My name is Lucy and I have a confession to make: I didn’t know it was possible to be this obsessed with a hairdryer –until the Shark SpeedStyle came into my life last year. It’s the best hair dryer I've ever used, and a tool that I’ve since recommended to so many people. Unsurprisingly, I’m yet to hear anyone say a bad thing about it.
But why do I love it so much – and what makes it different to other hairdryers I’ve used? Not only is it the smallest and most lightweight (it weighs just over 750g, less than a bag of sugar) that I’ve ever used, but it’s also the most powerful and most effective.
That said, the thing that continually surprises me is that I actually, genuinely, really use (almost) all of the attachments that it comes with. And if that alone isn’t enough to make you want to buy it – and neither are the Black Friday beauty deals that are making it quite a lot cheaper – then keep reading. I’m about to tell you what else makes it so bloody good.
Shark SpeedStyle Hairdryer at a glance:
| Pros: | Lightweight, easy to travel with good selection of attachments, drys hair quickly. |
| Cons: | The attachments don’t work on other Shark tools, like the FlexStyle. |
| Price: | £199.99 full price, but you can pick it up for less this Black Friday. |
| Our verdict: | There’s not much not to love about this hairdryer, it really does do it all. It dries my hair quickly, it’s lightweight and easy to use, and the attachments are actually innovative and useful – something that I find to be a rarity. I also love that it smooths my hair well enough for me to not need to straighten it quite as much. |
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Meet the reviewer: Lucy Partington, freelance beauty journalist
One thing about me that’s important to note is that my hair has a natural curl to it, one that I’ve never really learnt how to deal with, so I always rough dry (because I never learnt how to blow-dry it properly and I definitely don’t have the patience to learn now) and then straighten after washing. I never wear it in its natural texture so I always like to make sure that the tools I use can help to smooth and defrizz simultaneously. I also have a lot of hair (stylists always tell me it’s fine but I have a lot of it) that seems to take ages to dry.
- Hair type: fine but lots of it.
- Hair length: mid-length.
- Hair concern: dry and a bit frizzy from years of heat styling.
- Testing period: just over a year.
Shark SpeedStyle review: product deep dive
There is so much that I love about this product, but one of the main things is that it works to measure and regulate temperatures no less than one thousand times per second (impressive!) to ensure that it never exceeds 110°C or reaches the heat-damaging temperatures of 150°C.
Of course, I always use a heat protector before using any type of styling tool on my hair, but knowing that this one has been designed with the health of my hair in mind is always a good thing. Plus, in line with my desire for less frizz, Shark has developed this hair dryer with clever negative ion technology that not only helps hair dry more quickly, but it also works to seal the cuticle as well as helping to make hair look and feel smooth and shiny.
The Shark SpeedStyle hair dryer is also suitable for all hair types and there really is an attachment to suit everybody depending on personal preferences. I personally don’t think there’s anybody who couldn’t use this dryer, and for me it takes away the need to have any sort of blow-drying skills and as far as I’m concerned that’s the absolute dream.
Shark SpeedStyle review: the attachments
So the dryer comes in different configurations, I have the one that comes with all five available attachments but there are other variants that come with three. Deciding which one to go for depends on your individual hair type and which ones you think you’d need the most, but to help you decide here’s a list of the options and how they work:
- RapidGloss Finisher – As its name suggests, this is an attachment you’d use to finish your hair off. It’s able to help get rid of flyaways and create a high-shine finish thanks to coander technology, which works by using two streams of high-speed hair that attract and smooth hair.
- QuickSmooth Brush – One of my most-used attachments, this brush is made from a combination of nylon and boar bristles, making it good for smoothing and straightening hair. After my hair has been roughly dried to around 70%, I section it and then use this to completely dry it. I can then usually skip the straighteners which blows my mind every single time.
- Turbo Concentrator – No hairdryer is complete without an attachment like this one, and it works by creating a concentrated hair path to help precisely target and smooth each and every strand of hair. Adding this on while I rough dry helps eliminate some of the frizz I usually get at this stage of my routine.
- Express Touch Up Brush – Another of my favourite attachments, the thing I love most about this round brush is that I can rotate it as I dry, meaning there’s no skill required. I use it to dry my fringe forward so that it just falls exactly how I like it to, but it’s also great for volumising or smoothing ends.
- DefrizzFast Diffuser – This diffuser has clever extendable prongs that work to lift roots, which helps to style longer and thicker hair, or they can be retracted and used on shorter, finer hair. I’d be lying if I said I’d used this one regularly, but maybe one day it’ll become part of my routine.
Shark SpeedStyle review: before & after pictures
Shark SpeedStyle review: the final verdict
In case it’s not already obvious, I really love this hairdryer and I don’t think there’s anybody who wouldn’t benefit from using it. It’s lightweight, good for travelling with and the range of attachments is really great – you actually can create just about any hair style using them. I also love how easy it is to smooth and straighten my hair with it, but the biggest win of all is that using the Shark SpeedStyle makes hair drying a lot less arduous than when I use other tools.
After more Shark reviews? Read our Shark SmoothStyle review and our Shark LED CryoGlow Light Therapy Face Mask review.
