The 2020’s have brought back voluminous curls in a huge way, drawing inspiration from ‘70s blowouts and Victoria’s Secret ‘Angel Waves’ and perfecting them with modern techniques and products to create a brand new 2024-esque style.
If you, like myself, shudder just looking at a round brush, there are thankfully now plenty of tools to make this look happen, from traditional rollers, to newer heatless methods, and even heated round brushes that do it all for you in one fell swoop.
Shark has just thrown their own hat in the ring with the newest addition to their armoury of tools – and it may just be my favourite yet.
Introducing the Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother – an all-in-one tool which is said to dry, style and smooth, by simply brushing your hair.
What makes this tool different than others on the market is that rather than having different attachments like the FlexStyle or the SpeedStyle, the SmoothStyle is truly a one-stop-shop, instead utilising different modes on the one brush.
The wider sides of the brush are intended to help you go from wet to dry on wash day using Wet Hair Mode. The brush face includes a combination of nylon bristles and boar bristles for grabbing, smoothing, and shining. There are also three heat settings, so you can truly customise the experience to your hair type, and prioritise the health of your hair.
Once dry, the narrower sides can then be used on Dry Hair Mode. In this mode, the air turns off and the heat turns up, ensuring you can get a sleek, perfected result.
I will admit, before I tried out this tool for the first time, I had some doubts about using it on my curly hair. Back in the mid-2010’s there was a straightening hair brush phase that I remember never quite getting anyone’s roots. But, spoiler alert, I was wrong.
Right off the bat, I found the SmoothStyle’s packaging to be really helpful in getting started, complete with images, directions and even links to videos you can watch so you know exactly what you should be doing with the tool before you even get it out of the box.
I find the tool to be best used on about 50 per cent dried hair – so it’s not sopping wet, but not completely dry either.
From here, I split my hair into three or four sections, spraying them with heat protectant and drying them using Wet Hair Mode separately. I like to use the medium heat setting on my hair, though of course you can customise this based on what your hair needs.
I do find that I can get my hair pretty smooth with just Wet Hair Mode, however Dry Hair Mode is really the cherry on top. Using the brush, you can straighten your hair, or add your own flair to create a bouncy blowout. It’s also great for touch-ups in the days following!
With my curly hair, it takes about an hour to go from wet to the finished product, however I do think this will lessen when I have even more experience with the tool. Given that the SmoothStyle uses less heat than typical hair tools, it also feels much less damaging.
Overall, at $150, I think the Shark SmoothStyle is a great addition to anyone’s kit, and would be the perfect travel companion.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.