Dyson might be exceptionally well known for its haircare products these days, but it certainly isn’t the only company that wants a slice of that juicy pie. Shark Ninja has several devices for your locks, one of which is the SmoothStyle Hot Brush and Smoothing Comb.
I won’t lie, the name could be catchier, but this is in fact a brilliant bit of kit. It doesn’t quite have the same smoothing clout as the Dyson Supersonic‘s Flyaway attachment, but there are a lot of things it does exceptionally well. Let me tell you why it’s not all hot air when it comes to this haircare product.
The Disconnekt Downlow
Pros
+ Double-sided bristles for control
+ Easy to use
+ Excellent price
Cons
– Heavy in use
– Won’t remove all frizz
In all honestly, there are very few reasons not to buy the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush and Smoothing Comb. It’s a reasonable price, easy to use, refreshes dry hair quickly, and it’s great for delivering a salon blow dried look without having to be a professional. If you buy the SmoothStyle Hot Brush, I’d almost guarantee it will become a staple in your beauty routine instantly. There’s hype around it for a reason and for once, I’d say it isn’t misplaced with plenty to love.
The reasons you should choose Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush
The Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush and Smoothing Comb – which I’m going to shorten to SmoothStyle HotBrush from here on in – is no small device. It is, however, significantly easier than holding a standard hairbrush and a hairdryer to style hair and that’s one of the reasons it is brilliant.
Simplifying styling, the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush is designed to be an all-in-one styler and it does a sterling job of this. The four-sided design means there are bristles on two larger sides, with a heated smoothing ceramic comb element on the other two slimmer sides.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
Having the bristles on two sides allows you to twist the SmoothBrush as you pull it down a section of hair, making it easy to retain the tension for a smooth and styled finish. You will have to go over an area of wet hair a few times to style it completely dry, but it’s significantly more efficient than using a classic hairdryer and hairbrush.
There’s a combination of boar bristles and nylon bristles that are designed to detangle and volumise as you brush, while the top of the SmoothStyle Hot Brush has a non-heated element to hold, helping you control it as you pull down your hair – whichever mode you’re using. I love the double-sided bristles as they helped me shape the bottom of my hair as I dried it, and I found the non-heated section at the top really useful. Dyson doesn’t offer this on its Airwrap and it’s something the brush attachments would really benefit from.
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I found the non-heated section at the top of the SmoothStyle Hot Brush really useful. Dyson doesn’t offer this on its Airwrap and it’s something the brush attachments would really benefit from.
There is a wet mode and a dry mode on the Shark SmoothStyle, with the wet mode offering three temperatures of 100-degrees Celsius, 70-degrees Celsius and 50-degrees Celsius. The dry mode takes a few minutes to heat up – with the light changing to green when it reaches 215-degrees Celsius – and it’s perfect for refreshing and restyling, smoothing hair out and adding volume and shape.
I have exceptionally thick and coarse hair, which many will say is a blessing and it is on most part, but it is not easy to tame. The Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush was excellent for helping me achieve a blow-dried finish with hardly any effort using the wet mode, while the dry mode and the ceramic comb was useful for the day two refresh, though I did use the wet mode when my hair was dry too.
What Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush could do better
The biggest thing that goes against the Shark SmoothStyle is its weight. It weighs 0.73kg, which is slightly heavier than the Dyson Airwrap but lighter than the Dyson Airstrait. It’s not so heavy that you’ll feel like your arm is going to drop off, but it certainly ached by the time I had finished styling my hair.
It’s probably worth pointing out that I do have waist-length hair – and as I mentioned, it is thick too – so styling my hair with any device is no small feat. It takes a decent amount of time, even with the best tools at my disposal. To put that into context, it takes my hairdresser an hour to blow dry my hair in the salon so around 30 mins from wet to dry with the SmoothStyle Hot Brush always feels somewhat of a win.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
The only other thing I could complain about with the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush is the smoothing comb element – or dry mode – which just isn’t quite as efficient at taming flyaways or straightening out waves as the Dyson Supersonic’s Flyaway attachment.
It means that while it does do a good job of smoothing away some of the frizz – especially when styling dry – you may find you will still need to run a pair of straighteners over the top or use some serum for a super sleek look.
What to consider before buying the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush
The biggest thing to consider before you buy the Shark SmoothStyle Brush and Smoothing Comb is whether it’s the right styler for you. Shark’s motto is “For all hairkind”, which apart from being pretty funny is suggesting its products are suitable for all kinds of hair.
If you’re after a hairstyler that can replace a hairdryer and hairbrush to achieve volume and shape, the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush is a great product. It’s also exceptionally easy to use with just a twist of the bottom required to move between the various temperatures and two modes.
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Shark – and competitors like Dyson and GHD – offer other hairstylers however, and depending on the style you are looking to achieve with your hair, you might find the Dyson Airwrap or the Shark FlexStyle is a more suitable solution.
The Airwrap is significantly more expensive than the SmoothStyle, but Shark’s own FlexStyle is more reasonably priced and it offers a couple of different options when it comes to styles, making it more versatile.
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Should you buy the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush?
There are very few reasons not to buy the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush and Smoothing Comb in my opinion and experience. It’s an incredibly reasonable price, and it is a fantastic styler for achieving a salon blow dried look from the comfort of your own home.
It’s not the lightest hair styler around, and it won’t combat all frizz without at least a serum or cream, but it certainly adds volume, shape and it is much easier to style hair with than a traditional hairdryer and brush. It’s easy to use, refreshes dry hair quickly, and it’s great for delivering a blow-dried look without having to be a professional. There’s in fact very little not to love here and if you buy it, it’s very likely to become a staple in your beauty routine.
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FAQs
This very much depends on what you are trying to achieve with your hair. The Dyson Airwrap is excellent for smoothing hair, reducing frizz and achieving bouncy curls with ease. I prefer the barrels to the brushes on Airwrap, but I know plenty of people that swear by the brushes. For everyday styling, I would choose the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush and Smoothing Comb but I do find myself reaching for the Dyson Flyaway attachment on the older Supersonic hairdryer for extra smoothing, and I will pick the Dyson Airwrap when I want a more dramatic look or to curl the ends of my hair once the SmoothBrush has added volume and given me shape.
What kind of hair is the Shark SmoothStyle Hot Brush and Smoothing Comb good for?
Shark says the SmoothStyle Hot Brush and Smoothing Comb is designed of all hair types. I have thick and naturally wavy hair, so I can vouch for it working on that type, but other types may need to do some extra research and read reviews by people with the same type hair as them to ensure it works as you hope it will.
Does the SmoothStyle Hot Brush replace hair straighteners?
This is a tricky question as it has the potential to replace hair straighteners, depending on the kind of hair you have and the end result you are going for. If you want a super sleek look then I would say no, you will still need hair straighteners to achieve that. You will need to use them less however, and for a significantly reduced period of time. The majority of the smoothing and straightening will be handled by the SmoothStyle, but you might want to run a pair of straighteners over the top to finish it off.
