As a beauty editor, I’ve tried a tonnes of hair tools. From hot brushes to hair multistylers and hair dryers to hair straighteners, there aren’t many hair tools that I’ve not tried. I’ve thoroughly tested more the expensive hair tools around, such as the Dyson Airwrap, as well as more affordable hair tools (such as this £40 hair wand I bought before becoming a beauty editor, and still swear by).
For this reason, I can often feel a bit fatigued with the several new hair tools launching each and every month, with each one promising to outdo the next. It takes a lot from a hair tool to both impress me and not be relegated to a cupboard, gathering dust after just a couple of uses when it doesn’t quite do what I want it to do. And when you’re parting with your hard-earned money, you want a hair tool to live up to its claims.
So, when Shark announced it was launching a new hair tool, the Flexfusion Straight 5-In-1 Air Styler & Dryer & Ceramic Straightener (£370)—the first hair multi-styler with a ceramic hair straightening attachment, I was curious to put it to the test. Scroll ahead for my honest review after testing the hair tool for over a month.
Shark Flexfusion Review
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
Shark
Flexfusion Straight 5-In-1 Air Styler & Dryer & Ceramic Straightener
Specifications:
Can be used on wet or dry hair
Scalp shield mode
3 heat and 3 speed settings
5 styling attachments, including:
Wet-or-Dry Fusion Straightener
Wet-or-Dry Fusion Brush
32mm Auto-Wrap Curlers
Styling Concentrator
Curl-Defining Diffuser
Storage Case
Pros: 5 hair tools in 1, styles hair from wet-to-dry, can also be used on dry hair, no heat damage on wet-to-dry mode, suitable for all hair types
Cons: Expensive, can be noisy during use, you have to change the curling wands for different curl directions
How I Tested
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
I have hair with a soft wave that is very prone to frizz. My hair is also long and quite thick with coarse texture throughout, so my hair can take a while to dry, which was why I was intrigued to see how this wet-to-dry styler would fare. I tested the hair tool over the course of six weeks since the launch, putting both the wet-to-dry and dry-styling options to the test using the attachments.
The Attachments
Fusion Straightener
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
One of the biggest selling points on the FlexFusion is the multiple attachments. The main feature that differentiates it from the original Shark Flexstyle model is this straightening attachment. Featuring ceramic plates, this ceramic air-straightener uses heat and air in tandem to dry and straighten, and it’s easily my favourite attachment of the Flexfusion.
After rough-drying my hair to about 80% dry with the hairdryer nozzle, this then straightened and dried my hair in just one or two passes in wet-to-dry mode. It left my hair silky smooth, shiny and almost poker straight. For top-ups in between wash days, I used the dry mode to smooth over any kinks that had settled in.
So, how does it work on different hair textures? When I attended the Flexfusion launch event earlier this year, I saw first hand how well this worked on all even tight, coily hair, where it smoothed and straightened in just two strokes through the lengths when used on wet-to-dry mode. If you have a very curly or coily hair texture and want an ultra-sleek result, you may wish to switch to the ‘dry’ mode afterwards and pass over your lengths once more for a really smooth finish. But ultimately, this hair tool really streamlines drying and styling time without having to reach for separate hair tools to dry and style.
Round Brush
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
I’ve tried a lot of hot brushes and round brush attachments on various hair multistyler tools and I’ve often been left disappointed—but there is a lot I like about this one.
Firstly, the round brush is larger than most other models out there. This not only accommodates very long or thick hair, but also leaves hair with plenty of bouncy volume. I also love the design, which features an oval-shape (that snugly fits into the roots) and ceramic grooves that gently guide the hair through the brush as your twirl it through your lengths—no tangles here. It provides the perfect amount of tension to get a bouncy result as your dry.
I currently have long hair and grown-out layers, so I wasn’t expecting tonnes of bounce and hold while my hair is very heavy. However, it gave a soft ripple through my lengths while giving my hair a polished, glossy result. So if you have shorter hair or layers than I do, you’ll likely find that you can get great volume and body with this round brush tool.
Curling Attachments
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
As for the curling wands, I was pretty impressed by these too. They work by rotating the airflow around the barrel which wraps your hair around it. Having long hair, I wish that the barrels could be a little longer in length, as I found they weren’t quite long enough to wrap the full length of my hair around (and it sometimes slipped off the top of the barrel if my sections were too large), but if you have shorter hair than mine, you’ll be totally fine.
There are two curling wands, one that rotates left and the other, which rotates right. Having to swap them other each time I wanted to use the other direction was a little annoying (on Dyson’s AirWrap, you can simply flip a switch to swap the direction) but in the grand scheme of things, it’s only a minor inconvenience as the attachments are easy to swap on and off.
They each come in one 32mm diameter size, so you only have one option to play with here. However, I found that this provided just enough of a tight curl that dropped out slightly into a looser curl after a few minutes. I personally prefer this as I find a tighter curl always ends up lasting longer anyway, even if you end up shaking it out into a softer, looser curl. I found these lasted really well throughout the day and left my hair bouncy even towards the evening. For second-day hair, it’s easy to top your curls up with the dry mode, and I found that I needed to touch them up again the following day.
The Hairdryer
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
Much like Shark’s Flexstyle, the Flexfusion features the same flexible handle that pivots to a 90-degree angle and allows you to use it as a hairdryer. The included smoothing nozzle is really good for smoothing as your dry, but even without it, this hairdryer is powerful enough to quickly rough-dry hair before styling too. It features three speeds and three power settings that you can use with all the attachments, as well as a ‘scalp shield’ mode that helps to cool the hair when drying near your roots to protect your scalp and new hair growth.
I’ve been reaching for this and the smoothing nozzle in place of my usual hairdryer, and love that it’s included in the kit. It makes it really practical for travel too, where you can enjoy lots of different styles without having to pack a separate hairdryer, hair straightener or curling wand.
The Diffuser
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
I don’t have curly hair, so I can’t fully vouch for the diffuser attachment myself. However, there are plenty of great details to it. The diffuser is large and features adjustable pins that you can make shorter or longer depending on your preferences. Reviewers with type 4 curl types say that this dries their hair gently without causing frizz, so this makes a great addition to the attachments if you want the option to dry your natural curls.
After Using The Straightening Attachment
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
After Using The Curling Barrels
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
After Using The Round Brush Attachment
(Image credit: @eleanorvousden for Who What Wear UK)
The Verdict: Is The Shark FlexFusion Worth it?
After testing the device for over a month now, I can honestly say that I’ve reached for it every single week—this is such a handy tool to have and one that I would definitely buy myself. I love that it can be used on wet or dry hair to style or top-up your style in between wash days with the dry mode, and I’ve made good use of most of the attachments. Of course, depending on your hair type and styling preference, some of the attachments will likely go unused or used less than the others, but if you want plenty of options to style your hair, then this 5-in-1 tool is a good choice to cater to lots of hair types.
At over £300, this is still a big investment. But, it rivals more expensive hair multistyling tools that I’ve tried and given the range of attachments included, you basically have a hairdryer, a hair straightener, a hot brush and a curling wand in one. If you bought each of these separately, it could easily add up to way over the cost of this one hair tool, and the Flexfusion also gives you the option of using them on wet or dry hair with minimal heat damage, which is a big plus.
Shop Now:
Shark
Flexfusion Straight 5-In-1 Air Styler & Dryer & Ceramic Straightener
