Can't decide between the Shark Hair Dryer vs Dyson Supersonic? Our beauty team thoroughly compares them here
Our beauty team put the the Shark SpeedStyle Pro Hair Dryer vs Dyson Supersonic through a head-to-head test to decide which one is best
When looking to upgrade or replace a hair tool, you'll often end up comparing leading brands, like the Shark vs Dyson hair dryer. Both invariably come up as quality recommended tools, but deciding which one is the best option for you isn't always a quick decision. That's where our beauty team's detailed head-to-head comes in.
Though these two brands were historically known for their vacuum cleaners, their pivot into beauty has brought us some of the best hair dryers on the market. As such, both brands are now known for their hairstyling tools. There have been two new iterations of the Dyson Supersonic since it first launched in 2016, while the SpeedStyle Pro, launched in 2023, was Shark's second hair dryer release.
The woman&home beauty team tests all the latest hair tech and, while both tools have been around for years now, we still get asked if Dyson's is worth the money or if Shark's lives up to the hype. And having reviewed the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer and Shark Hair Dryer, we're very familiar with them both.
But which one is best? With their experienced eyes, two woman&home beauty team members plus one of our expert contributors have compared them in this thorough guide. (Once you're done here, we've also compared these brand's multi-stylers in a head-to-head of the Shark FlexStyle vs Dyson Airwrap.)
The best Shark and Dyson hair dryer deals
The Shark Hair Dryer vs Dyson Supersonic: our beauty team's full comparison
At a glance: the Shark Hair Dryer vs Dyson Supersonic
Attachments: Concentrator nozzle, brush, smoothing finishing tool (5-in-1 also includes diffuser and round brush)
Features: Scalp shield mode
Review: Though not as high tech as the Dyson, the Shark Style SpeedStyle Pro is still a lightweight tool with versatile attachments – and considerably cheaper.
With a modern, functional design and a powerful motor, the SpeedStyle Pro is a solid investment. It dries hair quickly and efficiently, smoothing and sealing the cuticles, thanks to ionising technology.
Using it left our hair smooth and soft, while the attachments allowed us to personalise the hair drying experience and change up styles slightly, all while significantly reducing heat damage.
Reasons to buy: Lower price, lightweight yet powerful, good variety of intelligent attachments
Attachments: Wide tooth comb, gentle air attachment, flyaway attachment, styling concentrator, diffuser
Features: 3 speed settings, 4 heat settings, cold shot
Review: The Dyson Supersonic both looks and acts the part. Its jet-like motor efficiently dries hair, cutting our drying time in half while smoothing strands with negative ions. It can also create a variety of looks – from smooth styles using the super concentrator to defined natural curls with the diffuser.
Compared to its competitors, this sleek device is one of the quietest and lightest we’ve tried – impressive, considering its mighty power. While it's more of an investment, you do get a wider range of attachments when you opt for the Dyson.
Reasons to buy: Customisable styling, powerful airflow, quieter dryer
How we tested the Shark Hair Dryer vs Dyson Supersonic
Between us, team woman&home has years of experience with both dryers. Digital Beauty Editor Aleesha owns the Dyson Supersonic, while Beauty Channel Editor Fiona McKim has also thoroughly tested the Dyson Supersonic. Group Beauty Director Sarah Cooper-White has used both this and the Shark SpeedStyle Pro.
(For the avoidance of doubt, it's the original Supersonic, not the newer Dyson Nural Hair Dryer or r models, that we've compared with the Shark SpeedStyle Pro.)
How do the specs of the Dyson Supersonic and Shark SpeedStyle Pro compare?
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Shark SpeedStyle Pro |
Dyson Supersonic |
|---|---|---|
RRP |
£179.99 |
£329.99 |
Weight |
660g |
680g |
Power |
1750W |
1600W |
Speed settings |
3 |
3 |
Heat settings |
3 |
4 |
Cord length |
2.4m |
2.5m |
Warranty |
2 years |
2 years |
Available colors |
Black and rose gold |
Iron and fuschia, black and nickel |
Extras |
2 intelligent attachments |
5 styling attachments included |
Shark Hair Dryer vs Dyson Supersonic design
The Dyson Supersonic and Shark SpeedStyle Pro dryers with their attachments
At a glance, the first thing that stands out when comparing the Shark Hair Dryer vs Dyson designs are the attachment ranges. Both brands offer a range of hair dryer attachments, with different bundles available to cater to different hair types and styling preferences. The original Supersonic bundle comes with five, while Shark's bundles range from three to five.
The designs do look quite different. The Supersonic is a round, hollow design, while the SpeedStyle Pro is more slimline. Both dryers have three heat and airflow settings (low, medium and high), allowing us to customise it to our hair and desired at-home blow dry looks. One thing that separates the Shark SpeedStyle, though, is its foldable design, which really impressed Group Beauty Director Sarah Cooper-White. “I really like the nozzle, as it's narrow enough to direct airflow to smooth my fine, frizz prone hair," she says. "I also love that it folds up into a neat little size, which is really great if you want to put it in your gym bag or take it on a night away."
There's not much in the weight of the Dyson and Shark dryers – it literally comes down to 20g – and both are far more lightweight than many traditional dryers, making them easy to hold and manoeuvre. Three speed settings and three heat settings, changeable on the main handle, also make both tools pretty versatile.
Shark vs Dyson hair dryer: Attachments and styling
Shark SpeedStyle Pro
The SpeedStyle's Straight and Wavy Hair bundle comes with three attachments – a concentrator, a de-frizzing attachment and a smooth brush. The five attachment bundle also comes with a diffuser and round brush head to better cater to curly hair types, and even then, at £220, this bigger bundle is still cheaper than a Dyson Supersonic for nearly the same number of attachments. Like the STYLE iQ before it, the SpeedStyle's attachments are also intelligent, meaning the dryer automatically adjusts its heat and speed settings when you secure one on – taking out some of the guesswork if you aren't sure on the best settings.
Dyson Supersonic
Ergonomic and compact, we find the Supersonic a joy to use. It's comfortable to hold and the magnetic styling attachments allow us to create several hairstyles. There’s a concentrator, a smoothing nozzle, a diffuser, a wide-tooth comb, a flyaway attachment and a gentle air attachment, for increased scalp care. Each one snaps on magnetically and is easy to remove – sometimes a little too easily when they knock off by accident, but we'll take it for less faff overall.
The diffuser, in particular, is real draw and is widely-regarded as one of the best tools by industry experts and hairstylists alike. Contributing beauty editor Lucy Abbersteen has tried most diffusers on the UK market, but chooses to use the Supersonic's over anything else: "It has such gentle airflow and doesn't generate excess frizz in my hair. My curls are always well-defined and I know several hairdressers who deem it the best for curly hair."
The diffuser can also be used to encourage a bit of a wave into straighter hair. ''For fine or straight hair types where a natural curl pattern isn’t present, I recommend bending one-to-two-inch sections back and forth into an accordion pattern and placing them into the diffuser,” says Dyson Styling Ambassador Jen Atkin.
Three angles of the original Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer
Shark vs Dyson hair dryer: Performance
Shark SpeedStyle Pro
The Shark SpeedStyle Pro dried our hair in a matter of minutes. Results-wise, while it packed a punch for a quick blow drying session, our hair was also left looking visibly sleek with a polished finish. This is likely because this dryer packs in ionic technology, meaning it emits negative ions to counter the positive ones in water. Heat is evenly distributed as a result, closing the hairs’ cuticle and removing moisture for a smoother look. It's therefore an excellent choice for anyone with frizzy hair or a curly hairstyle who likes to blow-dry it smooth.
Dyson Supersonic
Super by name, super by nature, the Supersonic's motor is six times faster than that of the average hair dryer. This produces a stream of controlled air that dries strands noticeably fast, without reliance on extreme heat, which damages our hair. Anyone with a long hairstyle who usually spends ages blow-drying it will appreciate this, we're sure.
To use, this techy tool didn't feel as powerful as some other high-tech dryers, like the ghd Helios, for example. Instead, we got a steady stream of air delivered at a targeted angle that smoothed our strands without much noise (or heat). As well as reducing the overall drying time, this is one of the quietest hair dryers we've tried and our hair always looks and feels healthy after using it.
Shark Hair Dryer vs Dyson Supersonic: the woman&home verdict
OK, scores on the doors. Which dryer won the Shark vs Dyson contest? In our opinion, compared to most traditional tools, both are both a cut above the rest. We're talking salon-worthy blow-dries with clever ionised technology that eliminates frizz and bolsters shine – all while cutting down drying time thanks to their powerful motors.
While the engineering that goes into the Dyson Supersonic gives it the technological edge, both of these dryers have their merits. The Shark SpeedStyle Pro packs a higher wattage than the Supersonic, so it's a good choice if powerful air for fast drying that doesn't compromise the finish of your hair is your biggest priority. It also has one edge over the original Supersonic with its intelligent attachments – Dyson's answer to this only comes with the newer Nural. This meant the Shark won over our beauty director, so it's clearly excellent.
But we also love the Supersonic's sleek, lightweight design and the wide range of hair types (five, versus Shark’s three). Plus, we have to give credit where credit is due; this dryer launched first and was truly groundbreaking innovation at the time. However, it is the significantly more expensive option.
In truth, it's a close contest, but if you have and can afford to spend the extra money, we’d recommend opting for Dyson, but if you’re looking for a more affordable model that still packs a significant punch for its styling prowess, we don't think the Shark SpeedStyle Pro Dryer will disappoint. Its easy handling and sleek design make it a brilliant tool, too.
Our expert panel
Emma Stoddart is a freelance beauty journalist who has worked for some of the UK’s top titles including NET-A-PORTER, Stylist and Grazia. Her experience covers both online and print, including producing editorial shoots with some of the industry’s biggest artists, plus reviewing many hairstyling tools over the years.
Group Beauty Director Sarah Cooper-White has more than 20 years of experience as a beauty journalist. She has written for many leading national magazines, newspapers and brands including woman&home, Woman, Woman's Own, Woman's Weekly, Boots, Tesco, ELLE, InStyle, The Mirror, The Sun, Prima and Top Santé. She has tested both the Shark SpeedStyle Pro and Dyson Supersonic hair dryers.
Fiona McKim has been part of the woman&home beauty team for more than a decade. During that time her work has included interviewing countless experts, reporting from backstage at Fashion Week and judging the woman&home Beauty Awards.
Aleesha is Digital Beauty Editor at woman&home, where she gets to share her expertise in all the best techniques, sharpest tools and newest products. She regularly reviews beauty gadgets, including hair tools, ranging from dryers to straighteners, for the site. She contributed her firsthand experience of using the Dyson Supersonic.
Lucy Abbersteen is a freelance beauty editor and one of woman&home's contributing beauty editor. With a decade of experience in the industry – and with hair as one of her specialisms – she's tested a lot of hair tools on her curly hair during her career. The Dyson Supersonic is her go-to for drying her curly hair, so she shared some of her insights here.
Jen Atkin is a celebrity hairdresser and the founder of haircare brands OUAI and Mane, as well as an ambassador for Dyson. You probably recognise some of her clients as she's worked with everybody from the Kardashians to JLo, Chrissy Teigen and Jessica Alba.
Lucy Abbersteen is a freelance beauty editor and one of woman&home's contributing beauty editor. With close to a decade of experience in the industry – and with hair as one of her specialisms – she's tested a lot of hair tools on her curly hair during her career. As such, she's also shared her insights on some of the top-rated dryers in this guide.