, I’ve been straightening my long, curly hair with so many different gadgets, they fill their own enormous drawer. Inside you’ll find a hair dryer and a backup in case the first one ever breaks; a curling iron that rotates in two directions; a hair-straightening brush for dry hair and another for wet hair; and a broken flat iron I can’t bring myself to part with, plus the replacement I just bought.
Despite this arsenal, I’ve never been able to style my hair, per se – no beachy waves, no sky-high volume, no tousled Bridget Bardot sexy bedhead situation.
Enter two new multi-stylers I recently tested head-to-head for a month: the Dyson Airwrap i.d. and the Shark FlexStyle. Both can be used as straight-up hair dryers, but they’re really meant for styling slightly damp hair using one of the brush attachments or curling barrel attachments.
Unlike traditional curling irons, the Airwrap i.d. and FlexStyle rely on airflow to pull a section of hair around the barrel using a fluke of physics called the Coanda effect, drying and curling it simultaneously.
Though they function very similarly to each other, there are key differences – not the least of which is that the Airwrap i.d. costs $300 more than the FlexStyle. Is it worth the extra money? It’s a surprisingly close call. Here’s how to decide which one’s right for you.
At a glance
Dyson Airwrap i.d.
Shark FlexStyle
Which one is easier to learn to use?
The Airwrap i.d. is harder to get started with, in part because of Dyson’s insistence on jamming it with tech. Instead of a paper manual, it comes with a QR code that takes you to an app, which you’ll need to download to (eventually) receive a digital manual in your email. Then you’ll need to connect your phone to the Airwrap i.d. via Bluetooth to set up “i.d. curl,” which lets you customize how long the Airwrap spends wrapping, heating, and cooling each curl down to the second.
It is handy not to have to count down before releasing each curl. But it’s not foolproof. Once, I couldn’t get the Airwrap to connect with Bluetooth, and another time, I had the temperature setting on cool, which overrode the i.d. system.
Meanwhile, the FlexStyle comes with a manual that clearly explains how to use every attachment.
Winner: FlexStyle
$299.99 at Amazon $349.99 at Ulta BeautyWhich one is more powerful?
It’s hard to tell. In practice, both took my clavicle-length, fine hair from damp to blown-out in the exact same amount of time: seven minutes. And neither made my hair nearly as hot to the touch as my curling iron or straightening brush, which makes sense considering both brands claim that their tools do not cause heat damage.
By the numbers, each styler has three airflow settings (high, medium and low) but only the Airwrap i.d. lists an airflow measurement. It has three temperature settings (high, low and cool), while the FlexStyle has three (high, medium and low) plus a cool-shot button. Though the FlexStyle claims to measure and regulate the temperature 1,000 times per second and the Airwrap i.d. puts that number at 40, neither manufacturer specifies how hot their tool gets.
Winner: Draw
Which one is more convenient?
Both the Airwrap i.d. and FlexStyle cables measure around 8 ft long, so you don’t have to worry about having an outlet close to a mirror. And neither supports dual voltage, so you’ll need to leave them at home when you travel abroad.
But the Airwrap i.d. comes with a handsome storage box, whereas if you want a case for the FlexStyle, you’ll have to purchase it separately for $59.99. It’s about 7 decibels quieter on the highest airflow and temperature settings than the FlexStyle is, and the wand itself is about 1 ounce lighter. The Airwrap i.d. sliding buttons are located near the top of the wand, where my fingers naturally ended up as I was styling, while the FlexStyle’s bottom-of-the-wand push buttons were slightly harder to reach. And when I did, it was hard not to cover the wand’s filter with my palm.
Winner: Airwrap i.d.
$649.99 at Dyson $650 at RevolveWhich one is better for straightening?
Both gave me near-identical bouncy blowouts, but I slightly preferred the FlexStyle. Its brush attachments have a mix of hard and soft bristles that did a better job of gripping my hair. Plus the FlexStyle base can be bent into a standard hair dryer shape for rough drying your hair, which makes it slightly more ergonomic.
Winner: FlexStyle
Which one is better for curling?
The Airwrap i.d. offers curling barrels in three widths and two shapes: a straight up-and-down barrel as well as a conical one, which lets you get closer to your roots. The FlexStyle’s right and left barrels, meanwhile, come in just one shape: cylindrical. I also like that you can switch the direction of the curling barrel with the touch of a button rather than having to swap out the barrel entirely. The AirWrap’s 1-inch-longer curling barrel also gripped more of my hair.
Winner: Airwrap i.d.
Which includes better attachments?
Dyson sells two Airwrap i.d. bundles: Straight + Wavy and Curly + Coily (this is the one I tested). Both come with a pre-styling dryer, round brush, smoothing brush, and curling barrel that spins right and left. The former package also includes a second curling barrel and a smoothing dryer for frizz and flyaways. The latter includes a diffuser for defining natural curls and a wide-tooth comb for stretching coils (see it in action here). That’s a total of six attachments. Dyson sells additional attachments a la carte at $39.99 a pop.
Dyson Airwrap i.d. Straight + Wavy
Dyson Airwrap i.d. Curly + Coily
The FlexStyle comes with only five attachments, but two of them – identical curling barrels that spin in different directions – serve the same purpose. Then there’s an oval brush, a paddle brush and a styling concentrator that concentrates airflow. Shark also lets you add on attachments for $39.99, or you can bundle three attachments of your choice for $199.99.
Shark Build Your Own Air Styling & Drying System
Shark FrizzFighter finishing tool
I like having the option to diffuse my curls, but I don’t think I’ll ever use the wide-tooth-comb attachment that came with my Airwrap i.d. I didn’t get to test Dyson’s smoothing dryer, nor Shark’s version, the FrizzFighter finishing tool, a bundling or add-on option – but both seem like they could replace my flat iron.
Winner: Airwrap i.d.
The bottom line
The Shark FlexStyle doesn’t feel or look as deluxe as the Dyson Airwrap i.d. You have to switch barrels to switch the direction of your curls, and you can’t program it to curl your hair automatically. The buttons are a little more awkward and the wand is slightly noisier and heavier.
If you think any of those things will make your styling time onerous, the Airwrap i.d. may be worth $650 for you.
If those demerits seem trivial for the $300 premium, I’d opt for the FlexStyle, which will give you identical results for nearly half the price.
