SharkNinja · Lead Designer
2025
FlexStyle was already Shark's most popular multi-styler when this project started, so the job wasn't to reinvent it, it was to refresh it, and do it fast. Tooling changes were limited to the upper barrel and the air inlet, which kept the program lean but also meant almost everything had to be earned within a small physical footprint. Development ran about a year. The biggest technical addition was an ionizer, added to cut frizz and add shine, something the original FlexStyle never had.
Accessory lineup shared with FlexStyle
Texture is where most of the real work happened, we did several weeks of exploration before locking in a direction in order to hit production within the year. The product needed to feel like a clear step up from the original, without drifting into territory occupied by FlexStyle Glam in our lineup.
Initial texture exploration
Shark FlexStyle IonCurl launched July 6, 2026 at $349.99, sold through SharkNinja.com, Sephora, and Ulta, slotting between the original FlexStyle and Glam as the pick for more curl performance without Glam's price.
Getting the diagonal slots in the air inlet to look correct and match the flute pitch on the upper barrel was the main challenge with this design
Boston, MA