Hands on: Shark FlexStyle

At IFA 2022 and we joined SharkNinja for breakfast, and were mega lucky to be offered to have our hair styled by a professional hair stylist using the new Shark FlexStyle.

It has got to be one of the best hair dryers we have seen in a long time. It can be used with or without the six attachments, and the end of it bends by 90 degrees which makes blow drying easier. The general shape and size of the main unit doesn't take up much space, in fact, we consider it compact enough to squeeze in to a suitcase - although it may be a struggle to get all of the attachments in, too.

Priced at £349 (around $400 / AU$600), it's certainly a pricey investment, but we feel that because it's so versatile it's worth it. It's available to pre-order direct from Shark UK or, if you prefer to wait, will be released sometime in October 2022.

(Image credit: Future)

Performance

Getting your hair styled, wherever you are, is a real treat, so I was pleased that I could get into a seat, in a hair salon setting, and have my thick, shoulder-length hair tamed and waved in the middle of the IFA tech show in Berlin.

The Shark FlexStyle heated up quickly, from what I could tell, and it was easy enough to switch between the accessories. I  opted to have waves styled at the end of my hair so the left and right curlers were deployed.

Large segments of hair were easily wrapped around the curlers, which was really good to see since I am very aware just how thick my hair is - not only are the strands of hair thick, but I also have a lot of hair. This echoes the Shark Beauty campaign whose mission is to champion and celebrate hair diversity. We were very impressed to say the least.

(Image credit: Future)

Other things of note that you can do with the Shark FlexStyle is that it can be easily rotated back and forth from a powerful hair dryer to a multi-styling tool with just a twist. This means that you'll be able to dry wet hair and curl, volumize or smooth hair simultaneously, saving time without causing any heat damage.

The six attachments that you get with the hair styler are the two curlers, two brush heads, one diffuser and one nozzle. We can't vouch for how useful and effective all these attachments are, just yet anyway, but we'll be trying them out in our full review soon.

Design

The Shark FlexStyle is beautifully presented in a black and rose gold color. These are similar colors to Shark's vacuum cleaner range in the UK, and according to the company's own research, this combination of colors is the most popular amongst  customers.

It's a compact, corded hair dryer which we feel will travel well. The weight is easy to hold and use, and the attachments are easy to slip on and off. 

A design feature that we love is that you can rotate between a hair dryer and multi-styler with just a twist, although this did take some figuring out in the first instance.

(Image credit: Future)

Early verdict

Having seen, held and experienced the Shark FlexStyle, we feel that this is going to be a good beauty appliance that will either replace a broken hair dryer or add to your selection of styling tools. 

We were really impressed with just how versatile it is, and how easy it is to use. The professional hair dresser styling my hair was equally impressed, who even commented that he'll be using the appliance in his salon, which speaks volumes. We're looking forward to using it in our own home and putting all the attachments to the test.