Shark Beauty’s New FlexFusion Gives Me The Big, Bouncy Hair I Crave

I have a confession: Even with more than 13 years of experience in the beauty industry, I’ve always been mediocre at giving myself a bouncy blowout. It’s not really my fault, though. I’ve never quite found the hair-dryer-and-round-brush combo that gives my spiral curls the same at-home smoothness and volume I typically get at the salon. Plus, the thought of needing an entire collection of additional, separate tools to straighten or wave my hair on top of blow-drying it is a bit annoying. So after years of testing and accumulating this dryer, that flatiron, these wands, I was excited (if not a bit skeptical) to try out the Shark Beauty FlexFusion + Straight.

What Is The FlexFusion?

It’s a luxury air and ceramic styling, straightening, and drying system that really seems to have it covered “For All Hairkind.” The dryer base comes with a Styling Concentrator attachment and features Scalp Shield Mode, which is developed with dermatologists to protect the scalp from extreme heat when activated. It has a Wet-or-Dry Fusion Air Straightener (the only luxury multi-styler out there with air straightening, actually); a Wet-or-Dry Fusion Brush; and two 1.25-inch Auto-Wrap Curlers. Each attachment promises silky-straight lengths, voluminous blowouts, and bouncy curls, respectively.

Overall, the device is smaller, lighter, and more powerful than its predecessor, the original Shark Beauty FlexStyle, and it relies on FlexFusion Styling Technology to achieve its shiny results. This combines powerful airflow with heated ceramic plates, so you get wet-to-dry styling without heat damage plus legit hot-tool results.

How Did It Perform?

It’s usually a quick and simple process for me to dry and style my natural curls, so my bar for any sort of straightening system is pretty high. It needs to be quick, effortless, intuitive, and effective.

The first thing I noticed was how lightweight the Shark Beauty FlexFusion was. I rough-dried my wet curls using the hair dryer in Scalp Shield Mode so they were still damp but not soaking wet — it took no time and didn’t irritate my sensitive scalp skin. Then, I twisted the unit and easily clicked on the Wet-or-Dry Fusion Brush and ran it through sections until my whole head was dry. I didn’t fuss or use any particular technique beyond turning the brush in at the ends, and honestly, it came out great.

I’ve been very into a ‘90s thriller aesthetic this fall, and with my particular hair color and length, the FlexFusion gave me the exact look I was going for: a full, shiny blowout just slightly curled in at the ends. That’s no small feat considering how fine, dry, and curly my curls are. Volume tends to accentuate the dryness; straightening often highlights the thinness; and I normally need a blow dryer and flatiron to get some approximation of the desired effect. The FlexFusion did it all in just a few passes and noticeably controlled my humidity-loving fuzz halo.

The Bonus Points.

The next day, I touched up a few pieces with the Wet-or-Dry (dry, in this case) Fusion Air Straightener. My persistent under-curls didn’t stand a chance and stayed super sleek until my next shampoo. Speaking of wash day, I threw my hair in its standard bun and experimented with the Auto-Wrap Curlers on a few face-framing pieces to give the look a little more polish and interest than usual.

If you’re looking for a genuinely high quality, versatile hair styler that can create just about any effect, the Shark Beauty FlexFusion is definitely a win.