Shark SpeedStyle Pro Flex Review: Fast, Foldable, and £30 Off Everywhere
The model in front of you is the HD542UK — the 4-in-1 Pro Flex in Mocha Silver, the one with the handle that folds in half. It is the SpeedStyle that Argos, Boots and Shark UK actually stock now; the older HD331UK that most search results still point at has quietly dropped off Currys and Argos. Every published price we checked on 18 September 2026 was £169.99 against a £199.99 RRP, which tells you something about how the £199.99 is meant to be read.
Where the reviews line up
There is no Which? test of this dryer and no UK lab figure for it, so the evidence comes from three different places: a full editorial test at T3, a long-running specialist beauty blog, The New Knew, that has owned both this and the dryer it replaced, and the rating blocks at Currys, John Lewis and Sephora UK — 352 ratings between them, all with the sample size published. They agree on more than they disagree.
Three things come up everywhere. It dries fast and it is light in the hand — T3 got medium-length hair dry in eight to ten minutes, Marie Claire’s tester halved a ten-minute Dyson Supersonic routine, and the single most repeated word in the retailer reviews is “lightweight”. The folding handle is the reason to buy this one rather than the older SpeedStyle: it halves the length for a suitcase, and it is the only substantive change to the hardware. And the attachments do the work: the FrizzFighter Finishing Tool, which uses a Coanda airflow rather than heat, is the one every reviewer singles out.
Two honest caveats. Scalp Shield is a temperature setting, not a technology — The New Knew, who has used both generations, calls it “just another temperature setting” sitting between the existing heat levels, and Shark’s own claim of no heat damage rests on the dryer capping itself at 110 °C, not on anything exotic. And the folding hinge introduces a little play that the solid-bodied original did not have.
If you already own a SpeedStyle, the honest answer from the one source that owns both is not to bother. If you do not, this is the version to buy — but buy it at £169.99, which is what Shark itself, Currys, John Lewis and Sephora were all charging on the day we checked, and not at the £199.99 that PriceSpy still shows against Argos.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- T3Full editorial test of the HD542UK, December 2024. T3 Recommends award. The only structured test of this exact model we found.
- The New KnewSpecialist beauty blog. Has owned the original SpeedStyle and this one; updated May 2026. The only sceptical hands-on source.
- Currys, John Lewis & Sephora UK4.8/5 from 114, 4.6/5 from 132 and 4.64/5 from 106 — 352 ratings, on pages that sell it.
Before the review: which SpeedStyle are you being sold?
The name covers at least four current UK products and one that is on its way out. HD542UK is the Pro Flex 4-in-1 reviewed here, £169.99, folding handle. HD500UK-BYO is the same dryer sold “build your own”, £159.99 from £199.99, where you choose any three of six attachments. HD701UK, HD731UK and HD752UK are the non-folding Pro models, £139.99, £179.99 and £219.99 at Currys. HD331UK is the original 3-in-1 — no longer listed at Currys or Argos, showing as “coming soon” at LookFantastic at £114.99 from £149.99. If a listing quotes you a SpeedStyle price without a model number, it is not telling you which dryer you are buying.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Model reviewed | Shark SpeedStyle Pro FLEX 4-in-1, HD542UK, Mocha Silver | Shark UK product page, 18 Sep 2026 |
| Motor power | 1,700 W | Shark’s own build-your-own spec sheet; Currys, AO and PriceSpy all repeat it |
| Voltage | 240 V | Shark |
| Weight | Sources disagree. 0.68 kg on Shark’s HD542UK page; 0.73 kg on Shark’s own build-your-own page; 1.12 kg at John Lewis; 1,890 g at Currys | The two big numbers look like the boxed system with four attachments; nobody publishes a bare-dryer figure |
| Cord length | Sources disagree. 2.44 m (Shark) · 2.4 m (Currys, AO, Donaghy Bros, PriceSpy) · 2.5 m (John Lewis) | Expert Reviews measured 244 cm on the previous SpeedStyle |
| Heat settings | Sources disagree. 4 (Currys, John Lewis, Sephora UK, Donaghy Bros) · 5 (AO, PriceSpy). Plus a cool shot and Scalp Shield mode | The count probably turns on whether Scalp Shield is counted as a heat level |
| Speed settings | 3 airflow settings; Shark claims 0–100 mph in under a second | Agreed by every retailer we checked |
| Temperature control | Measured 1,000 times a second, capped so it never exceeds 110 °C | Shark; repeated by John Lewis and Sephora UK |
| Noise | 81.4 dB claimed by AO for this model. Not independently measured. Expert Reviews measured 93 dB on the previous SpeedStyle | Different models — do not read the 93 dB as this dryer’s figure |
| In the box (HD542UK) | Dryer, Turbo Concentrator, QuickSmooth Brush, DefrizzFast Diffuser, FrizzFighter Finishing Tool | Identical list at Shark, Currys, John Lewis and Sephora UK |
| In the box (HD500UK-BYO) | Dryer plus any three of: Wide Tooth Comb, Precision Concentrator, Diffuser, Rotating Round Brush, Styling Brush, Polisher | Shark UK, £159.99 from £199.99 |
| In the box (HD331UK, older) | Dryer, RapidGloss Finisher, QuickSmooth Brush, Turbo Concentrator, storage bag | LookFantastic listing; the Pro Flex ships without a bag |
| Dimensions | 19.6 × 4.8 × 10.6 cm (H × W × D); folds to roughly half its length | AO; folding claim is Shark’s |
| Warranty | 2 years — on registration with Shark, UK and ROI only | Shark; Currys, John Lewis and Sephora UK all state 2 years |
| RRP and live prices | RRP £199.99. Shark UK £169.99 · Currys £169.99 · John Lewis £169.99 · Sephora UK £169.99 · Very £177.99 and Argos £199.99 as listed by PriceSpy | All checked 18 September 2026; Boots blocked our check |
T3
This is the only structured editorial test of the HD542UK specifically that we could find, and it is useful because the reviewer had the previous SpeedStyle to compare against. Medium-length hair dried completely in eight to ten minutes. The four attachments are named and assessed individually — the Turbo Concentrator and DefrizzFast Diffuser are described as upgrades on the originals, and the FrizzFighter Finishing Tool is new to this generation. Scalp Shield, which you hold the heat button for two seconds to engage, drops the air temperature without dropping the velocity; the tester reported noticeably less breakage using it.
The criticisms are small and specific, which is what you want from a test: no storage bag is included despite four attachments shipping in the box, and the attachments need care going on and off. T3’s framing is that the Pro Flex is £50 more than its predecessor for a folding handle and Scalp Shield, and that this is reasonable. T3 did not publish a weight, a noise figure or a decibel measurement, so the comparison stops at impressions.
For context rather than as one of our three sources: Expert Reviews tested the earlier SpeedStyle in November 2024 and did publish numbers — 436 g without the cable, 26.2 m/s wind speed, 93 dB and a 244 cm cable. Those belong to the previous dryer, not this one, but they are the only measured figures anyone has published for the family.
Watch: Shark SpeedStyle Pro Flex: Full Hands-on Review
A full hands-on walk through the same model T3 tested — the closest thing to watching the test rather than reading it. Confirmed from the search listing, not fetched: see the caveat box below.
Watch on YouTube ↗The New Knew
An independent beauty blog rather than a magazine, and the only source anywhere that is openly unimpressed by parts of the marketing. Fennessy agrees on the two things that matter: it dries very fast, and the folding handle is the genuine improvement — “I love, love, love that it folds in half”. She also confirms that the attachments are interchangeable with the original SpeedStyle’s, which matters if you are upgrading and have a drawer full of them.
Then she takes the claims apart. Scalp Shield, she says, is “just another temperature setting”, running at around 122 °F — that is roughly 50 °C, and it sits between the dryer’s existing heat levels rather than doing anything new. The “no heat damage” line overstates what a 110 °C cap buys you. The iQ styling that is supposed to pick settings for you gets overridden by users in practice. And the folding hinge introduces a slight jiggle the solid original did not have. Her verdict splits cleanly: for a new buyer, choose the Pro Flex; for an existing SpeedStyle owner, “HARD PASS. It’s basically the same thing.” Note that her prices are US dollars, so they do not transfer.
Watch: Shark SpeedStyle Pro Flex HD542 Review | Professional Styling Without Heat Damage!
A review built around the same “no heat damage” claim this blog is sceptical about — worth watching alongside her argument. Confirmed from the search listing, not fetched.
Watch on YouTube ↗Currys, John Lewis and Sephora UK
Treat these as what they are: customer ratings hosted by the shops selling the dryer. What makes them worth citing is that all three publish the sample size, and that 352 ratings across three unconnected retailers land within 0.2 of each other — a consistency you do not get from a single seeded rating block. The themes are the same ones the editorial sources report: power, speed and low weight.
The dissent is where the value is. Sephora’s block carries owners reporting durability problems inside the warranty period, which is the single most useful thing on any of the three pages and the reason we would register the guarantee the day it arrives — Shark gives two years, but only if you register, and only in the UK and Ireland. Currys buyers, and buyers of the older HD331UK on Feefo, both mention the attachments being awkward at first, which matches T3’s note about careful fitting.
These pages are also where the spec disagreements surface. John Lewis lists four heat settings, a 2.5 m cord and a 1.12 kg weight; Currys lists four heat settings, a 2.4 m cord and 1,890 g; AO lists five heat settings and 81.4 dB. Shark’s own pages say 0.68 kg on one and 0.73 kg on another. We have printed all of them above rather than picking one.
Watch: SHARK SpeedStyle Pro Flex HD542UK 4-in-1 Hair Dryer - Quick Look
A short retail-style look at the UK HD542UK and its four attachments — the quickest way to see what is actually in the box. Confirmed from the search listing, not fetched.
Watch on YouTube ↗Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Drying speed: eight to ten minutes for medium-length hair in T3’s test, and a halved routine for another tester who came off a Dyson Supersonic.
- Light enough that nobody complains about arm ache, across 352 retailer ratings and two editorial tests.
- The folding handle is a real advantage and the one thing this generation adds to the hardware.
- Four attachments in the box at £169.99, with the FrizzFighter Finishing Tool singled out by more than one reviewer.
- Attachments are interchangeable with the earlier SpeedStyle, so an upgrade does not orphan what you own.
- Temperature capped at 110 °C and checked 1,000 times a second — a sensible guard even if the marketing oversells it.
What people complain about
- Scalp Shield is a lower temperature setting, not new technology — that is the verdict of the one source that owns both generations.
- The folding hinge adds a little play the solid-bodied original did not have.
- No storage bag, despite four attachments; the older HD331UK included one.
- Durability complaints inside the warranty period appear in the Sephora UK reviews.
- The two-year guarantee only applies if you register it, and only in the UK and Ireland.
- Basic figures — weight, cord length, heat-setting count — are published inconsistently by Shark and its own retailers.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you dry your hair most days, you want the drying time cut rather than a cupboard of styling attachments, and you travel enough for a handle that folds in half to matter. At £169.99 with four attachments it undercuts the Dyson Supersonic by roughly £100, which is the comparison every reviewer reaches for.
Look elsewhere if you already own a SpeedStyle — the only person who has used both says do not bother — or if you want curls and waves rather than a smooth blow-dry, where a multi-styler suits better. And if noise is your deciding factor, nobody has independently measured this one, so nobody has answered your question.
What we could not check
- The three videos were confirmed from search listings, not fetched. YouTube would not serve us any watch page on 18 September 2026. Each video ID and exact title below appeared in two differently-worded search listings, which is how we verified they exist: 8JCCCH99tzw, wk5vA8oGUzI and mP3xOvtBphY. No search listing named the channel for any of the three, so we have not invented one.
- The Boots price. boots.com returns a 403 to us and no search listing carried its price, so the Boots figure is missing from the price row above. Shark UK, Currys, John Lewis and Sephora UK were all £169.99.
- A bare-dryer weight. Nobody publishes one. Shark says 0.68 kg on one page and 0.73 kg on another; John Lewis says 1.12 kg and Currys 1,890 g, both of which look like the boxed system.
- The heat-setting count. Four retailers say four, two say five, and Shark’s own page describes the behaviour rather than counting the settings.
- Independent noise measurement for the HD542UK. AO states 81.4 dB; no testing body has measured it. The 93 dB figure you may see belongs to the earlier SpeedStyle, measured by Expert Reviews.
- Which? and any UK consumer-body test. We searched and found none. Nothing here should be read as consumer-body backing, because none exists.
- Argos’s own live price. Argos pages render in JavaScript and would not give us a figure; the £199.99 against Argos comes from PriceSpy’s listing, which may lag.
- Running cost. No source publishes one. At 1,700 W, ten minutes a day is roughly 0.28 kWh a day, but that is our arithmetic, not a measured figure, and it depends on which settings you use.
Sources and prices last checked 18 September 2026. Hair dryer prices move with promotions — check the listing in front of you before ordering, and check the model number on the box.