Combined drying-and-styling tools are all the rage in 2025. Though these designs have been around for a while, it wasn’t really until the launch of the Dyson Airwrap in 2018 that they became a more mainstream premium hairstyling option. Fast forward to today and the market features several higher-end wet-to-dry stylers. Which brings us to this guide, comparing two newer releases: The Shark FlexFusion Straight vs Dyson Airstrait.
Having already launched the Shark FlexStyle as its own answer to the coveted Airwrap, the brand levelled up its multi-styler with the Shark FlexFusion Straight just over a year ago, improving the curling barrels and adding a straightening attachment alongside this, the diffuser and best hot brush attachment. After launching in the US in 2023, the Dyson Airstrait launched in the UK at the start of 2024, billed as a way of straightening hair from wet-to-dry without risk of excessive heat damage – and with no heated plates involved.
So, two wet-do-dry styling tools with options to straighten hair – one a multi-styler and one an all-in-one tool. Weighing up the pros and cons of both but can’t decide which one is right for you? Here, our contributing beauty editor walks you through both options, based on her rigorous firsthand testing of each tool.
Head-to-head
RRP: £370
Features: Five attachments, including curling barrels, a diffuser, concentrator nozzle, straightener and hot brush; storage and travel case; five heat and three speed settings
Review: Though the eponymous straight attachment is nothing to write home about, this is a versatile tool that's decent value for money considering the styling options – allowing you to dry curly hair, create a voluminous blowout or barrel curls.
Buy it if: You want your tool to give you the option to create a variety of hairstyles, not just one look.
RRP: £450
Features: Dries and styles hair straight in one motion; wet and dry modes; three temperature settings plus cool shot.
Review: Dries and smooths in one fell swoop for soft results that last. Though you can only really create one look – a stretched/straight, smooth blow dry – hair is left feeling soft and results last well through the day.
Buy it if: You regularly smooth out your hair and want something that dries and stretches it simultaneously with minimal skill or effort on your part.
How we tested the Shark FlexFusion Straight vs Dyson Airstrait
To compare both tools' design and performance, both the Dyson Airstrait and Shark FlexFusion Straight were used to dry and style our contributing beauty editor's freshly washed, wet hair on separate occasions. The tools were used more than once and, in the case of the FlexFusion Straight, all of the attachments were tested to get a proper sense of its capabilities. As well as the design and user experience of both tools, the results were also compared, both initially after styling and through the day.
The main tester for this guide, Lucy is a freelance beauty editor with close to a decade of experience and has written for titles including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and OK!, as well as regularly contributing to woman&home. She is very experienced in reviewing hair tools – from straighteners and curlers to hair dryers – and has tested most of Shark and Dyson's hair tools. This and her wealth of experience interviewing hairstylists means she knows what makes a good hairstyling gadget.
Design
First, the first impressions of these two tools' designs. My biggest criticism of the Dyson Airstrait is its cable length. At just under two metres in length, it’s shorter than any other Dyson hair tool – and noticeably so – so I often feel a bit restricted in terms of where I sit when I use it. The plug is also incredibly bulky, which strikes you as an odd design choice initially but makes the tool itself lighter due to, the brand tells me, some tech being in the plug rather than the Airstrait itself. There’s also no accompanying case, which feels like it should be a given with a tool that retails for £450. But aside from these few downsides, the overall design is pleasingly sleek, as is the signature Dyson aesthetic. The tool has curved edges and is remarkably lightweight to hold, which gives it the edge over the two.
The Shark, on the other hand, has a very long cable that is unlikely to feel restrictive to many, if any, users. There’s a sectioned case, which is both practical and satisfying, thanks to the compartments for each attachment. This means it can be tidied away nicely and stored without fear of gathering dust as soon as you bring it home; no need to purchase an additional case. However, when compared to the Dyson, this lightweight tool and its attachments do feel a bit flimsier and less premium than its competitor – though it is priced at almost £100 less, too.
Performance
The diffuser is a decent size compared to some competitors’, with lots of holes and lengthy prongs., while the narrow nozzle fits into the roots well for precision drying. The Shark FlexFusion Straight's brush attachment is great; the larger of the two (results above) can dry and smooth large sections of hair at once, adding a nice hint of volume that could be further boosted by lifting the brush while drying.
The curling barrels now feature a twisted design, which has gone down well with shoppers in the reviews. I found the results to be nice, though it required a bit of manoeuvering on my part to get a section of hair to adhere to the curling barrel, and these attachments get extremely hot when you need to swap between the left and right directional barrels.
Interestingly, the straightening attachment that gives this tool its name was my least favourite. My hair is naturally curly (a mix of 3a and 2c, for those familiar with the curl types system) and I had to pass it repeatedly over a section of hair to dry and straighten it, while the hot plates felt extremely hot and like they were frazzling my hair somewhat.
For a smooth, straight finish, the Dyson Airstrait has the edge. It dries and smooths out hair simultaneously, meaning less heat on the hair, and achieves the straightest results in my hair without using an actual pair of straighteners of any hair tool that I’ve tried – and, as you can see from the above image, my hair also retains some movement rather than being fried poker straight.
Those results last well, too, especially when used with the best hair products for humidity. While I love the results, this is the only look it can create, so it’s not a tool for versatile styling options; you can either rough dry hair by keeping the tool clamped closed, or smooth hair for this straight finish. For any other look, you’ll need a different tool.
Verdict
If I was only comparing the Dyson Airstrait with the FlexFusion Straight’s straightener attachment, the Airstrait would be the clear winner. It’s lighter, more ergonomic and can style a larger section of hair, drying mine more quickly and with a smoother and sleeker finish.
If a sleek or stretched blowout is the only thing you’re focused on, the Airstrait would be enough – but it is a one-look tool. Aside from the continuous drying functionality when you close the tool, which is useful for drying off the roots or if you tend to roughly dry your hair (this generates a ton of excess frizz in my hair, so isn’t something I tend to do), the only look you can create is a sleek, straight and smooth one or stretched blow dry.
Which brings me to who the FlexFusion Straight would be a better fit for: the straightening attachment aside, if you want something that gives you a few different tools in one, including hot brush, curling barrels and dryer with a diffuser, the FlexFusion is the more versatile pick and better value for money. It really comes down to what you want from your new tool and the styling results you need day-to-day.
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